Vin Scully on Nomar

As I enjoy a free preview of MLB Extra Innings, I am listening to Vin Scully broadcast a Dodgers-Phillies game on LA's FSN channel. The greatest of all time, Scully (at 79!) has still got it, (Bob Ryan addressed this on his blog, not too long ago...so no need to go into too much detail here) but, while not at the height of his powers in the 80s, Scully still can weave great anecdotes into his play-by-play of the game while neither boring his audience nor seeming to talk too much -- even though he's the only one in the booth! His gentle assessment of the game combined with an ability to call big moments appropriately wrapped in a beautiful baritone simply seals it for me that there will never be any one better.

As Nomar stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, I could not help but think of the path he was on when with the Red Sox and where he would take the Sox. He was going to lead the Sox to the Promised Land while building a Hall of Fame of resume. Well, the Sox won a World Championship but without Nomar, who no longer is on a definitive path to Cooperstown. I dreamed of the Sox playing in the World Series and Scully calling the action -- for a brief moment a dream kinda came to fruition. Nomar doubled in Jeff Kent, scorching the ball down the left field line -- vintage Nomar but without the baseball rattling around in the left field garage door.

Looking back, Nomar's early career made him arguably the most popular athlete in the city -- his geniality with the fans and his aww-shucks attitude endeared him unlike few others. Not seen as selfish and petty like Clemens. Not quirky and oddball-ish like Boggs. Plus he could hit for average, rake balls off the Wall, had good speed and was a spectacular defensive shortstop. Then 2001 happened and his body suffered a setback but not a HOF-debilitating injury. Yet, upon a return to full-time action in 2002, Nomar's average shrunk to .310 after winning back-to-back batting titles in 1999-2000.

The decrease in consistently was not all due to his wrist injury. The toll of the long season and moving from No. 4 to No. 3 in the batting order affected some of his ability to hit for average. In 1998, 1999 and 2000, Nomar hit 4th most nights -- protecting Mo Vaughn and later Brian Daubach. He had 532 and 529 at bats in 1999 and 2000 respectively; both years featured stints on the DL. Returning to play full time in 2002, Nomar had 635 and 658 at bats in 2002 and 2003 . His power increased but with it decreased batting averages and much lower on base percentages.

The combination of his wrist, the injured Achilles' tendon, a deteriorating relationship with the Boston media and his sour feelings toward the new ownership just turned 2004 into a miserable year for him and it seemed Nomar simply could not play shortstop effectively any more -- at least not for a team with aspirations of winning a World Series, and undoubtedly that added to his discomfort. It's just too bad one the franchise's greatest players could not be on the field when the Red Sox won it all.

If the Sox don't trade Nomar in 04, they probably don't win the World Series. That's a strange sentence to write but it's true.

By the way, Nomar's 2-for-3 tonight for the Dodgers. That's a strange sentence to write too.