Nomar Garciaparra Quotes (46 Quotes)

What happened is part of the game. I'm not going to sulk about it. I'm glad to be playing the game that I love.

Pettitte did a great job, the kind I've come to expect of him while facing him so many times in the American League. But so did Derek.

They'll always be in my heart. That's probably what I miss most are the people. I think they know I gave everything I could. I tried both on and off the field as best as I could because I appreciated them so much.

You know it as soon as you walk in Yankee Stadium. The electricity is there every time, every day.

I'm always trying to win, but at the same time I can also appreciate a great, well-fought game. And if it's a tie 'You were great. I was great. Hey, let's go home.' It doesn't mean I'm not as competitive.

I'm not gonna lie. I was pretty nervous tonight. I'm still nervous and anxious. ... When you come back from rehab you just want to make contact, put the ball in play.

Every position is important and has its differences. It takes time to reach the same instinct level at first base that I had shortstop. It is a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

I'm just swinging. It's just like third base - you go out there and work on that as well, and it's a constant adjustment and constantly working on it every day.

When I go home my mother still makes me take out the garbage.

Different things come up and you can't simulate a game, ... I've been practicing, taking ground balls, but different things come up in the game that you take home and learn from. You still have to adjust.

I haven't thought about it, I haven't thought about any of that stuff,

No, I can't remember the last time I played outfield -- not even in high school.

These guys never give up, ... Guys are going out there, and they care. We're just playing pretty well right now.

If it was in my control, I'd still be wearing a Red Sox uniform, because it's the place I know, I love. All of those fans, I'll always remember. But I'm also going to another great place. I'm going to a phenomenal city with great tradition as well, phenomenal fans, great organization.

I think that exacerbated the situation a little bit more. It was a combination of that trauma and my body kind of protecting itself from the (groin) surgery. Every day I'm doing everything I can to try and get loose.

Zambrano pitched a great game tonight. He kept them off-balance and got a couple hits tonight.

Different things come up all the time, ... That's one thing you have to deal with when you're playing on the fly. On Saturday I had a bunt, bare-handed the ball and threw the guy out at first. You have to work on it as the game comes.

Just get a ball I can drive and get it up in the air. If you get the ball in the air, you get a guy in. If not, worse-case scenario, you've got a guy in Bill Mueller who will give you a good at-bat.

Physically, I feel pretty good right now.

After you have the injuries and that stuff, it's just good to get out there playing. I'm just trying to see the ball and drive it. I'm getting good concentration and have been able to drive the ball.

If you wake up one day and start reading your station is interviewing people to take your spot, to replace you, how would you feel about that

All I've done is go up there the same as I have been. Every time I step up to the plate I'm doing whatever I can to get on base and help the team. That's really my focus each and every time.

You'll have games where you're out there a long time. Being able to go through that and not get stiff was a good thing for me, ... As I went along, it felt better, and on that last play a nifty move to his right and a throw across his body for the final out in the seventh had a lot of body torque to it, and no problems.

Health is always a factor. Everyone needs to stay healthy and do their job. These guys believe in each other.

The reward is just being able to play again, ... I want to be back to play with these guys.

It was something new every time I turned around that season. Ultimately, you don't have the energy to keep defending yourself, but at this point I don't want to rehash it. I've moved on and they've moved on.

I never saw a problem with it being a tie. I saw one of the best games I've ever seen.

It's great, I'm excited to play for Grady again. He's unbelievable. He's a great manager. He's got great wisdom, he knows the game so well, he's so great to play for and he wins. That's what's awesome.

My inspiration was the game itself, not any individual player in it.

I wish I was playing all year, that's for sure. I had an injury, I'm glad I came back, glad I'm playing the way I'm capable of playing.

If you were in a skid, Pedro would come in and stop the bleeding at times. He can give you a boost when he goes out there because you know he wants the ball every time. Every fifth day he's asking for that ball, and he's such a competitor, and you play so well behind him because he just breeds that when he steps on the mound.

It's a learning process. At some point, I won't be thinking five million things in my head. Maybe that will come at the end of the year. Comfort comes when you do things instinctively, you don't have to think.

He knows how to pitch. He's a guy whose slider looks like he can throw it four times in the dirt and walk you, or he'll throw it three times and hit the outside corner and strike you out.

I don't know if there's more pressure this time of the season. We put pressure on ourselves to perform.

You ever played Major League Baseball.

There's a month here, ... Do we realize what our fate kind of is You do, but at the same time, it's not respectability for ourselves but respect for the game. There's a month left in the season. If you don't get to the playoffs, fans are still coming out there watching you, and you respect the game because they coming out to watch.

I didn't know if I was going to be back this year with the injury. I'm happy to be back and doing anything I can.

Not at all. I cried. I was crushed. The city and the fans meant that much to me, and they still do. I played for those fans, my teammates, the history of that franchise. It was hard to take the way it went down, but the thing I'm proudest of from my time in Boston is that we raised more than 1 million for charity and there is still a playground that has my name on it.

You go out there and play hard and make plays. That's what this team is about.

It just shows that they respect what I did when I was there and that's nice. I've always appreciated the fans in Boston. When I was signing autographs, I just reminded them to make sure they visit the gift shop and pick up something in a nice blue color.

That's basically what I'm doing when I'm tapping them - getting my toes to the end of my shoes.

I think the last time I was 100 percent might have been when I was 5, but I'm feeling pretty good. I did a lot of things to keep my legs in shape and maintain that, so going out there is not going to be much of a shock.

I love the game of baseball.

Back then, my idol was Bugs Bunny, because I saw a cartoon of him playing ball - you know, the one where he plays every position himself with nobody else on the field but him? Now that I think of it, Bugs is still my idol. You have to love a ballplayer like that.

I kept swinging and kept feeling it. I was hoping it would feel better today, but it's still pretty sore.

The effort is there. The effort is always there. Everyone is a professional. If you played against us on a Sunday in a park with our families, you're going to see effort there. That's the nature of us. None of these guys would be here in the big leagues if they didn't have that attitude every day.