Former Red Sox superstar Nomar Garciaparra signed a one day, minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox this morning and immediately announced his retirement from baseball. He will make the transition from player to press, and accept a position with ESPN's Baseball Tonight. For the greater part of 1997 through 2003, Nomar was the face of the Red Sox franchise. He bursted onto the scene as a rookie and soon found himself being discussed in the same sentence as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Miguel Tejada. Over his tenure with the Sox, Nomar batted .323, with 178 homers and 690 RBIs, including back to back AL batting titles in 1999 and 2000.
To the chagrin of many Sox fans, Nomar was traded away in 2004. At the time, many fans were distraught and couldn't believe that the Red Sox would trade the face of the franchise, but little did they know it would spur their first World Series Title in 86 years.
How will we remember Nomar? No one can forget Nomar's infamous toe-tapping, glove fixing habits prior to seeing a pitch, or his uncanny likeliness to swing at the first pitch. How about Nomar's magical evening on May 10, 1999 when he blasted 3 HRs and had 10 RBIs in a single game against the Seattle Mariners? I think Jay Buhner was eating a handful of steroids in right field.
Nomar was face of the franchise. Fortunately for the organization, Theo Epstien had the foresight to deal the aging shortstop before locking him up long term with an expensive contract. Nomar will retire with class and always be remembered as an integral member of the Boston Red Sox.
What are your favorite Nomar memories?
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