The Cubs signed Xavier Nady to a one-year/$3.3 million deal (plus incentives) on January 28 of this year. But what do we really know about Mr. Nady? I decided to invesitigate.
The first thing I learned is that I have been pronouncing his first name incorrectly. I’ve been referring to him as Zavier, but his name is actually prounounced Ek Savier. It’s not overly important, but it is an indication of just how little we know about the man. As I was to find out, it was just the tip of the iceberg.
There is some controversy over where Nady was born. Baseball Reference and Wikipedia say he was born in Salinas, CA, while MLB insists he was born in Carmel. Interesting and mysterious. But why the mystery? Nady isn’t talking, at least not to me.
He was drafted out of high school by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 4th round (134th overall) of the 1997 MLB draft. Nady did not sign with the Cardinals and as you may have noticed, he has not played for them ever since. There apparently still exists a schism between the Cards and Nady. The Cards can apparently hold a grudge, although so far, they’ve refused to comment.
Rather than signing with the Cardinals, Nady went on to play college baseball at the University of California-Berkeley. The school is sometimes referred to as Cal, California, University of California, UC-Berkeley, or simply Berkeley. Why so many aliases? It appears that Nady and his alma mater share a knack for the mysterious.
Despite the intrigue surrounding Nady, the Padres selected him in the second round (49th overall) of the 2000 draft. Oddly, he skipped the minor leagues and went directly to the big leagues with San Diego, just the 18th player since 1965 to do this. In his first at-bat, Nady got a hit and was summarily banished to the minors.
I’m not pointing any fingers, but doesn’t it seem odd that the Padres would have Nady by-pass the minors only to send him down after he did exactly what he was brought in to do? What happened? Why did the Padres suddenly change their minds and condemn Nady to a life of bus rides and per diem meals? Despite my extensive research, I could not find an answer.
Through it all, Nady perservered. To his credit, he went on to win the California League’s 2001 Rookie of the Year award, as well as being named league MVP. The Padres could not ignore Nady’s success, and despite any lingering differences,they gave him their 2001 Minor League Player of the Year award.
A call up to San Diego in 2002 just wasn’t in the cards for Nady. Although it’s still unclear who made the call, Nady started the year in the minors. But Nady had a trick up his sleeve. Actually, right around the elbow. In retaliation for the snub, Nady decided to have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. His ploy worked. Although he still spent much of 2003 in the minors, he did get called up to San Diego where he was allowed 404 plate appearances.
2004 was another up and down year for our International Man of Mystery. He was only given 84 plate appearances at the big league level, but his day in the sun was just around the corner.
The 2005 season found Nady back in the big leagues on a more or less full-time basis. He played in 124 games with San Diego and became the first Padre since Greg Vaughn in 1998 to hit homeruns in four consecutive games. It appeared that Nady’s star was on the rise in San Diego. But in the off season, the Padres traded Nady to the New York Mets in exchange for Mike Cameron. No satisfactory explanation was given.
In 2006, Nady put the Padres and the West Coast (and everything west of the Rocky Mountains…in fact, everything west of the Mississippi River…the entire western half of the United States) in his rearview mirror. He committed himself fully to the New York Mets. His commitment was rewarded when he was named the Mets opening day starter in right field. Things were looking up for the kid from Salinas (or Carmel). But fate was about to intervene once again.
After less than two months in a Mets uniform, Nady went down with what the team called “a case of appendicitis.” As unlikely as that might sound, and despite rumors to the contrary, the Mets front office never waivered from their story. Nady returned to the lineup (supposedly sans one appendix) in June, but in late July, his teammate, Mets relief pitcher Duaner Sanchez, was involved in a still unexplained accident while riding in a cab (Why was he in a cab? Didn’t he own his own vehicle? Was the “accident” actually intended for Nady? Questions remain).
Initially, the accident didn’t seem to impact Nady, but the Mets dragged him into the fray when they traded him to Pittsburgh under the guise of needing “more pitching depth” to replace Sanchez and Pedro Martinez, who had been injured earlier in the season. Whatever the real reason, Nady was no longer a Met.
Nady immediately began hitting in Pittsburgh. During his time with the Pirates in 2006, Nady hit .300/.352/.409. There was talk of him being the all-time greatest Pirate. Some even began mentioning Nady’s eventual enshrinement in Cooperstown. The talk was a bit premature, but it does gives a good indication of just how beloved the mysterious and complicated Nady was in his new adopted home town.
Because of Nady’s performance, there was talk of a long overdue trip to the World Series in 2007 for the Pirates. Nady had a good year, posting a .278/.330/.476 hitting line with 20 homeruns and 72 RBI. Unfortunately for Nady and his throng of fans, the Pirates didn’t have nearly enough good players and they failed to make the World Series…or the playoffs…or even have a winning record.
The 2008 season dawned bright for Nady. In the first half of the season, Nady hit .330/.383/.535 with 13 homeruns and 57 RBI. He was being compared to greats like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio. Was it any wonder then that MLB quietly forced the Pirates to trade Nady to the New York Yankees? Some have claimed that the trade was just a “baseball move.” “After all,” it was claimed, “the Pirates always trade away their best players.” However, my research could not turn up even one instance where an MLB official has denied the accusation. Interesting…
Nady refused to give in. He landed at Yankee Stadium and continued to hit. He impressed the steely-hearted Yankees and was rewarded with the starting right field job in 2009. However, after playing just seven games, Nady suddenly disappeared. He was placed on the 60-day DL and the Yankees claimed he had Tommy John surgery. However, as you’ll recall, that excuse was used once before while Nady was in the minor leagues in San Diego. It was a nice try by the Yankees, but as everyone knows, position players don’t need two Tommy John surgeries.
The actual reason for Nady’s disappearance from the line up remains a mystery. My own theory is that the Yankees simply used Nady to sell tickets prior to the opening of the new Yankeees Studium and then replaced him when his popularity usurped the team’s popularity. Like many of my theories, this one can’t be supported by the facts, but it appears to be the most likely scenario nonetheless.
At the end of the season, Nady and the Yankees quietly parted company. According to published reports, the Yankees paid Nady in excess of $6 million even though he only played a handful of games. Hush money? We may never know.
The Yankees won the World Series in 2009, but little was said about Nady. Coaches and players were interviewed following the Yankees big win against the Phillies, but no one was talking about Xavier Nady. To put it mildly, I find that curious.
He had been the opening day right fielder for the Yankees in 2009, but in 2010, few teams even paid attention to him. Was this simply collusion on the part of MLB GMs and owners, or did the conspiracy run deeper? It’s hard to tell at this point. What is clear is that Jim Hendry didn’t get the memo. The often mocked GM of the Cubs made Nady an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Although it’s a bit complicated, the offer went something like this: The Cubs agreed to pay Nady a good sum of money if he would come to Chicago to play baseball with the Cubs. Nady was stuck. He couldn’t turn down an offer like that. Who could? Plus, he didn’t have any other offers, so he agreed to play for the Cubs in exchange for money.
It’s unclear if the Cubs ever found out where Nady was actually born or if they searched for an appendectomy scar during their cursory physical. It is however clear that the Cubs have gone along with the “two Tommy John surgery” theory (they had to after defying MLB’s ban on signing Nady). The supposed “surgeries” have been mentioned several times by the Cubs and their willing accomplices in the media have gone along with the ruse.
Questions remain about exactly what role Nady will have with the Cubs. He was good enough to start for the World Series champs last year, but it appears he won’t be able to crack the Cubs everyday lineup in 2010. That’s how good the Cubs are expected to be this coming season. Can a long-awaited World Series Championship be far behind? Stranger things have happened. Just ask the mysterious Xavier Nady.
