Mike Greenwell

From BR Bullpen

Michael Lewis Greenwell (Gator)

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.

Debut September 5, 1985
Final Game September 28, 1996
Born July 18, 1963 in Louisville, KY USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Outfielder Mike Greenwell had a good 12-season major league career, hitting .303 lifetime while playing exclusively for the Boston Red Sox. His first three major-league hits were home runs, the first a 13th-inning game-winner at Toronto on September 25, 1985. He was a two-time All-Star who was second in the 1988 MVP voting. A legitimate MVP candidate that year, he was overshadowed by Jose Canseco's 40-40 season. Greenwell is the holder of a distinct record: most RBI in one game, accounting for all of a team's scoring. On September 2, 1996, he drove in all nine runs in the Red Sox 9-8 victory in Seattle.

Greenwell is perhaps the biggest bust in the history of Nippon Pro Baseball. After signing the largest contract ever given by the Hanshin Tigers, he hurt his back in spring training, injured his foot a week after returning, then decided to call it quits after hitting .231/.310/.346 in 7 games in Japan, saying that God told him to retire. He then took the money and ran, using the dough to build an amusement park in Florida. Years later, he claimed to have retired to race trucks and in 2006 became a professional truck racer.

Greenwell was a Cincinnati Reds coach in 2001.

His nickname during his playing days was "The Gator." It was said he got the nickname because he liked to wrestle alligators during the offseason in his native Florida.