Nomar Garciaparra - Early Years

Early Years

Garciaparra attended St. Mary's of the Assumption School in Whittier, California for elementary school; for high school he attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, where he excelled in football, soccer, and baseball, and had a 3.9 GPA. His teams won high school league championships in 1990–91, and he won the league MVP honors in 1991, his last year of high school. St. John Bosco High School retired Garciaparra's baseball jersey. St. John Bosco High School's Activities Office window is home to an area dedicated to Garciaparra's baseball career both at the school and with the Dodgers.

Garciaparra was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 5th round of the 1991 draft, but did not sign.

Garciaparra attended Georgia Tech, where he majored in business management and helped the Yellow Jackets reach the College World Series title game in 1994 (they would lose to Oklahoma). Former Boston teammate Jason Varitek was also a member of that team. He was an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Star and a first team All-American twice in 1993–94. Garciaparra and Varitek were the first two Yellow Jackets ever to be two-time All-Americans, having been joined only by the Baltimore Orioles' Matt Wieters. Nomar was also an academic All-American. While in college, Garciaparra played for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League.