BOSTON -- Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra rescued
two women who had fallen into Boston Harbor late last week, his
uncle and a witness told the Boston Herald.
Garciaparra, traded to the Chicago Cubs on July 31, 2004, was
in his Charlestown condominium with his uncle at about 10 p.m.
Friday when they heard a scream and a splash, said the uncle,
Victor Garciaparra.
As soon as the All-Star shortstop and two-time American League
batting champ ran out the door to help the woman, her friend also
fell in, hitting her head on the pier, said Victor Garciaparra, who
oversees his nephew's business and charitable ventures.
Victor Garciaparra jumped from the balcony to the water 20 feet
below.
"I swam towards them and by the time I reached them, Nomar was
already there holding the girls up," he told the newspaper. "But
he couldn't get them up without help."
One woman had a large lump on her head and appeared to be
unconscious, he said. When she came to, the first thing she said
was: "Are you Nomar?" Victor Garciaparra said.
The two men pulled the women from the water. Their husbands
arrived and whisked them off to the hospital before the
Garciaparras even got their names, he said.
Johnny O'Hara of Natick witnessed the incident from his boat.
"A bunch of us came running over and sure enough, pulling the
two girls from the water was Nomar," he told the newspaper. "It
was crazy. Nomar was like jumping over walls to get to the girls
and the other guy leaped off the balcony. It was unbelievable."
Nomar Garciaparra was unavailable for comment, his uncle said.