Nomar Garciaparra Retires In Red Sox Uniform

by Yuliya Talmazan | March 10, 2010 at 10:18 am

123 views | 4 Recommendations | 0 comments

Garciaparra Shows Dedication To Red Sox In Retirement

Baseball star Nomar Garciaparra, 36, is retiring after a spectacular 14-season career. But, his career end comes with a bittersweet twist. Gariaparra signed a one-day contract with Boston to retire with Red Sox, a club where he started his career and spent eight out of the fourteen seasons he played. Although Garciaparra played for Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers in later years, six-time All-Star Garciaparra says Red Sox always meant a lot to him. Garciaparra's career was marred by injuries in recent years. He was barely used by Oakland Athletics where he finished his career last season. But, California native will stay in the game as a baseball analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight.

2010 Free Agents MLB: Complete List of Major League Free Agents

Red Sox management called Garciaparra one of the greatest players to wear a Red Sox uniform. The owners said they were appreciative that Normar is ending his career where it began. Garciaparra made his Major League debut in 1996. His career batting average stands at 0.313 with 229 homers and 936 RBI in 1,434 games played.

"I really just can't put it into words what the organization has always meant to me, my family, the fans," Garciaparra said. "This is where it started, the dream to play baseball in the big leagues started here. Once I got to the big leagues, the way the fans and city embraced me, I always felt that connection."