Red Sox Hall Of Famer Mike Greenwell Dies At 62

The Red Sox released a statement on Greenwell's passing, paying tribute to his playing career and stewardship to the organization.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Red Sox Hall of Famer Mike Greenwell," the statement read. 'The Gator' spent his entire career in a Red Sox uniform and was a beloved fixture of Fenway and Fort Myers. He gave so much to Lee County and Sox Nation.

"We send our love to the Greenwell family."

Greenwell's entire career was impressive, but his 1988 season stands out. He slashed .325/.416/.531 with 22 home runs and 119 RBI, good for 7.5 wins above replacement. He finished second behind noted performance-enhancing drug user Jose Canseco in the Most Valuable Player race that summer.

Per Sean McAdam of MassLive, Greenwell later half-jokingly quipped that Canseco should forfeit the award to the next-highest finisher (himself).

Longtime Greenwell teammate Ellis Burks, another former Red Sox All-Star outfielder, also paid tribute to his friend and teammate.

“Mike was an unbelievable teammate and an unbelievable friend,” said Burks, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. “He and I were friends from Day 1. That’s a tremendous loss, not only to his family, but for me as well. It’s tough when you have a friend dealing with an illness for a while like that. My condolences go out to his family.”

Greenwell told WBBH, a local outlet in Fort Myers, that he was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer in August. According to Browne and the Cleveland Clinic, that is the rarest form of the disease.