Wednesday, November 10, 2021

TTM Success - Nomar Garciaparra

Nomaaaahhh!  He was one of my favorite non-Orioles when I was a teenager, so when I saw a private signing for Nomar Garciaparra pop up, I jumped all over it.  So much so, I couldn't decide on which card to send.  So, I sent three.  The above 2001 Fleer EX is another version of an early 2000s set that I have really come to enjoy.  This card was an easy choice to send, but I didn't find it until after I had pulled several other Nomars that I thought would look cool.
The card on the left is a chrome version of the 1994 Classic 4 Sport card.  I found it at the last minute and included it in the outgoing package to the signing.  The card on the right is a 2003 Topps Finest, and was the original card I picked out of the bunch to send along.  It was in my former LCS boxes with a ton of Red Sox stuff, and I thought it would look really cool in my album.

Garciaparra (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1996 to 2009 for the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers and A's.  He had 1,747 hits, 229 home runs and a .313 batting average.  He was a 6-time All Star (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006) and a two-time batting champ (1999/.357 and 2000/.372).  He was the 1997 AL Rookie of the Year.  His best MVP finish was 2nd (1998) and finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting 5 times.  He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1997.  He had 190 or more hits in 6 seasons.  I have no doubt that Garciaparra would have been a Hall of Famer, had he been able to stay healthy.

He appeared on 2 Hall of Fame ballots (2015 and 2016), but received at most, 5.5% of the vote.

I mailed to the signing on July 8 and got the cards back on August 17, for a 40-day TAT.  I forgot the fee I paid, but I sent 4 cards (a friend of mine paid his way for the 4th card).