Picture perfect
Lowell could have a better season than last year’s MVP-worthy campaign
MLB. Mike Lowell couldn’t be in a better place in his baseball life.
The Sox third baseman has job security after inking a three-year, $37.5 million deal, he’s playing in the city of his choice after a beneficial trade from the Marlins that delivered him to Boston and he’s coming off a resurgent campaign that saw him hit .324 with 120 RBIs while finishing fifth in AL MVP voting.
Despite all of the obvious positives, there could be skepticism in some corners that a 34-year-old coming off a career year might be headed for a decline.
But Sox Manager Terry Francona shoots down that notion after watching Lowell again go about his business like a stone-cold professional this winter.
“When you’re winning, then you’re veteran, and if you get beat, then you’re old,” Francona said. “The situation we’re in, we like our players.
“Mikey Lowell signs a three-year contract, and he comes to camp a step quicker than he was last year. He obviously worked hard this winter. This organization makes good decisions, and with guys like Lowell, you give it to him and you know what [Lowell] is going to do.”
Lowell started last season hitting sixth so the Sox could maintain balance between right- and left-handed batters through the order, but he took ownership of the five-hole late in the season.
He responded by hitting .448 with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 17 games out of the five-spot in September and then hit .353 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 14 postseason games en route to the World Series MVP award.
With that in mind, there wasn’t a whole lot of hesitation when Francona was asked this spring who would fill the No. 5 spot.
“I wouldn’t not hit him fifth [this season],” Francona said. “He’s earned it. I was doing the [right-left] lineup balance thing for so long, and I was stubborn about it. I turned out to be wrong.”
That wrong turned into a right, however, when Lowell flourished in the fifth spot and led the Sox to their second World Series in four years.