By Gabe Souza
Photos by Gabe Souza
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Number five has come back home.
Nomar Garciaparra, considered by many as one of the greatest Red Sox shortstops ever, signed a one-day minor league contract with Boston today and then immediately announced his retirement, cementing his legacy in Beantown.
At a press conference at City of Palms Park, Garciaparra addressed the media along with Red Sox president Larry Lucchino and general manager Theo Epstein.
"I think it was the last time I was in Boston," said Garciaparra on why he wanted to retuire as a Red Sox. "When the Oakland A's came in to town I was talking about always having a recurring dream to be able to retire in a Red Sox uniform. I want to thank John Henry, Mr. Werner, Mr. Lucchino and Theo [Epstein] and the Red Sox organization because today I get to retire and fulfill that dream."
The 1997 American League Rookie of the Year also announced he will become an analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight.
Garciaparra announced his retirement with his father, wife and children in attendance and became emotional at times, especially when speaking of his former times in Boston.
"I was all choked up then and I'm all choke up now," said the five-time All-Star. "I always felt at home here and that's how I feel today. Like I'm coming home."
The crowd felt the same way. When Garciaparra took the field to throw out the first pitch of the Red Sox v. Rays game he received a boisterous standing ovation.
Garciaparra said that while it was comforting signing with his former team, it was a bit strange at the same time.
"There were a lot of nerves, I got some chills," said Garciaparra. "It was like a homecoming and it was a great feeling. Then I had to sign the next paper where I was retiring, which is weird but it was definitely special and there was a lot of emotion."
Lucchino and Epstein both expressed their happiness with the move.
"Nomar you put it well when you talked about coming home," said Lucchino. "For us that's the way we see it too. We welcome you home."
After Garciaparra was traded in the middle of the 2004 season, he spent time with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics but battled through multiple injuries for the better part of the past five seasons.
His best year came in Boston in 1998 when he finished second in voting for the AL MVP award batting .323 with 35 home runs and 122 runs batted in.
Nomar finished his Boston career with a batting average of .323, 178 home runs, 690 runs batted in, a .370 on-base percentage and was a two-time AL batting champion.
Former teammate Lou Merloni was on hand to give his thoughts on Garciaparra's return to Boston.
"[Nomar] is my friend before he's my teammate," said Merloni, a commentator with Comcast SportsNet. "He's a buddy of mine and we came up through the minor leagues together and what he accomplished, I think, those first four, five, six years, they're mind-boggling, man. It was fun to watch one of the best play the game for that period of time on an every day basis."
Merloni said that although it's always hard to step away from the game you love, Garciaparra felt comfortable with leaving.
"Physically it got to the point where he had some signs this offseason that things weren't going to get better and so that made the decision easier for him," said Merloni. "It's nice for him to come full circle and I know he's really excited about retiring with the Red Sox."
When asked how he wanted to be remembered in Boston, Garciaparra said, "Just as somebody that went out there and played the game the right way and played as hard as he could and gave everything he had."
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