(Note: This Hub was written using abbreviations common to most baseball fans. However, if you are unsure of an abbreviation's meaning, please do not hesitate to ask.)

 The excellence of Nomar Garciaparra's career is often doubted, so I have compiled a list of his achievements. Of course, it wil not be a complete list. I do hope, though, that it will provide a significant indication of how extremely talented he truly is.

The following is a mere sampling of Nomar's many achievements:
-1997 AL Rookie of the Year (unanimous choice)
-1997 Baseball America Rookie of the Year
-1997 Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year
-1997 Players Choice AL Most Outstanding Rookie
-1997 Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Rookie of the Year
-1997 Ted Williams Hitter's Hall of Fame (TWHHOF) Rookie of the Year
-2000 TWHHOF Splendid Splinter Award
-named one of the four most productive hitters of 1998 by TWHHOF
-2006 NL winner of the Final Vote for the All-Star Game
-May 1999 American League Player of the Month
-2006 NL Comeback Player of the Year
-1997 AL Silver Slugger for shortstop (SS)
-1997 and 1998 Thomas A. Yawkey Award recipient (for Red Sox team MVP)
-1996 PawSox Rookie of the Year (chosen by his teammates)
-2-time batting-champion
-won back-to-back batting titles
-.313 career BA
-8th-highest career BA among active players w/3000+ plate appearences (PA)
-hit two grand slams in one game (plus a third home run)
-6-time All-Star
-finished in top 10 in MVP voting every year from 1997-2003, except 2001-02 (was 11th in '02)
-inductee of the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame
-inductee of the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame
-member of Team USA in the 1992 Summer Olympics
-member of former AL Holy Trinity of shortstops (w/Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter)

-in MLB history: most RBI by a leadoff batter (98), most leadoff HR by a rookie (holds AL record; shares MLB record with Hanley Ramirez), most home runs by a rookie (30 in 1997), most 2B in a season by a SS (56 in 2002), most HR by rookie SS (30 in 1997), most grand slams in one game (2 on 5/21/99; shares record), is one of 3 SS to have 1.000+ OPS in a season in which he qualified for the batting title (others are Alex Rodriguez and Arky Vaughan), is one of three players in past 20 years with two hitting streaks of 25+ games (others are Ichiro Suzuki and Vladimir Guererro), is tied for most HR over two consecutive games (5 in two 2002 games), is 4th player w/40+ 2B, 10+ 3B, and 20+ HR in one season, is one of 8 rookies w/29+ HR, 79+ extra-base hits (XBH), and 93 RBI, was 10th player with a 10+ RBI game, was 5th rookie w/.280+ BA, 17+ HR, and 21+ SB, is 2nd SS ever and 1 of only 3 to have 20+ HR, 10+ 3B, and 40+ 2B in one season (Robin Yount did it twice before; Stephen Drew has done it once since), ranks 55th in career slugging percentage, was 1st player to hit three HR over two consecutive innings, is tied for most hits in one game (he got 6 on 6/21/03 against Philadelphia), ranks 46th in career slugging percentage (and 21st among active players at .522)

-in Red Sox history: 4th-highest career BA (.323; is behind Ted Williams at .344, Wade Boggs at .338, and Tris Speaker at .337), 5th-highest career SLG (.553), 6th-highest career OPS (.923), 4th-highest single-season BA (.372 in 2000), 11th most career home runs (178), 16th most career RBI (690), 12th most career runs (709), 9th most career 2B (279), 14th most career hits (1281), 17th most career triples (50), 9th most XBH (507), 33rd most career games (966), 18th most career at-bats (AB; 3968), 11th most career total bases (2194), 25th most PA (4345), 44th most walks (279), 14th most intentional walks (37), 8th most sacrifice flies (48), 18th most stolen bases (84), 20th-highest OBP (.370), 11th most assists (2724), 14th most double plays fielded (535), most total bases by a rookie (365 in 1997), most hits by a rookie (209 in 1997), most SB by a rookie SS (22 in 1997), is tied for most RBI in one game (10), most AB in one season (684 in 1997), highest single-season BA by a right-handed batter (.372 in 2000), most leadoff home runs in one season (7 in 1997), reached 1000 hits in the fewest number of games (746), one of only two players to 30+ HR and 20+ SB in one season (other is Carl Yastrzemski), is tied for most RBI in a single May since 1954 (he and Jim Rice had 33 apiece in seperate Mays), 4th highest career batting average among players with 2500+ AB at Fenway Park (.337), is widely considered to possibly be the best SS ever (even though he didn't play SS until he was a high school senior)

in AL history: is one of 24 players (5 active) w/184+ H as a rookie, longest hitting streak by a rookie (30 games in 1997), most RBI in one AL Division Series (11 against Cleveland in 1998)

-through the end of 2008, had a .314 career BA off right-handed pitching, which is 7th best among active major leaguers w/3000+ PA
-has .330 BA against the Yankees (highest after Alex Rodriguez at .334)
-reached 2000 total bases in 869 games (2nd fewest after Albert Pujols' 845 games)
-was tied with Pujols for 2nd-highest fielding percentage by an NL 1st baseman in 2006 (only higher was Todd Helton at .997; Nomar had never played first  professionally before)
-is the 2nd rookie since 1964 w/200+ hits (209 in 1997)
-led AL in hits in 1997 (209)
-out of all active players, Nomar was the first to have two games in which he got 8+ RBI
-had 3rd most hits by a rookie since WWII (209 in 1997)
-reached 800 hits in 587 games (fastest among active players)
-won Rookie Home Run Derby at 1997 All-Star Game

I must emphasize Nomar has many more achievements than this--these are just the ones I could find right now.