Mike Lowell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox — No. 25 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: February 24, 1974 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 13, 1998 for the New York Yankees | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through June 9, 2008) |
|
| Batting average | .279 |
| Home runs | 193 |
| Runs batted in | 809 |
| Teams | |
|
|
| Highlights and awards | |
|
|
Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball third baseman of Cuban descent and is a cancer survivor. He is a right-handed batter. He is currently the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox who previously played with the New York Yankees (1998) and Florida Marlins (1999-2005).
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years and personal life
Mike was raised in Miami, Florida. He is the son of Carlos Lowell, a Cuban exile of Irish and German descent who established residency in Puerto Rico from 1962 to 1974, while pitching for the Puerto Rico National Team. He 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 with a 4.0 GPA and where he was a star player on the baseball team. It is there where he met future wife Bertica Lowell, a member of the school's nationally recognized Gablettes dance team, which she became coach of years later. They have one daughter, Alexis Ileana Lowell, and one son named Anthony.[1] The family currently resides in Pinecrest, Florida. On February 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. [2][3]
[edit] Florida International University
While attending Florida International University on an athletic scholarship, in the summer of 1994 he played for the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod Baseball League. 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. He earned his degree in finance from Florida International University, where he was All-Conference three times. His uniform number 15 was retired.
[edit] Major League Baseball
[edit] New York Yankees
Lowell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1995 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut as a September call-up for the Yankees, and played eight games. He was traded in the off-season to the Florida Marlins.
[edit] Florida Marlins
Lowell was traded to the Florida Marlins on February 1, 1999. While waiting for spring training, he discovered that he had testicular cancer and underwent surgery on February 21 returning to the lineup on May 29. He finished his season with a .253 BA, 12 home runs, and 47 RBI.
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. Lowell also finished third in doubles in the league with 47 in the 2005 season. The 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.
[edit] Boston Red Sox
Although the Boston Red Sox took on Lowell and his contract largely 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.
The 2007 season turned out to be one of Lowell's best, in which he set career bests in hits, RBI, batting average, OPS, and played a key role in helping the Red Sox win their second World Series in four years. One of the early highlights of the season came on April 22 when Lowell was one of the four Red Sox players to hit consecutive home runs against the Yankees. During the first half, Lowell hit .300 and led the team with 14 home runs (tied with David Ortiz) and 63 RBI. This performance helped earn him a spot on the 2007 American League All-Star Team as a reserve player voted in on the player's ballot.
As the Red Sox held onto its lead in the American League East division, Lowell continued to carry the team by hitting .350 during the second half. His season total of 120 RBI was not only a personal best but a franchise record for a Red Sox third baseman, beating Butch Hobson's total of 112 in 1977. Lowell also finished with a .324 batting average, 21 home runs and 191 hits, another career high.
Lowell capped off the season by being named the 2007 World Series MVP as the Red Sox won their seventh World Series title. Lowell hit .400 with 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 runs scored and a stolen base in the four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Lowell also became the second Puerto Rican player to be named the MVP of a World Series (the first one being Roberto Clemente).
Following the season, Lowell placed fifth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting. Although he filed for free agency, Lowell returned to the Red Sox after signing a three-year contract worth $37.5M.
On May 6, 2008, Lowell's autobiography, Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within, was released.
[edit] Accolades
- 2007 World Series MVP
- World Series champion:
- League champion:
- National League: 2003 with the Marlins
- American League: 2007 with the Red Sox
- American League East Division champion: 2007 with the Red Sox.
- National League Wildcard: 2003 with the Marlins
- 4-time All-Star (2002-04, 2007)
- Tony Conigliaro Award winner (1999)
- NL Gold Glove for Third Base (2005)
- TYIB Defensive Player of the Year (2006)
- Jackie Jensen Award (2006)
- 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)
[edit] See also
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
[edit] References
- ^ Mike Lowell at MLB.com.
- ^ [1] "Just Another Comeback Year," Boston Globe.
- ^ [2] "Lowell fighting cancer battle one day at a time," Discover Athens Magazine.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Eckstein |
World Series MVP 2007 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
