Nomar Garciaparra, the baseball superstar most popular for his time as a shortstop for the Boston Red Sox has decided to call it a career.The six-time all-star called a press conference earlier today at City of Palms Park in Fort Meyers, Florida. He made the announcement after signing a one-day minor league contract with the Red Sox citing that he wanted to retire with the organization that gave him the most memorable moments of his career.
After winning American League Rookie of the Year in 1997 with Boston, Garciaparra went on to enjoy six and a half more years of wreaking havoc on American League East pitching with the Sox. He won two batting titles while finishing second in the 1998 AL MVP voting during that span.
His time with Boston came to an unexpected end, however, as the once golden child of Beantown was traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 31st, 2004 after publicly expressing his dismay with the direction that the organization was headed.
The Red Sox would go on to win their first World Series in 86 years that fall without their once precious Nomar.
After an injury plagued year and a half with the Cubs, Garciaparra signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent prior to the 2006 season. The year would prove to be his last dominant season in the majors, as he would hit .303 with 20 home runs and 93 runs batted in while primarily playing the third base for the team.
2007 would see Garciaparra's numbers drop dramatically. By 2008, the injury bug would reduce the once intimidating Nomar Garciaparra to just a shell of himself.
So after a year of coming off the bench for the Oakland Athletics in 2009, Garciaparra has decided to close up shop.
His career stat line reads .313, 229 home runs, 936 batted in, with a .361 on-base percentage.
He has revealed that he intends to start a broadcasting career with ESPN.
