Nomar Retiring As A Red Sox

Nomar Garciaparra will sign a one-day minor league contract with the Red Sox today in Fort Myers and then announce his retirement. He will take a job at ESPN. Nomar joined the Sox in 1996 and remained with the team until he was traded to the Cubs in 2004. He hit .323 for the Red Sox for his career with 178 home runs, 690 RBI and a .370 on-base percentage. Garciaparra was a five-time All-Star in Boston, the Rookie of the Year in 1997 and finished second in the MVP voting of 1998 when he hit .323 and drove in 122 runs while hitting 35 homers.

I love this move. Great job by both parties on this one. When Nomar left town just before the Sox won the World Series some were tired of him. He was often injured and perceived as begin whiny. But if you rewind his career to the late 1990's and early 2000's you will not find a player that was more loved than Nomar. Red Sox fans would have fought to the death if it meant they could convince someone that Nomar was better than Jeter. He was a tiny kid that could hit and field with the best of them. Nomar became a superstar when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He flexed his steroid muscles and Sox fans could only think that he would propel them to the promise land.

The hype surrounding his every move was well documented. From tapping his toes in the batter's box to stretching by first base during the National Anthem. We suddenly knew the ins and outs of wrist surgery when he was sidelined with the injury. Red Sox Nation embraced Nomar as well as Pedro and Manny. Those three players provided Sox fans with much enjoyment every summer for several years. I am sad that Nomar's career never really blossomed into Hall of Fame numbers but he will always be remembered as a fan favorite in Boston.

Thanks beautiful.