Happy Birthday Mike Greenwell!!!

Mike ‘Gator’ Greenwell turns 46 years old today.

A Red Sox favorite during the late 1980’s and into the 90’s, Mike Greenwell is one of the rare players that spent his entire career with one team during baseball’s biggest spike of free agent activity.  Loyalty is a commendable trait and the faithful Red Sox fans still hold Mike Greenwell as one of their favorites.

During his best season as a professional baseball player, Greenwell took the sport by storm.  In 1988 ‘Gator’ hit .325 while collecting 192 hits.  In that year he also smashed 22 home runs, collected 119 RBI, scored 86 runs, and stole 16 bases.  And amazingly with 693 plate appearances during that break-out season, Greenwell struck out just 38 times!!!  ’Gator’ finished in 2nd place for the MVP award that year, and had it not been for a certain player setting a new baseball standard of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, Mike Greenwell would have been a unanimous selection as the league’s best player.

For Greenwell’s birthday I would like to give him a few more years in the big leagues.  He had some amazing statistical seasons and if he had stayed around and played in Boston for a few more seasons we could be looking at another member of the 2,500 hits club and 1,000 RBI club.

Happy Birthday Mike Greenwell!!!