This will be the first installment mirroring Boston Red Sox players of the present with one from my memories of the past. This is the left fielders – Andrew Benintendi and Mike Greenwell.
The 2018 season is over and the awards continue to accumulate for the players as recognition for 108 wins and going through the playoffs like starving locust through a wheat field. Is this the best Red Sox team ever put together? I am not old enough to remember 1912, but this team certainly is the best in my memory.
When I look at position by position, what leaps out is memories of players past. Just who on the current collection remind me of players that I have seen on the Red Sox since my first game in 1953? I will start with two that have an eerie similarity – Andrew Benintendi and Mike Greenwell.
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Naturally, in this lit exercise, they both play left field and in this instance hit from the left side. Greenwell, however, had the misfortune of being compared to the left field legacy that ran from Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski and then to Jim Rice. A heady group to be compared with.
Greenwell had the interesting nickname of “Gator” that can be traced to two stories. The first is the Florida born Greenwell would “rassle” gators in his youth and the second story is far more interesting. Supposedly, Greenwell taped an alligator’s mouth and left it in fellow outfielder Ellis Burks locker. I like the second version.
Just how good was Greenwell?
Based on a comparison of Benintendi and Greenwell’s first two full seasons, Gator gets an edge. In 1987, Greenwell finished fourth among American League left fielders with a 3.4 fWAR. In1988, he was tops with a 7.8 fWAR. In those two seasons, Greenwell hit .326 with 41 home runs and 208 RBI. Figures that Benintendi cannot match., but is close – very close.
In1988, the 24-year-old Greenwell finished second to the enhanced Jose Canseco for the AL MVP Award with Canseco becoming a 40/40 player that season. That 1988 season was, unfortunately, the high water mark in Greenwell’s career. A career that was spent entirely with the Red Sox – 12 seasons.
For those that remember Greenwell, you can see Benintendi as a mirror image for their first two full seasons. Power and run-producing ability and with power that also means extra bases as both could pile up doubles.
Greenwell also holds a unique record that no longer exists – game-winning RBI. In1988, Greenwell had 23 game winners and will forever hold that record unless MLB decides to resuscitate it. Greenwell also holds another unusual record with the record for accounting for all his teams RBI in a 9-8 win against Seattle. No one ever has topped that.
I consider Greenwell and Benintendi underrated defensively. Both could reach double-digits in assists, but that comes with the Fenway caveat of the short left field that discourages adventurism on the base paths. We have already seen what Benintendi is capable of doing defensively and Greenwell once led all left fielders with a 12 TZ in 1988.
After the 1991 season, Greenwell’s numbers started to fade with the combination of injuries and wear and tear. In 1991, Greenwell hit .300 but sunk to .233 the following season playing just 49 games. By 1996 Greenwell was done but left MLB with a career .303 average.
When you view the “numbers” with Gator you see a remarkably consistent player who hit on the road (.294) and at home (.312). Greenwell would hit lefties (.293) and righties (.307) with just about equal bad intent. Simply put is Greenwell was just a great hitter who would absolutely murder a fastball.
Greenwell was often vilified in Boston for reasoning I could not fathom. A dirt dog style and a hitter who would produce a .300+ average with power – yet viewed as underachieving what was expected. Maybe that 1988 season tainted all of us?
With Benintendi, I see an upside with each season being an incremental improvement over the previous season. I would not be surprised if Benintendi gets a Silver Slugger or even a batting title. Benintendi hits like Greenwell, runs better, has cutting-edge training, and has not terrorized Mookie Betts with an alligator.
Greenwell did give Nippon baseball a try after leaving the Red Sox, but lasted only seven games and returned stateside after breaking his foot. Greenwell has dabbled in coaching, been a driver and owner in stock cars, owns a farm in Florida, and has an amusement park operation in Florida. In 2008 Greenwell was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.