Byline: Todd Archer Post staff reporter
BOSTON -- Tim Naehring loves Boston and playing for the Red Sox. To him, Fenway Park symbolizes baseball. He loves that fans live and die with the Olde Towne Team whether they are in a pennant race or not.
Naehring also loves Cincinnati, his hometown. He can walk around Hyde Park and go virtually unnoticed. He dearly misses Montgomery Inn's ribs and Skyline's chili during the season.
''I have the best of both worlds,'' said the third baseman and La Salle High School graduate. ''In Boston, people know me for the uniform and the athletic achievements. In Cincinnati, people know me for the person I am. I enjoy that separation.''
He thought, however briefly, about losing that separation over the winter when some friends mentioned the possibility of signing as a free agent with the Reds. But the more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
''One of the things that helps me deal with the ups and downs is that separation,'' Naehring said. ''This is what I do. People at home don't see every at-bat. They talk about the good things, but don't see the bad things.
''Maybe things'll be different at the end of my career when I'm an established major leaguer and I can go home. I don't have a family right now. Maybe if I do, one day I can go back and have the best of both worlds again.''
Naehring almost returned to Ohio this season when the Cleveland Indians offered him a three-year, $10-million deal. The Red Sox countered with a two-year, $5.5 million contract with a team option for a third year. In a move that surprised some, but not those close to Naehring, he chose to stay in Boston.
''It was the toughest decision I had to make in the game,'' Naehring said. ''When you're talking about $10 million on the table, that's a crazy number to me.
''There were a number of different things that came into the decision: loyalty to the Red Sox, because they were loyal to me when I was hurt; (Cleveland) wanted me to move to second base, so that's a different position; and it was a big change, moving away from good friends that I've made in New England.'' Since coming to Boston in 1990, Naehring has become one of the city's favorite athletes because of his on-field and off-field work. First baseman Mo Vaughn is the most popular member of the Red Sox, but Naehring is not a distant second.
''My talents aren't eye-opening,'' Naehring said. ''I'm not the fastest guy. There's people that play the game that have a lot of flash. I'm not that type of player. I play hard, and I think people in New England appreciate that.
''Secondly, and maybe most important, they've seen what I've been through with the back surgery. They've seen how I've tried to handle the low times and how I handle the best of times.''
These are the best of times for Naehring, but he came close to retiring five years ago. Naehring made a meteoric rise through the Red Sox farm system, moving from Class A Lynchburg in 1989 to Boston a year later as a shortstop. But after 24 games he was put on the disabled list for the first of six times in his career with a lower back problem.
In 1991, Naehring became the first rookie to start at shortstop for the Red Sox in 26 years, but played only 29 games and was in the midst of an 0-for-39 slide before going on the disabled list again. He had season-ending back surgery July 3 and contemplated retirement.
''At 22, I couldn't even bend over,'' Naehring said. ''I thought I couldn't do it anymore.''
He continued to battle injury the next three seasons, including shoulder surgery in 1993, but was healthy by the end of 1994 and earned the starting third baseman's spot in 1995.
He posted career highs in games (126), hits (133), runs (61), home runs (10), runs batted in (57) and walks (77) while hitting .307 two years ago. Last year he hit .288 in 116 games, belted 17 homers and knocked in 65 runs.
''I didn't know very much about him,'' said first-year Red Sox manager Jimy Williams. ''I'd heard a lot about him, and the bottom line is that he is everything you want a major leaguer to be.''
Naehring, 30, has been with the Red Sox longer than any current player. When he arrived from the minors, the Red Sox had third baseman Wade Boggs, pitcher Roger Clemens and left fielder Mike Greenwell around, and outfielder Jose Canseco was added to the mix in 1995.
But those players are gone from Boston and now the Red Sox are the embodiment of Naehring. His uniform always is the dirtiest. He always is taking extra ground balls or batting practice. He is the same player he was at La Salle and Miami University, just a little richer.
''If he's not out there early,'' Williams said, ''I'm worried, because he's always out there. He's going to give you everything that he can give you for the team to win. He's a professional is what he is.''
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The Associated Press - In 1991, high-stepping La Salle High graduate Tim Naehring became the first rookie to start at shortstop for the Boston Red Sox in 26 years.
