Ol' Greenie has sort of a Steve-Martin-as-Jacques-Clouseau-in-the-horrible-Pink-Panther-remake-look here. In other words, French. Still, despite the Parisian lip coiffe, he is worthy of being recognized as our second Boston Mo' Star. Some fun facts:
- Was the heir apparent of the Red Sox left field mantle; below are the career WAR of Red Sox left fielders in chronological order (according to Baseball-Reference):
- Ted Williams: 125.3
- Carl Yastrzemski: 88.7
- Jim Rice: 41.5
- Mike Greenwell: 23.5
- Troy O'Leary: 5.5
- The only offensive category he ever led the league in was Intentional Walks, with 18 in 1988, for which he tied for the AL lead with teammate Wade Boggs. The players Greenwell most frequently batted in front of that year were Dwight Evans, Ellis Burks, and Mr. Most Feared Hitter himself, Jim Rice.
- Went to High School in Ft. Myers where the Red Sox have Spring Training. I bet he saved some serious dough not having to find a rental for February and March every year.
- Received 2 votes in his only year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Probably from a couple of moustache aficionados.
- Was famous (infamous) for a penchant for sliding into first base on close plays. Anybody who understands basic physics understands that this act actually slows down a runner, making it less likely he would be safe on a close play. Of course, the extra speed generated by his 'stache probably made it a moot point anyway.
- In 1988, Greenie finished second to Jose Canseco for MVP. At the time there was no dispute. Canseco led the way for the mighty Oakland A's, led the league in HR, RBI and SLG and had a little extra swagger with the Bash Bros routine. However, when Canseco admitted (bragged) to using steroids, Greenie became very vocal that the title should be stripped from Canseco and rewarded to him. Of course this ignores the fact that Boggs was probably the better choice all along, posting an OBP 60 points higher than Greenwell at .476, the 7th highest rate in the expansion era by anyone not named Barry Bonds.
So now you know a little bit more about Mike Greenwell and his French 'stache.
Please don't forget that these little moustache posts aren't for my health, but are to help improve the health of those suffering or at risk of prostate cancer. Please go to my Mo Page to donate anything you can: http://mobro.co/sexybostonsports
Updates of my Mo progress are coming once I find a working camera phone. Sadly, it has come in a lot slower than I thought. The goal is Tom Selleck, but right now I look more like Harris Trinsky from Freaks and Geeks:
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