An emotional Nomar Garciaparra acknowledges the fans at Fenway Park as they give him a long standing ovation Monday night before his first at-bat in Boston since being traded from the Red Sox in 2004.

AP photo / Winslow Townson

 BOSTON — Janice Page is a big Red Sox fan, so big that she’s the self-proclaimed biggest fan in New Hampshire.

 Monday marked a mandatory trip from Henniker to Fenway Park. She just had to wear her favorite numbered (5) jersey and a few hours before the Red Sox’ game against the Oakland A’s, she was able to show her love.

 “Hey, Nomar! I still have your shirt,” she called out. “We miss you!”

 Standing in the third-base dugout was the object of her affection. He smiled, waved and even posed for a picture for Page and her friends. Earlier in the day, Nomar Garciaparra met another Sox fan strolling Newberry Street near his hotel.

 “A guy came up to me, shook my hand and looked me in the eye and said, ‘Thank you for all you did.’ I just looked at him and said, ‘No, thank you.’ I had wonderful experiences here and it’s all because of (the fans),” he said.

 Similar moments shadowed Garciaparra Monday night as he played his first game at Fenway since being traded away in July of 2004. He warmly greeted clubhouse workers and parking attendants and wore out his fingers signing autographs after batting practice. In several wide-ranging interviews with the New England press, Garciaparra expressed excitement and warmth for his time with the Red Sox.

 In the middle of the first inning, the Red Sox showed a compilation of Nomar highlights on the video board in center field. When it ended, Garciaparra walked to the top step of the A’s dugout and tipped his cap to the crowd.

 When it was time for Garciaparra to lead off the second inning, he was ready. Before he finally dug in to face John Smoltz, Garciaparra took time to doff his helmet and face each corner of the ballpark. He took turns waving and touching his hand to his chest, clearly expressing gratitude to the sellout crowd.

 “When I got traded, I was on the road (in Minnesota) and I never got to say thank you,” he said. “Hopefully the way I thanked them was throughout all those years of playing hard and giving everything I had.”

 While cheers and good memories filled Garciaparra’s soul Monday, the same was not the case back in 2004. As the trade deadline approached, the Sox were languishing 7 1/2 games out of first place and Garciaparra was struggling with an Achilles injury. More important, the pressure of being the franchise’s face for eight seasons was wearing on him, especially since he reportedly turned down a four-year, $60-million contract offer back in spring training and was headed toward free agency.

 “Sometimes I think maybe he just kind of was Bostoned-out,” Sox manager Terry Francona said. “It doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. He’s one of the nicest kids you’re ever going to meet. I think he would agree. It was time for him to move on.”

 The Sox swallowed hard and traded their $11-million shortstop in a three-team deal that brought infielders Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to Boston. The move is now the stuff of legends. Without their pouting shortstop, the Sox picked up speed in August and won 41 of 58 games to make the playoffs as the wildcard. The Red Sox went on to famously dig out of a 3-0 hole and shock the Yankees to win the American League pennant and then sweep St. Louis and win the World Series.

 “I felt so much a part of it and that’s what people don’t realize,” he said. “I was getting phone calls from guys after wins, on the bus celebrating. They were saying hi to me and I was telling them ‘congratulations.’ Getting that [World Series] ring was important.”

 Garciaparra came up through the Red Sox organization with many of the key players on the ’04 team and says, “It was a championship season, not just a series. I was a part of that season. Championships don’t happen in that one year.”

 Ironically, Cabrera now shares an A’s uniform with the shortstop he replaced in Boston. He says Sox fans should respect a player who was a five-time All-Star and is fourth in team history in batting average (.323) with 1,500 or more at-bats.

 “If I was a Red Sox fan, I could only feel love for him,” Cabrera said. “This is a guy, believe it or not, he helped that team be in that position when we won. He did so much. He was the face of this franchise.”

 While he says he “dreamed’’ about beginning and ending his career in Boston, he enjoyed his stay with the Cubs and then made a move he promised himself he never would and signed with his hometown team, the Dodgers.

 “I never wanted to play in L.A. I was in Boston, and L.A. was home. I wanted to keep that separate,” he said. “It took a lot for me to actually sign in L.A., but when I put that uniform on … I got to go to the place where I first saw a baseball game, Chavez Ravine.”

 Garciaparra said his parents enjoyed watching batting practice under the L.A. sun and “I got to play catch with my father at Dodger Stadium. It’s pretty special,” he said.

 After hitting .303 with the Dodgers in 2006, injuries helped end his time there. He said he thought about retiring after an injury-plagued (55 games) 2008 but instead signed with Oakland for one year and $1 million. He’s battled calf woes this season and is hitting just .260 in 32 games. But he’s still enjoying the game and renewing acquaintances around the American League.

 This week’s trip to Fenway, of course, is clearly extra special.

 “The green wall to me always looked like a golf ball with all those little dents,” he said. “I always think about how many great players have a dent in that wall. I know I have a dent in that wall. I wonder who my dent is next to.”

kmcnamar@projo.com