Re-emerging with the Los Angeles Dodgers after two injury-shortened seasons with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, Nomar Garciaparra was voted NL Comeback Player of the Year.

Jim Thome was the AL winner in his first season with the Chicago White Sox.

Garciaparra won the award despite playing the final weeks of the season with an injured oblique muscle and left quadriceps, which he tore during Thursday night's NL playoff game against the New York Mets. The 33-year-old first baseman played in 122 games and hit .303 with 20 homers and 93 RBIs, making his sixth All-Star game.

Garciaparra, who played a total of 143 games in 2004-05, received 72,054 votes in fan balloting announced yesterday by the commissioner's office.

"It's quite an honor. I'm fortunate to win something like that," Garciaparra said. "I've always said it's a byproduct of my team. These guys are special guys."

That might be so, but Garciaparra is eligible to become a free agent after the World Series and might not be back next season. He said he hasn't thought about that yet.

"There's been a lot going on," he said. "I've loved every minute of it here."

The former shortstop grew up in nearby Whittier, Calif.

"Well-deserved — he along with Jim Thome," Dodgers manager Grady Little said regarding the honor.

Thome, dealt to Chicago by Philadelphia last November following the emergence of Ryan Howard, batted .288 with 42 homers, 109 RBIs and 107 walks. He received 55,587 votes.

The margin of victory for Garciaparra and Thome was unknown. Major League Baseball would not release vote totals for other players in the balloting, spokeswoman Susan Goodenow said.

Voting was conducted on MLB.com. The Yankees' Jason Giambi and Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. won the inaugural awards last year.

DODGERS

BEIMEL APOLOGIZES AFTER BAR INCIDENT

Joe Beimel knows he blew it, and told his teammates so yesterday.

"Joe Beimel came in today and addressed the team, and that's all I'm saying," Dodgers manager Grady Little said yesterday before Los Angeles was swept by the Mets in Game 3 of their NL division series.

"He apologized for his actions. That's all I'm saying. Everything else stays in that clubhouse. We're not talking about that anymore. We'll talk about that in the winter time. He's no factor in the game today," he said.

Beimel (2-1), the Dodgers' most reliable left-handed reliever, was removed from the playoff roster for the series after cutting his pitching hand early Tuesday. He originally told the team he injured himself inside in his hotel room, but later admitted he cut it on a broken glass in a New York bar around 2:30 a.m.

ELSEWHERE

Mets: Outfielder Cliff Floyd, slowed by an injured Achilles' tendon, came out of last night's NL division playoff game after scoring from first on Shawn Green's double in the third inning.

Endy Chavez replaced Floyd in left field in the bottom of the inning. The Mets said Floyd left with a stretched left Achilles' and is day-to-day.

Floyd singled with two outs in the third and scored when Green's drive hit the top of the left field fence over a leaping Marlon Anderson, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead over the Dodgers.