Mike Lowell Night at Fenway Park

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October 2, 2010 brought an appreciation for Mike Lowell’s career in baseball and for his time with the Boston Red Sox organization.  It can and has been said by some media that Lowell was never really wanted by the team, but on this Saturday afternoon none of that mattered.  That day was a day to celebrate his success on and off the field and the memories in which he provided Red Sox fans for the past five seasons.

The 2007 season, saw Lowell go on to hit for a .324 average, 21 homeruns, 120 RBIs in addition to playing tremendous defense at the hot corner and then being named MVP of the World Series during the Red Sox second World Series triumph in four years.

In his career, Lowell hit for a .278 average with 223 homeruns and 952 RBIs over his 13 seasons.  His career with the Red Sox came full circle Saturday, during “Thanks Mike” Day at Fenway.  With Lowell retiring at season’s end he was able to finish his career against the New York Yankees, the team that provided Lowell with his first taste of the big leagues back in 1998.

Image via Wikipedia

While the gestures in the many articles and press releases will read that Lowell was presented with gifts such as Stone Crabs (from the Florida Marlins), the 3rd base bag and a $100,000 check toward his foundation (from the Red Sox) the history books will show that on October 2, Mike Lowell finished his big league career going 2/2 with 2 RBIs during Saturday’s 6-5 loss to the New York Yankees.  More importantly, Saturday provided members of Red Sox Nation a final look at the man who played the game the way it was meant to be played.  In quoting Ian Browne’s piece from MLB.com, here’s Tim Wakefield’s description of Lowell, “He epitomizes professionalism and sets a standard for being a team leader, not only vocally, but through example, and how he prepared himself, and how he played.”  This is exactly how Mike Lowell would like to be remembered and this is exactly how Red Sox Nation will remember you Mike.  I’m just honored that on Saturday, I was able to witness it all!