Nomar Garciaparra

Garciaparra is the cousin of Arturo Javier Ledesma, a Mexican soccer player who currently plays for Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

Garciaparra uses the song "Low Rider" by War as his entrance music when he comes up to bat.

Nomar gets his last name Garciaparra from his fathes last name (Garcia) and his mom's last name (Parra) mixed together.

Nomar Garciaparra and his wife Mia Hamm had two twin girls on March 28,2007 and thier names are Grace Isabella and Ava Caroline.

Nomar was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991 in the fifth round, however, he instead went the play for Georgia Tech's Yellow Jackets.

Nomar was known as "Glass" in high school due to his brittle appearance and slender physique.

Nomar was just the sixth player ever to be unanimously voted American League Rookie of the Year.

Nomar's brother, Michael Garciaparra, is also a ballplayer. As of the 2006 season, he is an infielder with the Tacoma Rainiers (the AAA team for the Seattle Mariners organization).

Nomar graduated from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California in June, 1991.

Nomar holds the unofficial record for most home runs and highest batting average on a player's birthday. Alex Rodriguez has the second most home runs on his birthday.

Nomar made his Major League Baseball debut on August 31, 1996 for the Boston Red Sox.

Nomar is a six-time MLB All-Star (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2006).

For the Cubs, Nomar wore the number 5, although for his first game as a Cub he wore the number 8 because catcher Michael Barrett already wore the number 5 on his jersey. He and Barrett then swapped numbers.

Nomar is known for his idiosyncratic "tics" when batting-- which includes an elaborate routine of glove adjustments and alternating toe taps on the ground prior to an ensuing pitch.

When making defensive plays, Nomar throws from a sidearm motion. This motion is often coupled with a seemingly off-balance running stride, which looks inefficient and even injury-prone, but which produces a throw with surprising accuracy and high velocity.

When Nomar joined the Dodgers in 2006, he joined other former Boston Red Sox players Bill Mueller, Derek Lowe, and manager Grady Little.

On October 8, 2005, Garciaparra and his uncle Victor Garciaparra were alerted to the screams of two women who had fallen into Boston Harbor outside his condominium. One of the women sustained injuries to her head after hitting the pier on her way in. Nomar Garciaparra quickly jumped into the harbor and saved both women, who were taken to the hospital.

Garciaparra was traded from the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs in a four-team deal, in which the Red Sox acquired Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz.

Nomar replaced John Valentin at shortstop for the Boston Red Sox in 1996, even after Valentin finished ninth in MVP voting in 1995. He batted .241 with 4 home runs, 16 RBI, and 5 stolen bases in his initial stint with the club in 1996.

In February of 2001, Garciaparra appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with the headline "A Cut Above... baseball's toughest out". The week after the issue hit newsstands, Garciaparra reported to spring training with a serious wrist injury, which essentially aborted his season.

Nomar was a first round pick (12th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in June, 1994 following his college career at Georgia Tech.

On November 22, 2003 Nomar married Olympian soccer star Mia Hamm.

Nomar was part of the so-called "Holy Trinity" of shortstops that debuted in the mid '90s, which also included Alex Rodriguez (now a third baseman) and Derek Jeter, who were considered the best shortstops in baseball.

Nomar played shortstop for the Boston Red Sox from 1996-2004.

When he was traded to Los Angeles from Chicago he switched positions from Short Stop to First Base.

On the last Spring training game of 2006 Nomar got injured so he missed the first couple games of the season.

Was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was named Nomar because his father's name is Ramon which is his named spelled backwards.

Nomar Garciaparra got traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs just before 4 p.m. on July 31, 2004.