NEW ENGLAND TOP 100
A great short story
By Judy Van Handle, Globe Staff, 12/01/99
s impressive as a short list of his accomplishments may be - Rookie of the
Year, All-Star starter, two grand slams and 10 runs batted in in one
game, an American League batting title - what may be even more striking about
Nomar Garciaparra is that, in just three seasons as the Red Sox' starting
shortstop, he has already been mentioned in the same breath with the greatestplayers in team history.
Not to mention gaining the highest of praise from perhaps the greatest player inteam history.
Said Ted Williams: ''A lot of people were on to him early on. I didn't want to
say how good I thought Garciaparra was gonna be because I didn't want to jinx him, but he is truly a great player.''
Garciaparra, No. 31 on the Globe's list of the Top 100 New England sports
figures of the 20th century, not only excels in all facets of the game but also
brings a colorful, eccentric persona to his work.
His spectacular defense would be enough to satisfy most teams, butGarciaparra
also is one of baseball's most dangerous hitters and is a base-stealing threat. Hisfiery competitiveness and unusual rituals on the field and in the dugoutroundout his fascinating personality.
Garciaparra was the Red Sox' first-round pick, No. 12 overall, in the June
1994 draft. He had just completed his junior year at Georgia Tech (he played inthe 1992 Olympics in Barcelona as a 19-year-old after his freshman season)
when he signed with Boston.
After just one full year in the minor leagues, Garciaparra was called up at thetail
end of the 1996 season. His .241 average in 24 games seemed to bear out the
opinion of many scouts who thought Garciaparra would star defensively but not
produce much offensively.
But those opinions were refuted in 1997, when Garciaparra blossomed as the
Sox' best all-around hitter. He led the American League with 209 hits and 11
triples, hitting .306 with 30 home runs. He was a unanimous selection as Rookieof the Year.
Garciaparra was even better in 1998 as he helped lead the Red Sox to the first
of two consecutive wild-card playoff berths. Garciaparra hit .323 with 35 home
runs and 122 RBIs, and was runner-up for Most Valuable Player, but that
proved merely a warmup to last season, when he won the AL batting title with a.357 average while slamming 27 homers and knocking in 104 runs.
Garciaparra has drawn attention for more than his superlative performances onthe field. His unique first name (actually, it's his middle name) is his father's firstname, Ramon, spelled backward, and his last name is his mother's and father'ssurnames combined.
Even more unusual are his rituals. Whether it's the tugs on his batting gloves
between pitches, touching his back before he steps into the batter's box before
each at-bat, or placing a foot on each step of the dugout stairs, Garciaparra
owns some of the quirkiest habits in the game. Sox fans are hoping that his habitof making the spectacular routine continues.
This story ran on page F02 of the Boston Globe on 12/01/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

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