Nomar, No Less

Player, Team	Caught-Attempts*	Pct.
THE BEST
BRAD AUSMUS , Astros	9-16	.563
CHARLES JOHNSON , Marlins	9-19	.474
JIM LEYRITZ , Angels	9-19	.474
DAN WILSON , Mariners	16-35	.457
RICK WILKINS, Giants	10-23	.435
THE WORST
RON KARKOVICE , White Sox	1-19	.053
CHRIS WIDGER, Expos	2-28	.071
CHRIS HOILES , Orioles	2-26	.077
BRIAN JOHNSON , Tigers	2-23	.087
DARRIN FLETCHER , Expos	3-27	.111
*Minimum 0.4 attempts per scheduled games
Source: STATS, Inc.

Rangers fans Mike and Denise McBride and their two-year-old son. Tanner, were sitting in the front row behind third base at the Ballpark in Arlington on May 2 when a foul ball came flying in their direction. Red Sox rookie shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and third baseman Tim Naehring were both in hot pursuit when Garciaparra yelled to Naehring, "Hey, watch out for the baby!" As he caught the ball. Naehring carefully avoided hitting the kid. Mike McBride sent an E-mail to Boston 's offices last week praising Garciaparra for his considerateness. Add to that Garciaparra's .302 batting average at the end of last week—with 16 extra-base hits, including two game-winning home runs—and there's a new baseball hero in Beantown .

Garciaparra's only drawback may be his unwieldy surname, which has teammates and fans alike referring to him by his unique first name, the brainchild of his father, Ramon, who decided that his son would not carry his name, merely the letters in it. So just before the boy was born, Ramon experimented by jotting those letters on a napkin. Armon? Romna? Onram? Manro? And finally, Nomar! Ramon's wife, Sylvia, insisted that their son be named Anthony. Alas, Anthony Nomar Garciaparra chose to go by Nomar, because, as he says, "when somebody yells out 'Nomar,' you don't have to worry about five people answering."

The 23-year-old Garciaparra, who grew up in Whittier , Calif. , and starred at Georgia Tech , was the 12th pick in the 1994 draft. He hit .343 with 16 homers at Triple A Pawtucket last season, and he has been the Red Sox ' most consistent hitter so far in '97. He could be the first Boston player since Fred Lynn , in '75, to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Garciaparra's strong start is all the more remarkable because of the pressure put on him when Boston 's veteran shortstop, John Valentin , left spring training for two days to protest being shifted to second base. "Some people felt Nomar began the season playing under a microscope," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams says. "But the first time I saw him, I knew he had the instincts to be a star."

Though he has hit well so far, Garciaparra is renowned more for his glovework. His range is among the best in baseball, and at week's end he owned the second-best fielding percentage (.988) among American League shortstops. Says Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn , "I nicknamed him Spiderman, because he's so quick, and sometimes it seems like he can suspend in midair."

Catch as Catch Can

Crime is rampant at ballparks this season. Through Sunday, stolen bases had increased by 12% over last year, to their highest level in a decade. This places an even greater burden on catchers, baseball's police officers. In these troubled times for backstops, SI conducted a survey of all 28 major league teams to identify the catcher most respected by base stealers. The Rangers ' Ivan Rodriguez was voted the top cop by a landslide. " Rodriguez has got the mentality that if you get on base, you've come into his house and he's going to either pick you off or throw you out," says Twins DH Paul Molitor , who has 485 career steals. "He has tremendous confidence in his ability, and with his footwork, velocity and accuracy, you're not going to steal off him."

The numbers confirm Rodriguez 's supremacy; he has led the major leagues in percentage of runners thrown out stealing in three of the last six years, though by a narrow margin he's not among the leaders so far this season (chart, page 96). The other dangerous arms mentioned most often belong to the Mariners' Dan Wilson , the Marlins' Charles Johnson and the Astros ' Brad Ausmus , who has thrown out the Braves' Kenny Lofton three times this season.

Virtually all base stealers agree that on most attempts at thievery the outcome depends more on the pitcher than the catcher. "I always steal on the pitcher," says the Indians ' Omar Vizquel . "If you get a good jump, the catcher can have a bazooka and it won't matter."

A good base stealer can go from first to second in 3.3 seconds, and the average catcher needs approximately two seconds to get the ball from his glove to second base, leaving the pitcher about 1.3 seconds to deliver the ball. The pitcher is by far the greatest variable in the equation. "Every first base coach has a stopwatch and knows the pitcher's time," says Rockies catcher Jeff Reed, who as of Sunday had gunned down nine of 14 runners this year. "If the pitcher is 1.5 or 1.6 to the plate, everybody's running, and the catcher's throw has got to be 1.8 and right on the bag. There aren't a whole lot of catchers who can do that."