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MANNY ARRIVES AS THE
June 29, 2001 ... Nothing could create any more excitement in New England than the comebacks witnessed this weekend in Fenway Park, where Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra hit a home run and delivered a game-winning, two-run single in his first game back in 10 months, less than 48 hours after pitcher Bret Saberhagen made a triumphant return after being away almost two years. David Cone continued his own improbable saga in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, the 11th straight time the Sox have won when he's started. Four months into the 2001 baseball season, summer finally began for Nomar, who had missed the team's first 103 games after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right wrist on Opening Day, April 2nd. Nomar lined a 405-foot home run onto the black tarp that covers the seats in center field to tie the score, 2-2, in the sixth inning, then came up with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh and lined a single up the middle for two runs. Nomar, who was a solitary figure on the field at around 10:30 this morning as he went through his stretching exercises and admitted to being more nervous than usual before the game, was summoned from the dugout for a curtain call after his home run by the sellout crowd of 33,375. He came halfway up the dugout steps, waved twice to the crowd, then clapped his hands. When he trotted out to his position for the first time, he pointed at the fans sitting along the left-field railing, acknowledging their applause. Fans cheered when first baseman Brian Daubach threw him a warm-up grounder, and when Fenway public address announcer Ed Brickley announced his name for his first at-bat with two out in the first inning, the crowd responded with a 35-second standing ovation. Trot Nixon shook his head when asked if he was surprised by Nomar's performance. Nomar admitted to contemplating his return as he drove to the park from his Charlestown home. Nomar's day got off to a shaky start when speedy Ray Durham, the first batter of the game, shattered his bat and topped a bouncer to the right of Nomar, who bobbled the ball and recovered too late to throw out Durham. Official scorer Bruce Guindon scored it an error, which a bemused Nomar took note of afterward. Nomar, who ended last season with a 20-game hitting streak, seemingly picked up where he left off. On his first at-bat, Nomar took a ball from Sean Lowe, then grounded to third baseman Jeff Liefer. There were two runners on and two out in the third when he batted again and struck out on a full count, swinging and missing on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. He didn't miss when he drove a 2-and-1 fastball from Lowe over the center-field fence in the sixth. Reliever Alan Embree hit Daubach with an 0-and-2 pitch to start the seventh, and Liefer threw away Shea Hillenbrand's ground ball, putting runners on second and third with none out. Hatteberg walked to load the bases, but after righthanded reliever Gary Glover entered, Chris Stynes fouled out and Nixon went down swinging. But instead of the end of a rally, Nomar put the Sox ahead. Nomar had spent four days in Indianapolis last week on a rehabilitation assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Triple A farm team. He had seven hits in 16 at-bats there, including a home run and two doubles, as he strived to regain his timing at the plate. |
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