He has a sweet swing, a golden glove and has one of the most unique names in sports. Kidzworld looks at superstar shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra.

Anthony Nomar Garciaparra was born July 23, 1973 in Whittier, California. He was given the name Nomar because it was the name of his father, Ramon, spelled backwards. Nomar Garciaparra began playing baseball at a young age and quickly became a star. When he was nine, Nomar began playing in a league with kids who were four years older than him and he still made the all-star team. Nomar Garciaparra was quite small and skinny when he was kid and he was nicknamed "Glass" by his teammates because he looked so breakable. But Nomar hit a growth spurt when he was 16 and graduated as a three sport all-star (soccer, football and baseball) from St. John Bosco High School in 1991.

After high school, Nomar Garciaparra had several offers to turn pro and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers. Instead, Nomar decided to go Georgia Tech on a baseball scholarship where he studied business management. Garciaparra played three years for the Yellow Jackets and led them to the College World Series for the first time in the school's history in 1993.

The Boston Red Sox made the wise decision to draft Nomar Garciaparra in the 1994 Draft. After spending two seasons in the minors, Nomar was called up to play with the Red Sox and he smoked a homerun during his first time at bat. It would be a sign of things to come. In 1997, Nomar Garciaparra became the starting shortstop on the Red Sox was unanimously named the American League Rookie of the Year. He finished his first season with 30 homers and 98 RBIs. Since then, the guy wearing jersey number 5 has been the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox. Garciaparra's won two American League Batting Titles and played in five All-Star Games. Nomar's big challenge now is to lead the Red Sox to their first World Series in nearly 100 years.

Credit: kidzworld.com