Pittsburgh Pirates: Building a Team of One-Season Wonders
By Noah Wright
Right Field – 2008 Xavier Nady
We have another one-season standout from 2008, and that’s Xavier Nady. Up through 2008, Nady had done decent but nothing over-the-top impressive. He was a .272/.327/.441 batter with a .333 wOBA, and 102 wRC+. Again, nothing terrible, but also nothing noteworthy. But the start of the 2008 season was outstanding for Nady.
In 360 plate appearances, Nady batted .330/.383/.535. He smacked 13 home runs with a .205 isolated slugging percentage. While he was never a light hitter, a .205 ISO was a 36-point increase from his 2000-2007 rate. Nady ended up having a 142 wRC+ before the Pirates traded him to the New York Yankees for Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata, and Daniel McCutchen.
But Nady pretty much reverted back to his 2000-2007 self after the trade, only batting .268/.320/.474 with a 108 wRC+. In early 2009, Nady underwent elbow surgery in April, only playing seven games. He was never the same after that, as from 2010 through 2014, he hit .234/.287/.353 with a .283 wOBA and 71 wRC+.