Nomar Garciaparra: From Media Foe to Friend.
How Garciaparra’s portrayed media hatred was actually just miscommunication.
Nomar Garciaparra. All-Star. MLB Record holder. Beloved retired baseball player.
Whether you played a baseball video game in the 2000s, or have been a lifelong baseball fan, you probably recognize the name Garciaparra.
His career began in one of the most historic cities, with one of the most historic teams, the Boston Red Sox. In the “City of Champions,” is where this MLB champion made his name.
With the Red Sox, Garciaparra was a five-time All-Star, Rookie of the Year, and Silver Slugger award winner. He was also…the bane of the Boston media’s existence.
It’s no secret that Garciaparra had a love/hate relationship with the media, with a little more emphasis on the hate.
He was known for not giving reporters any of his time, often going straight to the showers and ice baths after a game, bypassing media all together.
Though what many people don’t know, is that this lack of communication didn’t stem from spite, he simply, did not have the time to give.
Garciaparra described how every second of a a major league baseball player’s day is accounted for.
With practice, weight training, warm-ups, walkthroughs, games, meetings, recovery procedures, eating and sleeping, players really don’t have five minutes to give.
Unless, you tell them ahead of time.
Garciaparra stated that he had no time to talk with reporters who did not ask him at least a day before, though if they did just that, he would be wherever he needed to be early, so he could spare the five minutes.
The famed “Garciaparra anti-media” reputation could be remedied with something as simple as getting a heads up.
Though, that didn’t always go as planned either.
Garciaparra related a story that took place during his time with the Chicago Cubs.
Unhappy with his relationship with reporters, he wanted to have a fresh start with his new team, and a fresh start with the media.
He gathered the beat reporters together and explained how he would be willing to talk with them if they only expressed their need ahead of time.
Garciaparra said he had felt relieved, looking forward to building and maintaining a working relationship with Chicago’s media.
Where there are words to be twisted, they will be.
The next morning, front page of the newspaper was a headline along the lines of, “Garciaparra sets new rules for interacting with media.”
After reading that, Garciaparra said he gave up with trying to be fair to reporters.
When you think about his disdain for the media during his 13 years as a player, it ironic and slightly comical that Garciaparra is now an agent of the media.
In 2010, after he officially retired from the MLB, Garciaparra took a job with ESPN, as a baseball analyst.
Currently, he is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ television broadcast team.
On this switch from team member to media member, Garciaparra stated how he loves the fact that he gets to be a part of a team again, being that he works on a three-person broadcast group.
He also feels that since he is a former player, it helps him with his new job at analyzing plays, instead of making them.
Garciaparra explained how his experience as a batter helps him break down why a pitcher’s throw went rogue. Garciaparra was not a pitcher during his playing days, but he knows what makes a curveball go ary from the eyes of a batter.
This experience helps him relate the analysis back to his viewers.
Nomar also feels that his new role in the media helps him understand where the reporters were coming from during the strained relationship he had with them during his playing days.
He stated that he knows now that the media weren’t really out to tarnish his image or bring him down, they simply needed information to create a story which had a deadline.
This is something he now relates to current MLB players.
He spoke on the strong loyalty he still has to the brotherhood of MLB players.
While with ESPN, Garciaparra was sometimes asked to break a story that was less than favorable, to a player he knew or was friends with.
Something Garciaparra, just would not do before he knew it was true.
Current players respect him, there is an almost secret unspoken code in the professional baseball brotherhood, something Garciaparra would not break, even if it meant jeopardizing his job at ESPN.
Friendship over sensationalism, that is what Garciaparra values.
There has always been an air of mystery surrounding Garciaparra, and his “bad boy” image the media gave him, though like most “images,” it was built up by a series of misunderstandings, and lack of communication.
Dina Colunga is a writer whose words can be found at The Unprofessionals,The Coffeelicious, and Reign of Troy. Connect with her on Twitter @alwayscompete, and Instagram @dinatrojan.
