The Red Sox drafted Mike Greenwell out of North Fort Myers, Florida in the third round of the 1982 June Amateur Draft and he burst onto the scene in 1987 after a couple of cups of coffee the previous two seasons.
Greenwell took over in left field from aging Jim Rice during the 1987 season, also seeing time at DH and in right field, hitting .328/.386/.956 with 19 home runs.
In 1988, he earned the first of his two All-Star nods by hitting .325/.416/.946 with 22 homers and 119 RBI, finishing second in the MVP voting behind Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics and helping Boston to the AL East title.
Greenwell wouldn’t reach those power numbers again, but was an All-Star again in 1989 after hitting .308/.380/.813 with 95 RBI.
Surgery on his right elbow and right knee limited him to 49 games in 1992, but he bounced back with 72 RBI and 38 doubles in 1993.
An injured finger, a bad back and a sore foot sidelined Greenwell for more than half the 1996 season and he rejected a one-year contract for 1997, per the Society for American Baseball Research, and went to Japan.
In his seventh game, he fouled a ball off his right instep, breaking his foot, and retired from the game.
In parts of 12 seasons with the Red Sox, Greenwell hit .303/.368/.831 in 1,269 games, with 130 homers, 726 RBI and 657 runs.
Greenwell coached with the Cincinnati Reds in 2001, spent a little time racing on the NASCAR Truck Series and opened Mike Greenwell’s Bat-A-Ball and Family Fun Park in Cape Coral, Florida in 1992.