One of the most valuable contributors to the Red Sox team of the past few years has been Mike Lowell. Few fans and personnel within the organization seem to recognize this, though.
In his time as a member of the Boston Red Sox (Lowell was acquired a few years back in the Ramirez/Beckett deal), Mike Lowell has always been a reliable source of offense and defense for the team. While he's entering his later years at 35, he's still effective. This past Tuesday night showcases his abilities, as his two home runs in the game against the Tigers won a game the Red Sox sorely needed.
Between the additions of Adam LaRoche, Casey Kotchman, and Victor Martinez, Lowell has recently had players to contend with in an effort to get as much playing time as possible. He's always taken it gracefully, and has been more than effective offensively and defensively.
After a stellar 2006 (.284/47 doubles/20 homers/84 RBI and just six errors in 462 chances), all Mr. Throw-In did was finish 5th in the A.L. MVP vote in 2007 with a .324 average, 21 homers and 120 RBI. In the run for the 2007 title, Lowell continued his dream season by hitting .353 in the postseason and driving in 15. But after an injury-riddled 2008 that saw the four-time All-Star play in just 113 games (his lowest since part-time duty in 1999), we were all ready to send the guy packing when visions of Mark Teixeira danced in our heads last winter. Then, it happened again when Adrian Gonzalez was a major point of discussion around this year's trading deadline.
The team was always intent on shipping Lowell out, rather than switching his position or working things around him. If they couldn't ship him, they'd bench him. While so many players in today's game would have a huge problem with this kind of thing, Lowell has always been graceful in these situations, never showing resistance.
Fast forward to 2009, and Lowell is still a valuable contributor to the Boston team. While he's 35 years old and spent parts of the summer on the disabled list, he's still in the midst of a respectable season, with a .297 average, 13 home runs, and 57 runs batted in with just 323 at bats. These numbers are much better than those of David Ortiz.
While Lowell may be shipped out next season, or ultimately benched or released, each season of Mike Lowell has been a pleasure to watch. He will always be a class act in Boston.
If only more players were like Mike Lowell...
In his time as a member of the Boston Red Sox (Lowell was acquired a few years back in the Ramirez/Beckett deal), Mike Lowell has always been a reliable source of offense and defense for the team. While he's entering his later years at 35, he's still effective. This past Tuesday night showcases his abilities, as his two home runs in the game against the Tigers won a game the Red Sox sorely needed.
Between the additions of Adam LaRoche, Casey Kotchman, and Victor Martinez, Lowell has recently had players to contend with in an effort to get as much playing time as possible. He's always taken it gracefully, and has been more than effective offensively and defensively.
After a stellar 2006 (.284/47 doubles/20 homers/84 RBI and just six errors in 462 chances), all Mr. Throw-In did was finish 5th in the A.L. MVP vote in 2007 with a .324 average, 21 homers and 120 RBI. In the run for the 2007 title, Lowell continued his dream season by hitting .353 in the postseason and driving in 15. But after an injury-riddled 2008 that saw the four-time All-Star play in just 113 games (his lowest since part-time duty in 1999), we were all ready to send the guy packing when visions of Mark Teixeira danced in our heads last winter. Then, it happened again when Adrian Gonzalez was a major point of discussion around this year's trading deadline.
The team was always intent on shipping Lowell out, rather than switching his position or working things around him. If they couldn't ship him, they'd bench him. While so many players in today's game would have a huge problem with this kind of thing, Lowell has always been graceful in these situations, never showing resistance.
Fast forward to 2009, and Lowell is still a valuable contributor to the Boston team. While he's 35 years old and spent parts of the summer on the disabled list, he's still in the midst of a respectable season, with a .297 average, 13 home runs, and 57 runs batted in with just 323 at bats. These numbers are much better than those of David Ortiz.
While Lowell may be shipped out next season, or ultimately benched or released, each season of Mike Lowell has been a pleasure to watch. He will always be a class act in Boston.
If only more players were like Mike Lowell...
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