Mike Greenwell

Template:Mlbretired Michael Lewis Greenwell (born July 18, 1963 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Boston Red Sox (1985-1996). He also played in Hanshin Tigers in Japan (1997). Greenwell was nicknamed "The Gator" during his time in Boston. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Greenwell finished second in the AL MVP voting in 1988, losing out to José Canseco, who pulled off the first 40 home run, 40 stolen base season in baseball history. Greenwell hit .325 with 22 HR and 119 RBI in 1988, setting career highs in all three categories.

Career

In a 12-season career, Greenwell was a .303 hitter with 130 home runs and 726 RBI in 1269 games. In the postseason, he hit .146 (7-for-48) with one home run and three RBI in 17 games.

Throughout his Red Sox career, Greenwell suffered under the weight of lofty expectations for a Boston left fielder, as since 1940 the position had been occupied by Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice – all MVP winners and regular triple crown candidates. Although his play rarely reached the level of his predecessors, he provided a solid and reliable presence in the team's lineup for several seasons.

He signed with the Japanese Hanshin Tigers for about 2.5 million dollars in 1997, and his brilliant career in the major leagues heightened expectations from Japanese fans, but Greenwell left the team's spring training camp and returned to the United States, claiming that he had an injury, and did not return to Japan until late April. He played his first game on May 3, marking 2 RBIs despite having missed spring training. However, he suddenly announced his retirement only 8 days later, after fracturing his left foot with a foul tip. He left Japan on May 16, and never returned again. His name remains infamous among Japanese baseball fans.

Racing career

Upon his retirement from baseball, Greenwell began driving Late model stock cars. In May 2006 he made his Craftsman Truck Series debut at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway for Green Light Racing, starting 20th and finishing 26th.

Facts

• On September 2, 1996 in Seattle, Greenwell got all nine RBI in a Boston 9-8 victory over the Mariners in ten innings. That is the highest single-game RBI total for any player driving in all of his teams' runs.
• Attended same high school as Deion Sanders, Jevon Kearse and Noel Devine (North Fort Myers High School)
• Played for the Red Sox for his entire career.
• Filled in as emergency catcher against the Oakland Athletics July 17, 1987.
• Greenwell was a frequent first pitch swinger.
• Greenwell owns his own family fun park in Cape Coral, Florida

From the news

Greenwell was the runner-up to José Canseco in the 1988 American League MVP voting, and now that Canseco has admitted steroid use, Greenwell feels that award is rightfully his.

In 1988, Greenwell hit .325 with 22 home runs, 119 RBI and 16 stolen bases. Canseco hit .307 with 42 HRs, 124 RBI and 40 steals, becoming baseball's first 40-40 man. Canseco's unprecedented season garnered him 392 votes. Greenwell received 242, and third-place finisher Kirby Puckett got 219.

"Every time you renegotiate a contract, if you're an MVP, you have a different level of bargaining power. But in honesty, I don't care about the money. I respect what Jose did in the game. I don't respect that [he used steroids], but I do understand how these guys get caught up in it. There is so much pressure to perform that guys are willing to do anything to stay on top," Greenwell said. For more about it, see: Boston Herald.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle

External links

• Baseball Library

• Baseball Reference
• Nascar website
• Family Fun Park Website