I’m a sentimental guy so I absolutely loved this story:
The one time face of the organization announced today that he had signed a one-day minor league deal in order to retire as a member of the Red Sox. Garciaparra could not hide his emotions during a press conference held earlier this morning. At times struggling to get the words out, he expressed genuine happiness in being afforded this opportunity to leave the game of baseball in the same uniform he so dramatically entered in.
ESPN talked a bit about how things don’t always work out the way we expect:
But for a moment in time, Garciaparra was the darling among them. In that fourth season (2000), Garciaparra went 3-for-5 in the first game of a mid-July doubleheader in Baltimore — I was there — to lift his batting average to .403.
.403
Garciaparra went 0-for-5 in the second game that evening, stayed in the .390-.400 range for another few weeks, then batted .346 from Aug. 14 through the end of the season to finish at .372. Still …
.372
What we didn’t know was that Garciaparra had a wrist injury. A serious injury. In 2001, he didn’t play until late July, struggled in 21 games and shut things down for the rest of the season. There was a surgery, and it was “successful” … but Garciaparra would never again be that player, never again a threat to win a batting title or an MVP award.
I knew a guy who was convinced that Robin Ventura would be one of the greatest hitters of all time. Same thing.
But the best story as one might expect came from the best sports section in the country (although the rest of the paper rots), the Boston Globe:
“I teared up when I heard it,’’ K.J. Meline, a 61-year-old from Brentwood, N.H., said as she prepared to tour the park with her family. “I always loved him, and this just feels right.’’
For many, the man remembered yesterday was the “No Mah’’ who had electrified fans at shortstop and pushed .400 at the plate — and not the one criticized as a greedy, petulant ballplayer who let a contract dispute interfere with his play.
It is a nice ending to a story that for a brief period of time shone brightly across the New England Landscape.
Nomar always reminded me of Kirby Puckett a great hitter who swung at too many pitchers, but always managed to get hits anyway, at least until he got hurt.
And if you are superstitious consider…
…the last time Nomar left the Sox …we won the series!
Oh and Dan Shaughnessy dissents.
