There was a buzz around City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers, FL. on Tuesday morning.

The Boston Red Sox had called a press conference at 10:30 a.m. and initially no one knew what it was for. Could it be that they had signed Josh Beckett and/or Victor Martinez to contract extensions or had they traded Mike Lowell?

None of those scenarios were the case. Instead, it was for former Red Sox great Nomar Garciparra who was signing a one day contract and announcing his retirement from baseball.

Garciparra, who will join ESPN as a baseball analyst, played nine of his 14 seasons with the Red Sox. He had spent the 2009 season as a role player with the Oakland A’s. He also played for the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was drafted by the Red Sox in 1994 as the 12th pick overall out of Georgia Tech where he was a teammate of Jason Varitek and one-time Red Sox player Jay Payton.

Garciaparra hit .323 with 178 home runs, 690 RBIs and had 84 stolen bases while a member of the Red Sox. He finishes his career with a .313 batting average with 229 home runs, 936 RBIs and 95 stolen bases.

He won the 1997 AL Rookie of the Year, 1997 AL Sliver Slugger (shortstop) and the AL batting titles in 1999 and 2000 while with the Red Sox.

I watched Nomar play in the minor leagues while he was a member of the Trenton Thunder, who were the Red Sox Double-A affiliate at the time. I knew then that he was going to be something special for the Red Sox.

While he didn’t leave Boston on the best of terms, he was the face of the franchise for the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

Since he never was able to give and receive a proper goodbye from the fans, he finally returned to Fenway Park last July and received a huge ovation.

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It’s a sad day with Nomar stepping away from the game. He will forever be my most favorite Red Sox player.

Thank you to the Red Sox ownership group and Theo Epstein for allowing to Nomar in the one uniform that he’ll always be remembered for.

Sox sign Garciaparra; announces retirement [Boston Red Sox]

Video: Nomar Gets A Hero’s Welcome In Return To Fenway [SOX & Dawgs]

Francona remembers time with Nomar [Full Count]

Good-Bye Nomar [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]