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Jared Carrabis
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SAUGUS MA
Age: 24
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Farewell, Nomar
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Jared Carrabis wrote this 3 years ago | Permalink |
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On July 31, 2004, Theo Epstein changed the hands of destiny by trading the face of the Red Sox franchise away to the Chicago Cubs.
On Wednesday, March 10, 2010, much like Michael Myers, he came home. In what was one of the most pleasant surprises in recent memory, the Red Sox signed legendary shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra to a one-day contract, which enabled him to put an end to what was once a very, very promising career in a Red Sox uniform.
It was a day in which Nomar dreamed about ever since his departure in that summer of 2004. “My dream was to retire with the Red Sox,” said Garciaparra. It was a dream for him, and a dream come true for Nomar fans in New England who were left heartbroken when the shortstop was unexpectedly sent packing. At his press conference, Garciaparra put his retirement in perspective by claiming that his tank was “empty.” He could no longer work out to the extent that he liked to during the offseason and it was then that he knew it was time.
When the Oakland Athletics visited Boston last summer, Garciaparra foreshadowed this day by telling his longtime friend, Lou Merloni, “The minute I put that uniform on, I dreamed I was gonna start my career in Boston and end my career in Boston. I still have that dream. The only difference from the original dream is that I wasn't supposed to put another uniform on. But that dream is still there.”
His dream was fulfilled to the pleasure of many, and to the disgruntled displeasure of some hacks within the Boston media. The day that Nomar retired with the Red Sox was supposed to be a celebration of his career and all of the amazing seasons that he gave to the city of Boston. For many years, Nomar was the star attraction alongside Pedro Martinez.
Unfortunately, in true CHB fashion, the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy decided to take Nomar’s day to thank the city of Boston and all of Red Sox Nation for their continued support of him and turn it into a negative. Surprise, surprise.
Shaughnessy writes, “Do not be fooled. Life is long and people change. There is certainly every possibility that Nomar has matured and will henceforth pledge allegiance to Boston and spread the Gospel of the Red Sox. But it’s downright fraudulent to deny or ignore how bad this relationship was at the end. Nomar hated Boston and the Red Sox in 2004, and the Sox knew they had to get rid of him if they had a chance to win a World Series. It was nasty and personal and it was obvious to everyone who was around the team in that iconic season.”
Dan, I hate to break it to you, but it’s a double-edge sword when it comes to the bad relationship between Nomar and the Red Sox front office. While the Red Sox were trying to lure Alex Rodriguez to Boston, at the same time, they were telling Nomar how much they wanted him to stay in Boston. After not one, but two failed attempted to reel in A-Rod, they were essentially “stuck” with Nomar, thus resulting in a very displeased shortstop and rightfully so.
Shaughnessy’s column focused way too much on how Nomar was a fraud for sitting in front of the Boston media next to Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein. The word “fraud” just may be a stretch of the truth, as Nomar never said that he “liked” the two. All he did was thank them for giving him the opportunity to retire as a member of the Red Sox.
In Boston, we used to have a little saying, “Manny being Manny,” but since he’s gone Hollywood on us, we’ll always have, “Shank being Shank.”
The next piece that was really surprising to me was submitted by Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. I happen to be a longtime reader of McAdam since his ProJo days, but the angle that he chose to take on the Nomar saga was very Felger-like. In his column titled, “Sox boot one with Nomar,” McAdam takes exception to the, “cheesy publicity stunt that did neither the team nor the player proud.”
In all fairness, McAdam also writes, “Nine of Garciaparra's 14 seasons were spent in a Red Sox uniform. Years from now, Was there some chance that, without Wednesday's stunt, he might be more closely associated with the Cubs or Dodgers? Of course not.” It’s a fair point, but still, it’s not the point.
The point is that Nomar never wanted to leave the Red Sox. For the fans that attack him for saying that he “quit” on the team and that he’s on the same level as Manny Ramirez, shame on you. Manny quit on the team; Nomar’s grudge was against ownership and he never “quit.” There’s a difference between “quitting” on the team and being physically unable to play, which Nomar was in 2004.
Before being traded to Chicago, Nomar was hitting .321 for the Red Sox in 2004. After being dealt to the Cubs, Nomar played in 43 games, while hitting .297 and then only made it out on the field for 62 games in 2005, while hitting .283. Manny, on the other hand, was hitting .299 with 20 HR in 100 games with the Red Sox in 2008 before being dealt to the Dodgers. After the trade, Manny hit .396 in 53 games with 17 HR and 53 RBI. You do the math on who quit and who was legitimately unable to play.
Manny only cared about the name on the back of his jersey, and Nomar’s willingness to bury the hatchet with Larry Lucchino and Theo Epstein in order to retire with the Red Sox organization is full proof that he always cared about the name on the front.
As Shaughnessy so eloquently put, “Nomar hated Boston and the Red Sox in 2004,” Nomar himself described the experience of his being traded by saying, “I just felt empty. Just like, no way.” He described leaving manager Terry Francona’s office and facing his teammates for the last time, “I go to my locker and I see D-Lowe there, and I go, ‘Don't worry, it’s not you, it’s me. See ya, bro.’ And word starts spreading around and I’m just trying not to cry.” Really sounds like he wanted out of there, ay, Shank?
So, I suppose the moral of this story is to leave the guy alone. He didn’t come crawling back to the Red Sox and fake any kind of rekindled relationship with Lucchino or Epstein. He came back to the Red Sox organization because it’s where he belongs. Like Teddy Ballgame, Yaz and Rice, Nomar was never supposed to wear another uniform. Now, he’ll rest easy in retirement, knowing that he’ll forever be a part of the Red Sox family. Did we need an official contract to make that statement accurate? Absolutely not, but the Boston media needs to loosen up and realize that there’s a little thing called, “the icing on the cake.”
Nomar hangs up his spikes with a career batting line of 313/.361/.521 in 5,596 major league at bats to go along with 229 home runs and 936 RBI. He will leave the game with the highest batting average for any shortstop in Red Sox history (.323), the best slugging percentage by a Red Sox shortstop (.553), and the most home runs (178), RBI (690), runs scored (709), hits (1,281), doubles (279), and total bases (2,194) by any shortstop in Red Sox history. A five-time All Star with Boston, a two-time batting champion (1999: .357, 2000: .372) and the 1997 Rookie of the Year, Garciaparra will not only be remembered as the greatest Red Sox shortstop of all time, but one of the greatest Red Sox players of all time.
For a more detailed take on Nomar's entire playing career, his exit from Boston and the drama-filled relationship with Red Sox management, check out my blog from this past July by clicking HERE.
Quotes from Seth Mnookin's Feeding the Monster were used in this piece.
-Jared Carrabis
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