Garciaparra Feeling Right at Home

They line up in the stands down the first base line during batting practice, sporting their Nomar Garciaparra jerseys and T-shirts while trying to grab the Boston Red Sox shortstop’s attention.

Smiles and waves are exchanged.

In between taking his cuts in the batting cage and fielding grounders at shortstop, Garciaparra stops by the receiving line. But he doesn’t sign autographs. He gives hugs. And that’s good enough.

These fans, you see, are more than just fans. They’re family.

Garciaparra, who grew up in a large and very extended yet tightknit Mexican-American family in Whittier, attracts as many as 300 of his closest family and friends to Edison Field whenever the Red Sox are in town to play the Angels.

“Guys would ask how many people I’d have here and they wouldn’t believe me until they saw it themselves,” Garciaparra said. “It’s nice, it really is to be able to see family taking up one section and look over to another part [of the stadium] and see family taking up another section.”

Glenn Wilburn, baseball information coordinator for the Red Sox, said the only other Boston player to attract a noticeable “hometown” crowd on the road is first baseman Brian Daubach in Chicago.

“But it’s not like this,” Wilburn said.

Jason Varitek agreed.

“This is his home and he’s our superstar, one of the top dozen players in the major leagues,” said the Red Sox catcher, who also was a teammate of Garciaparra’s at Georgia Tech and on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. “Everybody has their hometown and stuff but Nomar’s just special in general. He’ll never alienate anybody, especially not family.”

Pedro Martinez said the phenomenon of the Garciaparra Lovefest at Edison Field has a relatively simple explanation.

“As Latins we’re supposed to have more family,” the Boston pitcher said. “We’re normally like that. That’s the tradition, to have one big happy family.”

It was during Garciaparra’s rookie season in 1997 that his mother, Sylvia, started to coordinate family outings to Anaheim. But with so many relatives involved, and the number growing, it became a logistical headache.

They quickly abandoned the idea, said Garciaparra’s father, Ramon.

“Just one of my aunts has 13 children so you have to take into account all of their children, too,” said Ramon, who was born in Guadalajara. “Two weeks before a game, it would get so hectic at home with all the organizing so we just gave up and told everyone we’d see them at the game.”

Now, relatives are responsible for getting their own tickets. In the past, Angel officials have secured a private room at Edison Field for the family to see Garciaparra.

“We used to go through group sales trying to get everybody situated,” the younger Garciaparra said. “Since my family’s so big they all understand that I can’t do it for everybody.”

Friday, he secured 11 tickets for immediate family, including his parents, sisters Monique and Yvette and brother Michael.

Garciaparra, 26, is part of the Holy Trinity of American League shortstops, along with the Seattle Mariners’ Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter. The trio is on the cover of the latest GQ Magazine under the headline, “Three (Rich) Amigos.”

It’s been a fast rise for the Bellflower St. John Bosco High graduate who grew up an Angel fan.

He was first selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round of the 1991 draft but decided to play at Georgia Tech. He signed with the Red Sox after they made him the 12th overall selection in the 1994 draft. Three years later he was the American League’s rookie of the year after batting .306 with 30 home runs, 98 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases.

Garciaparra followed that up with a monster 1998 season, batting .323 with 35 homers and 122 RBIs and finishing second in voting for league most valuable player.

He was a starter in the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park, won the American League batting title with a .357 average and also finished with 27 homers and 104 RBIs.

When Garciaparra saw a rough draft of this year’s American League schedule, he practically could taste the carne asada. He saw an off day between the last game of the season-opening series at Seattle and the first game of the Angel series.

The break would have allowed him to hook up with family at his parents’ new home in La Habra Heights for the traditional cookout that accompanies Red Sox visits. The gathering would have rivaled Easter at the Garciaparra household. Last year, 106 family members descended upon the home for the holiday feast.

But the schedule makers ultimately had the Red Sox playing in Seattle and Anaheim on consecutive days. The Red Sox, however, are back Aug. 7-9.

“Just to see them, to spend any time with them, that’s really special,” Garciaparra said. “Especially to have that big of a family and to have them all still stay that close and stick together.”