BOSTON — Calling the Red Sox “the best organization in baseball” and Boston “the best sports city in America,” reliever Eric Gagne says he jumped at the chance to come and pitch for this club.

“It’s an honor,” said the 31-year-old, shortly after his plane touched down yesterday afternoon. “I’ve got to get used to (wearing) red. I’ve never worn red before. So I’m pretty excited. Everybody knows what Boston means, and being a Red Sox is a great honor.”

Gagne says he received more phone calls after the announcement that Boston had acquired him from Texas in a four-player trade than he did after being named the 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner, a year in which he converted all 55 of his save opportunities for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“That’s the first time I ever got traded, so (Tuesday) was a really, really emotional day,” said Gagne, who ended up in Texas after signing with the Rangers as a free agent on Dec. 19 of last year. “I didn’t know where I was going to go. There were a lot of scenarios [teams including the Yankees and the Mets were also reportedly interested in Gagne], and I didn’t know what to expect. But I’m happy with (this) scenario. That’s pretty much my top scenario.”

Although Boston was among the teams included in his no-trade clause, Gagne says that was primarily because he prefers to be a closer and he knew that Boston already had one in Jonathan Pabelbon.

But the prospect of leaving a team that sports one of the worst records in the American League to join a club with one of the best in the majors wasn’t exactly a hard sell.

“That was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made,” said Gagne.

Sidelined for the better part of the last two seasons by various elbow and back injuries, Gagne has had a strong 2007 campaign. He went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA for the Rangers, converting 16 of 17 save opportunities.

“It was probably a month and a half ago where I went back-to-back days, had a day off and went back-to-back again. That’s really when I felt like my arm was bouncing back, and my back was feeling good,” said Gagne, whose 96.2 career save percentage is the highest among pitchers with at least 150 save tries since 1957. “I felt great all year, but it just got better and better every week. It’s good to be out on the field and be able to compete and not worry about your body, not worry about anything else but make pitches and get people out.”

Schilling goes Sunday

After another successful rehab stint — his third — with Pawtucket on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio, Curt Schilling will return to the Red Sox and start Sunday in Seattle, says Francona.

“I thought he and the medical staff and John (Farrell) did great,” Francona said of the 40-year-old right-hander, who has been on the disabled list since June 22 (retroactive to June 19) because of tendinitis in his right shoulder. “He threw seven innings (Tuesday) night (of) four-hit ball [and struck out four]. He pitched, he pitched again, pitched again, and the ball keeps coming out of his hand like we wanted it to. It’s been very successful. We’ll be thrilled to have him back.”

Around the bases

Dustin Pedroia displayed some heads-up base running in the first inning when David Ortiz drew a walk. With Orioles third baseman Chris Gomez way off the bag because of the defensive shift on Ortiz, Pedroia kept right on running and stole third. His hustle turned out to be all for naught, though, as Manny Ramirez then grounded into a 6-4-3 double-play. … Although he would not elaborate out of respect for the family, Francona said that outfielder J.D. Drew’s 17-month-old son Jack underwent “some pretty extensive surgery” Tuesday night and did not expect Drew to be available to play last night.

Garnett on hand

Becoming an ardent Celtics fan since coming to Boston, Francona says he is almost as excited about the Celts’ acquisition of All-Star forward Kevin Garnett as he is about the Sox picking up Gagne.

“Gagne is first, but not by a lot,” he said. “This is a big deal. I am really excited about this. I’m one of the guys that stays up on the West Coast and watches them play Golden State. I probably went (to the Garden) about five or six times last year. I loved it then. I’ll probably love it even more now.”

Garnett threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Ortiz, pumped his fist, then gave the Sox slugger a big hug.

Wrapping his long arms around Ortiz, the 6-foot-11, 253-pound Garnett almost made Boston’s 6-4, 230-pound designated hitter look diminutive. Almost.

cthorn@projo.com