Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparrais a former American Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base and first base for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Oakland Athletics. He is one of 13 players in Major League history to hit two grand slams during a single game, and the only player to achieve the feat at his home stadium...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth23 July 1973
CityWhittier, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Back then, my idol was Bugs Bunny, because I saw a cartoon of him playing ball - you know, the one where he plays every position himself with nobody else on the field but him? Now that I think of it, Bugs is still my idol. You have to love a ballplayer like that.
After you have the injuries and that stuff, it's just good to get out there playing. I'm just trying to see the ball and drive it. I'm getting good concentration and have been able to drive the ball.
If you were in a skid, Pedro would come in and stop the bleeding at times. He can give you a boost when he goes out there because you know he wants the ball every time. Every fifth day he's asking for that ball, and he's such a competitor, and you play so well behind him because he just breeds that when he steps on the mound.
It'll be some adjustment all year long. I've been working on that all spring, and I'll continue to work on that. I've been working hard to get ready for that.
I think it's funny. You have one fan yelling and you have all the other fans telling him to shut up. I think it was just one, so one didn't spoil the whole bunch.
I don't know if there's more pressure this time of the season. We put pressure on ourselves to perform.
The reward is just being able to play again, ... I want to be back to play with these guys.
It was something new every time I turned around that season. Ultimately, you don't have the energy to keep defending yourself, but at this point I don't want to rehash it. I've moved on and they've moved on.
It's a learning process. At some point, I won't be thinking five million things in my head. Maybe that will come at the end of the year. Comfort comes when you do things instinctively, you don't have to think.
If I had something to prove, I wouldn't have had so many teams talking to me. I had opportunities to take more than one year. I could have played short for a couple teams.
I think the last time I was 100 percent might have been when I was 5, but I'm feeling pretty good. I did a lot of things to keep my legs in shape and maintain that, so going out there is not going to be much of a shock.
I've got a stack of them. I'm trying to get a feel for what I like and don't like.
It's great, I'm excited to play for Grady again. He's unbelievable. He's a great manager. He's got great wisdom, he knows the game so well, he's so great to play for and he wins. That's what's awesome.
No, I can't remember the last time I played outfield -- not even in high school.