Garciaparra Signs One-Day Deal, Retires As A Member Of The Red Sox

(TEXT OF GARCIAPARRA'S REMARKS BELOW)

Nomar Garciaparra was a sports icon in Boston, a city known for its sports icons. For a generation of Red Sox fans, he was the face of the team, until the fateful day in 2004 when he was traded for 1B Doug Mientkiewicz and shortstop Orlando Cabrera in the midst of the franchise's first world championship season in several generations.

Who knows how history would have played out had he signed the contract extension he’d been offered by the ball club eralier in the spring? He almost-certainly would not have been traded, and it's very possible The Curse would never have come to an end in St Louis (or even three years later in Colorado). The divorce certainly worked out for the organization, but not so much for the player.

He certainly never earned the money that he left on the table when he turned up his nose at the Red Sox proposal.

Nomar had a historic career with the Red Sox organization. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1997-a year in which he set records and established a league record for the longest hitting streak by a rookie (30 games). He won consecutive AL batting titles in 1999 (.357) and 2000 (.372)-the fourth highest mark in team history.

During his nine seasons in Boston, Nomar was a five-time all-star. He compiled a .323 batting average, with 178 HR and 690 RBI in 966 games. He is fourth in club history in career batting average (.323) among players with at least 1,500 at-bats.

And while many articles today have recited his career stats, such a perspective of his career is superficial and incomplete...those articles miss some of the more important considerations that go along with his time in Boston. He was much more than the free-swinging shortstop who was a Sports Illustrated cover boy. He was well-known across Red Sox Nation for a pre-game ritual at Fenway Park in which he positioned himself at the tarp in right field and signed autographs for seven minutes. Every single day. But he NEVER appeared to enjoy himself while doing so, making it seem that he was simply fulfilling an obligation.

Among the media he was known to be isolated, sullen and temperamental, often sitting alone in a corner and eschewing interaction with his teammates.

And finally, he's also well-remembered for taking himself out of the ballgame at Yankee Stadium on the night Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hurtled himself into the box seats in left field after catching a ball off the bat of RF Trot Nixon. Many believe that was the night he stamped his passport out of Boston.

So while we remember Nomar's career in Boston, let us recall the entire picture of his time in The Hub and not engage in some sort of revisionist history. The truth is he had worn out his welcome in Boston and both he -- and the team -- desperately needed a change.

His performance and production after leaving Boston were not nearly as noteworthy. Over the last couple of years it appeared that his skills had diminished considerably. And so he spent the winter looking for work and facing the reality that his playing days may be over—and he decided on one other thing: he wanted to retire as a member of the Red Sox.

So faced with that decision, his agent contacted the Red Sox and the parties made it happen. Today in Fort Myers, Florida, in a press conference held outside in the spring sunshine, "N-o-m-a-h" retired as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

After the event, GM Theo Epstein said: “I grew up a Red Sox fan and even through I was already in baseball when he became a player, I knew what he meant to Boston and to the fans. When his agent contacted us about doing this, I thought it was great. He should go out as a Red Sox because he was such a great player (for the franchise).”

The text of Nomar’s remarks and the responses he provided to various questions:

Thank you guys for being here. I’ve always had a recurring dream to be able to retire in a Red Sox uniform, and thanks to Mr. Henry, Mr. Werner, Mr. Lucchino and Theo (Epstein) and the Red Sox organization, today I do get to retire, I get to fulfill that dream and retire as a Red Sox.

Earlier today, I did sign a contract, a minor league contract, to get to be a part of the organization once again. I was getting choked up then, I’m choked up now and I’ve got the chills. But to be able to have that dream come true, I really just can’t put it into words because of what this organization has always meant to me, meant to my family. The fans. I always tell people: ‘Red Sox Nation is bigger than any nation out there.’ And to be able to say I came back home, and to be back with Red Sox Nation, is truly a thrill…it’s good to be back.

(On why this was important to him)

Like I said, I always had a dream. This is where I started. This is where the dream to play baseball in the big leagues started, it started here, with the Red Sox. And I think once I got to the big leagues, once I got to play in front of all of these fans, and just the way the city and the fans embraced me, I just always felt that connection. And for me, I always said…that I wanted that to be the last uniform I ever put on. And today I get to do that, and that’s why it’s so important to me.

(On his future in baseball)

Actually, today also after this I’ll be working for ESPN. I’ll be joining ESPN and working for ESPN which is great because I don’t get to totally walk away from the game. I get to continue being a part of the game, so that’s a huge thrill for me as well.

(On why he retired at this time)

Everyone has to come to a point where they have to decide whether it’s time to retire. And for me what really hit was working out this off-season…I just couldn’t work out the way I like to work out. And that really was (the reason for) the ultimate decision. I had a teammate and friend once say…that he knew when (his) tank was empty. And when I heard him say that I thought it was one of the greatest things I’d ever heard. And I thought: ‘Gosh, I wish that some day I could say that.’ And there was a time in this off-season when I was getting ready and I remember coming home and saying to my wife: ‘My tank’s empty.’ It truly is…I really just gave everything I could to this game and as much as I could and that was really the ultimate (deciding factor).

(On the decision to retire as a member of the Red Sox)

When I ultimately came to (the decision to retire) and I was sitting down with my family and sitting down with my agent and talking about this…there was one place where if I could script it away or if there was one thing that I could do I said that I would love to retire wearing (the Red Sox uniform) again. And I know we reached out to the Red Sox, and we reached out to Theo, and they were—as you can see—just so welcoming with that and welcomed me back with open arms. I truly can’t thank them enough. And that’s how this day kind of came to fruition.

On whether the ovation he received last summer factored into retiring with the Red Sox)

All of it. That ovation was incredible, not only just the ovation. And I think when I came back and addressed all of you, it wasn’t just that, what I got all along throughout the entire time, from Red Sox…when we talk about Red Sox Nation, I mean that is the perfect word to describe it because they’re everywhere. And everywhere I go I get so many people coming to me and tell me, ‘Thank you. Thank you for what you’ve done. Thank you for being a part of it. We miss you. We still love you.’

And it’s so genuine and the feeling’s mutual. And I think, hopefully, from my actions throughout my career, in that uniform, and hopefully my actions today, again tell them what it means to me and that the feelings are mutual, and how I feel about them as well.

(On not being on the field when the Sox won the World Series in ‘04)

You know I felt like I was, I really did, because all the phone calls I was getting from the guys that were there, calling me after they won, after the games leading up and they won in the playoffs calling me on the bus, ‘Did you see the game?’ And I was calling them as well telling them, ‘Congratulations. I’m pulling for you, this is great.” So I felt like I was there. I always believe that, I realize something, when I put this uniform on, I’ve been playing all these years with the Boston Red Sox that us as individuals, as players, you always talk about winning the World Series and being a part of the World Series and in Boston, there’s something greater than an individual, me as a player, winning the World Series. When I was there I always realized there’s something bigger than us, as players. It’s winning the World Series for these people. These people that have bled, cried tears and cheered over the years. Winning the World Series in Boston is more than an individual player winning the World Series. It was winning the World Series for these people, for Red Sox Nation.

And as you know in Boston, it didn’t happen overnight. It took a long time. And it was building up, it was building up, we knew we were there. Shoot, the year before we were, the last game, so you knew it was there. And I knew I was a part of that, building a team like that doesn’t happen overnight. There’s a tradition of winning. Tradition of getting the right people there, getting the right people, getting all the pieces of the puzzle right, and I knew I had a factor in that. You just don’t get those guys that came over because we were a losing ball club. We got there because there was a winning tradition that existed. So I definitely feel a part of that. This stuff was instilled in me before. I think the other great thing about me retiring as a Red Sox. I still remember all the greats that put on this uniform, that come around in spring training, that you see, that still talk about what this time means to them when they put on that uniform. And it means the same to me. And it’s that tradition that’s instilled that you keep passing on and it’s still being passed on today. And I think that’s what represents this organization so well.

(On deciding to retire with the Red Sox in consideration of the way he left town)

I don’t know how much time after I…(back) in 2004, you’re focused on your new team, you’re still playing and you gotta go out there and play for your new team. As an athlete and as a competitor, you say I gotta go out there an compete, that’s what you’re focused on. But all along, no matter where I was, I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career to wear some legendary uniforms.

I mean the franchises that I’ve been a part of, obviously the Chicago Cubs, I also understand what those fans and everything are going through as well. I wish them, I hope they win a World Series as well because I know what those fans are all about. LA, that’s the team that I grew up watching, and to be able to put that uniform on. And to put on an Oakland uniform, the thrill for me is that’s where my first big league game was, first big league hit. And to be able to end my career on that same field was special to me.

But throughout all that time, I was constantly seeing Boston fans everywhere and telling me the same thing, and like I said, there’s a place in my heart for those teams that I’ve played for, but the biggest part in my heart is obviously here. And that’s why I felt like for me to really finish and ultimately retire, it wouldn’t have felt like a retirement if I couldn’t put this uniform on one more time.”