Former outfielder Mike Greenwell died of cancer Thursday at the age of 62:

Greenwell played his entire major league career for Boston, making two All-Star appearances, winning the 1988 Silver Slugger Award and finishing second in that year’s MVP voting to Oakland Athletics outfielder Jose Canseco. Greenwell was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.

ESPN.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends. I was a fan of his.

Greenwell peaked early, posting his best year in 1988 at seasonal age 24. His .325/.416/.531 slash line was good for a 7.5 rWAR season, and he bookended that with 3.6 rWAR seasons. His power fell off after that, although he was never really a home run hitter. He continue to do a great job getting on base, but then multiple injuries in 1992 shortened his career. Still, he finished with a .303/.368/.463 slash line for his career.

Note that he used Fenway effectively to generate doubles and triples, which made him look like more of a power hitter. He was miscast as a middle of the order batter, and no doubt in today’s game he would probably bat second, and would have been a good leadoff hitter for most teams.