Top Five Red Sox Players Not in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Number Five: Nomar Garciaparra

During his first six years in MLB, Nomar was one of the most dominant players in the game, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1998 and finishing eighth in MVP voting. He finished second in MVP voting the following year.

An offensive powerhouse, Nomar led the league in batting average two years in a row in 1999 (.357) and 2000 (.372). He hit over .300 in all but two of his seasons with the Red Sox. In 1997, he led the league in hits (209) and recorded 30 home runs and 98 RBIs. The next season, he recorded 195 hits, 35 home runs, 122 RBIs, and .323 batting average.

As depicted above, Nomar also received praise for his defensive prowess, often being likened to his contemporary shortstops Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

Unfortunately, Nomar’s career took a turn for the worst when he suffered a career-altering injury to the wrist in 2001. After that, he suffered from a myriad of injuries, never quite rendering him the same, and causing many to postulate his use of performance enhancing drugs. However, despite all that, he is still an all-time fan favorite and one of the greatest players to wear a Red Sox uniform.

Throughout his career with the Red Sox, from 1996 to 2003 (not including the 38 games he played in 2004), Nomar recorded 173 home runs, 1232 hits, 669 RBIs, and a .323 batting average, thus earning him the fifth sport on this top five list.

Next: Johnny Pesky