The holy trinity of Shortstops from the late 1990s was something to behold. In the early part of 2000s, Miguel Tejada worked his name into the lofty company of shortstops who seemed to hit OPS120+. Then, A-Rod moved to 3B to play for the Yankees when Aaron Boone (he of that magic homer in 2003) busted his knee in a pick-up game and the Rangers dumped salary on the Yankees, and the next thing you knew, Nomar was traded away for Orlando Cabrera and moved off short for 3B that was that.
Now Nomar's retiring.
Epstein, who grew up in the Boston area, knew the risk he was taking by trading away the shortstop who had been the most popular player on the team.
“We’ve been fortunate over the years to maintain a relationship after the trade,” Epstein said. “I think both of us understood at the time that it wasn’t about Nomar and it wasn’t about me. It was just baseball trades that happen. They’re about what’s going on with the team at the time and certain things that had to happen. But, it didn’t change what Nomar meant to the Red Sox.”
Terry Francona, who led the team to a World Series title in his rookie season as Red Sox manager, saw just the last few months of Garciaparra’s time at Fenway Park.
“His last part in Boston was tough,” Francona said. “He was kind of Boston-ed out. It had kind of wore on him for whatever reasons. Sometimes it’s time to move on. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. I think the fact he’s come back kind of shows that.”
Garciaparra’s teammates—the beneficiaries of his acrobatic defense and clutch hitting—found it appropriate that he retired in a Boston uniform.
“He was a Red Sox for a long time and I think he’ll always be remembered as a Red Sox,” said pitcher Tim Wakefield(notes), who was Garciaparra’s teammate for the shortstop’s entire stay in Boston. “For the organization to sign him to a one-day deal and have him retire as a Red Sox is pretty special. I’m really happy for him. I wish he was still playing but sometimes our careers take different paths.”
Garciaparra threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, with former Red Sox and Georgia Tech teammate Jason Varitek(notes) catching.
“Nomar will always hold a special place in Red Sox history and in the hearts of Red Sox Nation,” owner John Henry said. “His accomplishments on the field and in the community place him among the greatest players to wear a Red Sox uniform. We are very appreciative that Nomar is ending his career where it began.”
Garciaparra spent the past five seasons with the Cubs, Dodgers and A’s. He had a .313 career average with 229 home runs and 936 RBIs.
Garciaparra was in the thick of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry but always earned the respect of his opponents in New York.
“I always enjoyed playing against Boston because of Nomar,” Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter(notes) said. “I used to enjoy being mentioned with him.”
Added Rodriguez: “I love Nomar. He’s a great player and a friend.”
At last he got his weish and retired a Red Sox. Let the Hall of Fame discussions begin. Good peak, not enough duration. I can just see it now.
It's a shame, really. I would have preferred an alternative universe where Nomar stayed on with the Red Sox and the Red Sox never won the World Series... but I'm a Yankees fan, what do you expect?
Now that he's gone, it's feeling really quite empty. It's hard to get worked up about Dustin Pedroia versus Robinson Cano. Dice-K versus Kei Igawa was a no contest and there's really not much to the rest of it. Time just keeps flowing, I guess.
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