Nomar Garciaparra will announce his retirement this morning in Fort Myers.Before that, however, he will sign a one-day minor-league contract with the Red Sox, so he can retire with the team that first signed him, back in 1994.
(SG has the Nomar Returns video.)
CSNNE.com and NECN.com will provide live on-line coverage, beginning at 10:30.
11 comments:
Great clip -- plus you get to hear Tom Caron's moronic commentary that there was some concern that Nomar might not be cheered at Fenway.
That was one of those times -- Pedro's return as a Met was another -- when you realize that the media often lives in its own bubble, inventing and sustaining its own narratives, wholly divorced from the opinions of actual Red Sox fans.
One of my favourite final memories of him in a Red Sox uniform was his first home run of 2004, after starting the season on the DL. The Twins intentionally walked Manny with two men on to "get to" Nomar, who hit the first pitch he saw toward the camera tower in centre for a grand slam. I was standing waiting for my order in Mike's in Somerville back when they used to have a giant screen and the place erupted. Hard to believe that he would be gone about 5 weeks later.
Nomar, we wish you well times a million.
Allan, I know you've posted the story of getting his autograph in Tiger Stadium. Maybe you can link to it in the post or in comments?
Our 1999 rust-belt baseball road trip, a bittersweet memory.
Wow, I am touched that he wants to return and retire as a member of the Red Sox. After he was traded away so abruptly back in 2004, I would have thought he would have little fondness for the Red Sox organization. Although that was ultimately the right decision, I remember being quite shocked and stung by it at the time. I always had a soft spot for Nomar, though his shtick at the plate did make me nuts!
... story of getting his autograph in Tiger Stadium
It was in my 21 Ball Parks post:
"After watching Nomar before Game #1 and assuming he would go through the exact same pre-game routine, I was able to get autographs from him the next two nights. His signature on my battered Sox cap, however, was washed away with sweat within weeks."
He was doing some stretches near 1B in foul territory and maybe swinging a bat a few times. Then he walked straight over to the stands and signed for awhile. So the next night, I figured when he was stretching, I'd walk over. Good old OCD! SI had published a special issue re Tiger Stadium. He signed that, too -- maybe the third night.
Nomar, the last rock at short for the Sox. My favorite memory was following the series-ending loss to Cleveland in 1998. While Mo Vaughn was disappearing into the clubhouse with most of the team, Nomar came out, turned to the crowd, and applauded the fans. A class act.
I'm still tickled about the timing of JoS1 and seeing Nomar play at Fenway and give a big hug to Jim Rice. So happy I was able to actually be in attendance to see Nomar play.
Ha, my 1999 Tiger Stadium-included trip and yours both coming up, as I have just started posting video of mine. The next clip is gonna show me in Windsor, Ontario in my Nomar shirt.
Did I ever tell you I was at that Pedro-tied-to-pole game? It was late in the game and my friend and I went down to seats right behind the dugout. There was commotion and laughter in the stands. We had no idea what was going on but heard someone mutter the words "tied to a pole" which made no sense to us. As we drove out of the parking lot after the game, I called my parents from my friend's newfangled "cellular phone," and they told us what happened. So I was one of the closest people to that picture but I had no idea what was going on at the time! I want to find either a wide shot of that or maybe the TV coverage to see if I can see myself clueless just above Pedro (though I could have been way to the right or left).
Also, in the game right now, from Pete Abe:
"Adrian Belte shattered hit bat and a piece hit David Price on his right hand. He left the game with a towel wrapped around his hand. Price walked off under his own power."
Sheer will!
Great news about Nomar coming back.
Also -- Lester had a good outing.
Also -- Joba Chamberlain got rocked for six runs in 2.2IP.
Two dongs for #2 in an 8-6 loss. All of TB's earned runs came off one guy, Adam Mills, in one inning. So besides him, the pitching and hitting were good today.
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