A six-time Major League Baseball All-Star and one of the top hitting shortstops of all-time, Nomar Garciaparra will be the featured guest speaker of the 36th annual Bobby Dolan Baseball Dinner, the school announced today. The annual special event, which benefits the Nevada baseball team, will be held Jan. 16, 2020 at the Reno Ballroom.
Garciaparra has had an illustrious career in the world of baseball, as both a former major leaguer and currently an analyst for SportsNet Los Angeles. The six-time All-Star spent nine years as a shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, winning a World Series with the club, before playing for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland Athletics.
A lifetime .313 hitter, Garciaparra holds the record for the highest single-season batting average by a right-handed hitter in the post-war era, posting an average of .372 in 2000.
Garciaparra was born in Whittier, Calif., and was nicknamed "No Nonsense Nomar" for his dedication and preparation to his craft. His middle name "Nomar" came from his dad Roman, which is his name spelled backwards. His father used to stress the importance of not striking out and would give him 25 cents each hit in his tee ball league but fined him 50 cents for every strikeout.
Following his education at St. John Bosco High School, Garciaparra was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round in the 1991 draft but he opted to attend Georgia Tech instead. He helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the College World Series in 1994, and batted .427 in his final season.
Garciaparra was drafted 12th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 1994 MLB Draft. He made his major-league debut on Aug. 31, 1996 and recorded his first-career hit, a home run, came on Sept. 1 against the Oakland Athletics. His rookie season in 1997, he smacked 30 homers and a Red Sox rookie record 209 base hits. His 98 RBI was a new MLB record for a leadoff hitter, and went on a 30-game hit streak which also set a record for an A.L. rookie.
In a unanimous vote, he was named the Rookie of the Year and attended his first All-Star game while also capturing the Silver Slugger Award for the A.L. Shortstop. After being traded away from Boston in 2004, Garciaparra finished his career with the Red Sox boasting a .323 average, 178 home runs and 690 RBI throughout nine years.
Maybe the most memorable moment of his playing career came in 1999, when he hit two grand slams against the Seattle Mariners. Garciaparra is one of only 13 players to ever accomplish the feat, and is the only one to do so at his home stadium.
Now working in the media, Garciaparra joined the Los Angeles Dodgers SportsNet LA crew during the 2014 season. He has served as a color analyst for the past six seasons, and has served as a pre-and-post game analyst while also seeing time on the radio broadcasts.
