Mike Lowell

Mike Lowell
Boston Red Sox – No. 25
Third base
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
September 13, 1998, for the New York Yankees
Career statistics (through October 2, 2007)
Batting average	.280
Home runs	184
Runs batted in	778
Teams
New York Yankees (1998) Florida Marlins (1999-2005) Boston Red Sox (2006–present)

Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974 in Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball third baseman of Cuban descent and also a cancer survivor. He is a right-handed batter and is currently a member of the Boston Red Sox. The Florida Marlins traded him to Boston in a deal that was officially completed on November 21, 2005 in which the Red Sox received Lowell, Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota in exchange for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesús Delgado and Harvey García.

Biography

Early years and personal life

Mike was raised in Miami, Florida. His father, a Cuban exile of Irish and German descent, beat the Cuban National Team while representing Puerto Rico in the Pan American games. In 1992, Mike Lowell graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables Florida where he was a star player on the baseball team. It is here where he met future wife Bertha Lowell, a member of the school's nationally recognized Gablettes dance team, which she became coach of years later. They have one daughter, Alexis Lowell, and one son named Anthony. On Feb. 19, 1999, Lowell was diagnosed with testicular cancer, causing him to miss nearly two months of the 1999 season while he underwent treatment for the disease.

Florida International University

While attending Florida International University on an athletic scholarship, Lowell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1995 amateur draft. Lowell graduated in 1997 and made his professional debut in the 1998 season.

Major League Baseball

Florida Marlins

Lowell was traded to the Florida Marlins on February 1, 1999. While waiting for spring training, he discovered that he had cancer of the testes. Surgery on his testicles was performed on February 21. He returned to the lineup on May 29, and he finished his rookie season with a .253 BA, 12 home runs, and 47 runs batted in.

Lowell had successful years in Florida and established himself as one of the elite third baseman in the league. In 2001 he finished with 18 home runs and 100 RBI.

Lowell was on pace to have a great season in 2003, but in late August, he suffered a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch by the Montreal Expos' Hector Almonte, forcing him to miss 32 games, and he finished the season with 32 home runs and 105 RBI. He was replaced by Miguel Cabrera. He returned to help the Marlins on the way to their World Series victory. In 2004 he hit a career high at the time .293 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI. Despite a disappointing 2005 season in which he hit .236 with only 8 homers and a .298 on-base percentage, Lowell earned his first Gold Glove Award.

Boston Red Sox

Lowell in spring 2007.

Although the Boston Red Sox took on Lowell and his contract only because the Marlins would not trade pitcher Josh Beckett without relieving themselves of Lowell's salary, Lowell fared better than expected as a member of the 2006 Red Sox, for a time leading the league in doubles and providing solid defense at third base. Lowell finished with 20 HR and 80 RBI, and he was tied with Eric Chavez for the best fielding percentage at his position.

At the end of the 2007 regular season, Lowell had played in 154 games, with a batting average of .324, 21 home runs and 120 RBIs, leading the team in the latter.

On June 2, 2007, Lowell collided with New York Yankees first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, giving Mientkiewicz a mild concussion, a strained neck, and a broken wrist.

On July 1, 2007, Lowell was named to the 2007 American League All-Star Team as a reserve player voted in on the player's ballot. This is his first selection to an AL All-Star team; he was a three time National League All-Star from 2002-2004 as a member of the Florida Marlins. Mike Lowell had a career year in 2007, reaching the 100 RBI total for the third time in his career. On September 26, Lowell went 3 for 5 in a Red Sox victory over Oakland, and knocked in 5 runs, breaking the Red Sox franchise record for most RBIs in a season by a 3rd baseman (112, set by Butch Hobson in 1977). His 120 RBIs led the club ahead of sluggers like David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Notes

• Lowell is a known practitioner of the hidden ball trick, and, as of 2005, had recorded two of Major League Baseball's three most recent successful outs using the maneuver. Arizona's Luis Terrero in 2005 and Montreal's Brian Schneider in 2004 were Lowell's victims. The most recent hidden-ball-trick out was recorded in 2007 by Julio Lugo, who was a teammate of Lowell's at the time.

• Speaks both English and Spanish fluently

Highlights

• Won the NL Gold Glove for Third Base in 2005
• 4-time All-Star (2002-04, 2007)
• Tony Conigliaro Award winner (1999)
• Jackie Jensen Award (2006)
• TYIB Defensive Player of the Year (2006)
• Was one of four Red Sox players to hit consecutive home runs against the New York Yankees on 22 April 2007.
• Holds the all time highest fielding percentage for a third baseman (as of the end of the 2007 season)
• Holds the Red Sox franchise single-season record for most RBIs by a 3rd baseman (2007)

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Players from Puerto Rico in MLB
• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• Florida Marlins all-time roster

External links

• Mike Lowell at:
  • ESPN (profile and daily update)
  • Baseball Reference (statistics)
  • Mike Lowell Fan Page