Duende - n. (Spanish) Spell, charm, trance, infallibility; a spellbinding spirit; a poetic expression describing the magic essential to certain art forms.

Peter Gammons introduced the word "duende" to New England's baseball fans back in the 1970s when describing Luis Tiant. Tiant had duende. Yaz didn't. Pedro has it. Clemens doesn't. Ken Harrelson, for one glorious summer, had it. Jim Rice, in spite of all the glorious numbers he accumulated over a number of summers, never did.

Nomar Garciaparra? Oh, yeah. He's got it.

Dramatic - adj. 2: Sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect.

Players can do dramatic things without having a sense of the dramatic. There may have been no more dramatic home run in Red Sox history than Dave Henderson's on that Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, 1986. Troy O'Leary's grand slam against the Indians in the 1999 divisional series is still ringing in our memory banks. But while their acts were heroic -- or at least what passes for heroic in our world of fun and games -- neither man is, or will be, remembered as a hero. Neither had that ethereal sense of the dramatic.

Nomar Garciaparra? Oh, yeah. He's got it.

Clutch - adj. Informal 1. Being or occurring in a tense or critical situation: 2.Tending to be successful in tense or critical situations.

We can, and have, argued until the cows come home about the existence of clutch players in baseball. Whether they exist or not, certain players have the reputation, at least among casual fans, of being good (and bad) in the clutch. Dwight Evans was someone -- at least in the 1980s -- that patrons reveled seeing at the plate in crucial spots. Wade Boggs never was. On the one hand, Mo Vaughn hit his share of walkoff home runs, the biggest of which was the Opening Day grand slam in 1998 that capped a comeback from a 7-2 ninth-inning deficit. On the other, can anyone remember the last time Jose Offerman didn't take a called third strike with men on base in the late innings of a close game? Kevin Romine had a forgettable career but we still remember him for those ninth-inning, game-winning homers, especially the one that probably ignited the Morgan's Magic run in '88. If you're inclined to believe such things, you probably think Kevin Romine has the reputation of being good in the clutch.

Nomar Garciaparra? Oh, yeah. He's got it.

Legendary - adj 1: So celebrated as to having taken on the nature of a legend; "the legendary exploits of the arctic trailblazers" 2: celebrated in fable or legend; "the fabled Paul Bunyan and his blue ox"; "legendary exploits of Jesse James" [syn: fabled]

The days of athletic legends have passed, because modern technology brings us far too clear a vision of our athletes. There was a time when the only picture of a ballplayer came from a newspaper, frequently painted by a fawning sportswriter with a syrupy brush. Hyperbole morphed into fact, and from there to legend. Many still think that no one ever threw as hard as Walter Johnson or ran as fast as Ty Cobb or hit 'em as far as Babe Ruth . . . when, in fact, the accomplishments of modern athletes dwarf those of their ancient predecessors in every sport in which performance can be measured objectively (i.e., by a stopwatch or a tape measure).

The modern athlete's task? Overcome the harsh glare of celebrity's spotlight, which records every failure as well as every success. Silence the Greek chorus of columnists and talk-show hosts and Internet denizens (like me), many of whom are inclined to use an athlete as a punch line. Rise above our natural tendency to tear down our heroes. It's a near-impossible task, becoming a legend in today's athletic world. It takes a special athlete with a very special blend of ability and showmanship.

Nomar Garciaparra? Oh, yeah. He's got it.

Nomar Garciaparra played his first game for the Boston Red Sox yesterday. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. His home run came in the sixth inning and tied the game. His two-run single came in the seventh -- after the two men previous had popped out and struck out, putting the Sox in danger of squandering a bases-loaded, no-out situation -- and won the game.

And the 2001 Red Sox are now 1-0.