THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 3: Nomar Garciaparra named AL Rookie of the Year

A year after the Yankees’ Derek Jeter won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1996, the American League East had another young star-in-the-making shortstop take home the trophy.

Nomar Garciaparra of the Boston Red Sox was deemed the AL’s best newcomer on this day in béisbol, November 3, 1997 after a strong season in which he led the AL in hits with 209, swatted 30 homers, knocked in 98 runs and stole 22 bases — nearly one-third of the team’s total. He also led the league in triples (11), putouts and double plays turned.

Garciaparra’s eye-opening first year followed the debuts of Alex Rodriguez in 1994 and then Jeter to form what the press called the Holy Trinity as the trio ushered in the era of the super-shortstop who hit as well as they could field.

Also on this day: Matty Alou, a .307 lifetime hitter who as a San Francisco Giant famously played alongside brothers Felipe and Jesus in the outfield in the same game in 1963, died in 2011 of complications from diabetes at 72. The Dominican siblings were among the first Latinos to make their mark in the 1960s and ’70s and helped pave the way for other Hispanic players. Matty was the NL batting champ in 1966.

In 2022, Houston Astros starter Cristian Javier no-hits the Phillies for six innings before giving way to the bullpen in Game 4 of the World Series. Three Astros relievers — Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly — each pitched an inning of no-hit ball to beat the Astros and tie the series at 2-2. It was the first combined no-no in Fall Classic history, though Houston went on to win the series, 4-2.

Dlz28 on en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons