Let’s think back to 2004… a crazy year of Red Sox History. The summer stands out for me in particular. I remember being very excited to go on my first tour of Fenway Park, hoping to get a chance to stand by the big green monster (which they don’t do anymore!!). The day we ended up visiting Fenway was August 1, 2004, the day after the trade deadline.
I remember hearing rumors about the Nomar trade throughout the season. It was inevitable because he really wasn’t putting up the number he used to. However, he was still Nomar, and a clear fan favorite. As any of you Red Sox fans know, we will be ruthless to some of our players, but the ones we love, we stand by. As the tail end of the July 31st trade deadline comes around, I’m not sure if anyone knew how to react to Theo’s trade of our beloved NOMAHH. I remember reading articles that week in the newspaper of how to deal with your children and their loss of Nomar. Something just didn’t feel right… like you just got dumped by a girlfriend or boyfriend. It was a relationship you were used to, and probably took advantage of… and suddenly it was gone.
Spending time at the park for our tour was strange. There were posters, billboards, and plenty of T-Shirts of him everywhere as a franchise player. The strangest part of the day was the quiet. There was a general eerie feeling occurring within the park that no one knew how to react to, including the Fenway Park staff. I’m not sure if anyone knew how to react to this trade until October baseball when Theo proved to be a genius.
Nomar was never “Nomar” as part of the other teams he played with. Apart from the injuries, there was something not right about having him in anything but a Red Sox uniform. I am happy that he was able to retire with the Red Sox. From a business perspective, it was genius to get rid of him in the 2004 season, but I have always found respect for him as a player and a person. I tuned in during the 2009 season to watch as Nomar made his way back to Boston with the A’s, and got great satisfaction from the appreciation he received from the Fenway Faithful.
Who knows what this ESPN career will do for Nomar, or if that press conference last week was indeed a publicity stunt. Either way, I will always support Nomar as a Red Sox player, and appreciate the good times we had together. But even so, I will never forgot that strange Sunday on August 1st when things just didn’t seem quite right without Nomar.