Carrying the Torch of Protecting the Green Monster: Mike Greenwell’s Impossible Burden

It first came to my attention a few weeks ago that former Boston Red Sox left fielder Mike Greenwell was not doing well. It must have been a social media post that came across my timeline. That is when I discovered he had some form of cancer, which I now know is thyroid cancer – more specifically, medullary thyroid cancer.
On Friday, news broke that Greenwell had passed away at the young age of 62. That's when I remembered that social post from weeks ago, but I could have sworn it said he was improving. Maybe the post was newsworthy because it stated he was close to death. In either event, the news of his passing was a gut shot to me.
Greenwell played for the Boston Red Sox from 1985-1996. He became a full-time starter in 1987. It was a transition period in Red Sox history as the team was mediocre, compiling an 820-755 record. They did make the playoffs three times – in 1988, 1990, and 1995 – but were eliminated in series sweeps each time.
He did appear in the infamous 1986 World Series against the New York Mets. He was a role player that year, but he did get a chance to appear as a pinch-runner in Game 2 and got an at-bat as a pinch-hitter in Game 4 (flying out to right field off lefty Sid Fernandez).
The Red Sox had one of the most amazing historical record of positional continuity in the history of sports. From 1939 through the early months of 1987, the Boston Red Sox had only three starting left fielders – Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice.
Enter 23-year-old Mike Greenwell. When Jim Rice began seeing a precipitous decline in his hitting – due in large part to vision problems which he was reluctant to admit – which saw Rice's career average finish below .300 (.298 – that upset me as a kid), it was Greenwell's turn to take the baton.
It was enormous pressure and a huge burden.
Greenwell would be the starting left fielder for the Red Sox for the next ten years – continuing the long-standing continuity defending the Green Monster at Fenway. But he never became the superstar many were hoping for. It was unfair to expect him to live up to the standard of the three Hall of Famers who came before him.
Greenwell did have a career batting average of .303 – better than Rice and Yaz (.285). He was a pure contact hitter with a keen eye at the plate – never striking out more than 46 times in a season.
But he never hit for power like his predecessors. That's just not who he was.
He finished with 130 career home runs. He had over 20 HR and 100 RBI once in his career. That came in 1988 in his first full season as a starter – hitting 22 HR, 119 RBI, and batting .325. He was voted to the All-Star Game and finished second in MVP voting. He would be an All-Star the following year again, but those would be the only two times. He never again garnered any MVP votes. And he never made it to the World Series again.
He retired in 1996 to little fanfare. The team was entering a new era led by flashy, big personality, power hitters like Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra – players who were the more prototypical "superstar" types that fans yearn for.
After retirement, Greenwell developed a passion for car racing. He returned home to Florida and competed in some stock car races – racing on short tracks and dirt ovals.
In 2012, he briefly managed his son, Bo Greenwell, who was then in the Cleveland farm system.
He would visit Boston Red Sox training camp in Fort Myers from time to time, signing autographs for fans who would affectionately call him by his nickname "Gator." He earned the nickname from a high school coach who reportedly said he played so fearlessly and tough that "he'll wrestle anything that moves" – presumably, including an alligator.
Mike Greenwell is survived by his wife, Tracy, and his two sons, Bo and Garrett.
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“After Williams, Yaz, and Rice came Greenwell — Fenway’s quiet, unassuming blue collar professional baseball player guarding the heralded Green Monster for a decade.”
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