I love Nomar and so can you!
When I’m asked “Who is your favorite Dodger player?” my response is always the same. Nomar Garciaparra. Let me explain. When I was in middle school, Nomar has just signed with the Dodgers after a short stint with the Chicago Cubs. At that same time, either MTV or VH1 used to play old episodes of Saturday Night Live and I would watch them all the time. There was one sketch in particular that continued the boiling pot of love I had for Nomar. The sketch consisted of Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch as couple from Boston. They were loud, expressive, rude, and when put in the right situation the sketch worked quite well. The thing I remember most from that sketch is Jimmy Fallon’s character would express his love for the Boston Red Sox at every moment he could by wearing a t-shirt with (you guessed it) Garciaparra on the back and yell (in his Boston accent) “NOMAR” and it would always make me laugh. What cemented my love for Nomar was one incredible game. The year 2006, the date is September 18-th. I am at home because I’m 11 and going out wasn’t in the game plan. The Dodgers were down 9-5 against the San Diego Padres. Jeff Kent was at the plate and crushed a pitch into center right to cut the Padres lead. Aight, usual late game home run, rad to see but still pretty standard. Then J.D Drew hit a homer. Ok, now we are cooking. But wait! Our villain enters from stage right, who can it be?! Trevor Samantha Hoffman (his middle name isn’t Samantha but I’m not a Padres fan so who cares but I did meet him during Spring Training and he’s super nice and signed a baseball for me) one of if not the greatest Closers of all time. You’re probably wondering who our hero is. Let me tell you. It’s Marlon Anderson, who probably wins the award for most forgettable Dodger but tonight he’s about to be remembered. So now LA is down by 2, and Trevor Hoffman is on the mound facing ya boy, Marlon Anderson. How did we acquire Marlon Anderson? Jhonny Nunez. Who is this mystery man you ask. Jhonny Nunez was traded to the Nationals for Marlon Anderson in August of 2006, and then traded to Yankees, then to the White Sox along with Wilson Betimet (former Dodger) for Nick Swisher. SO. Marlon Anderson is at the plate facing Trevor Sabrina Hoffman. What does Marlon do at the plate? HE CRUSHES A HOME RUN THATS WHAT HE DOES! We started the inning down by 4, hit two homers to start the inning, then watched Marlon Anderson hit a tank to but the deficit to 1 and here comes Russell “I played for the Yankees” Martin. Also facing Trevor Becky Hoffman. Down 1 its up to future Toronto Blue Jay Russell Martin to tie this baby up. And he fuc***g delivers! The Dodgers go back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers to tie the game up. My 11 year old mind has melted to mush at this point, I can not believe what happened! Fast forward now to the bottom of the 10-th inning. There is now a runner on base with 0 outs and who steps up to the plate? Nomar Garciaparra. Nomar draws a 3-1 count, with 0 outs and a man on first. Then it happened. Crack! Nomar goes deep into left and he knew it was gone once he hit that 3-1 pitch. He pumps his fist in the air as he rounding the bases, the Dodgers completed the comeback, a 4 run deficit in the 9-th, ended with a bomb from Nomar. From then on, Nomar has been my favorite Dodger. So if you do not have a favorite Dodger, let me be the first to welcome you into the Nomar Garciaparra fan club.
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