June 18, 2009 10:28 am
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By Ed Farrell
Herald Assistant Sports Editor
NILES — Father’s Day arrived early this year for Mike Greenwell.
The former Boston Red Sox standout left fielder visited the Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ recent media day session where his son, Bo, also was introduced as a member of the 2009 squad.
Bo Greenwell is a 20-year-old, 6-foot, 185-pound lefthanded-hitting outfielder. After being taken in the 6th round of the ’07 draft the Alva, Fla. native spent the ’08 season with the Indians’ Gulf Coast League affiliate where he hit .263 with 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs and 14 RBI.
The younger Greenwell likely will start in left field when the Scrappers welcome the Jamestown Jammers in the ’09 New York-Penn League Pinckney Division opener, 7:05 p.m. today at Eastwood Field.
Mike Greenwell was a career .303 hitter in 11 seasons with the Bosox (he then played 1 year for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan), launching 130 home runs and driving in 726 runs. He was a 2-time American League All-Star.
“When I retired, I kind’ve got away from the game. I had never been back to Fenway Park for 10 years, (and) last year was the first time I’d been back,” related Mike Greenwell, who was inducted into the Red Sox’s Hall of Fame. “There was really no reason why I didn’t (return to Fenway); I’d just kind’ve turned that page and I started spending time with my family, being a regular dad, raising my kids.
“But I love the fact that Bo’s in the game now, because I get around now. I run into (Scrappers’ manager) Travis Fryman, (assistant coach) Phil Clark and these guys, I hadn’t seen them in years, and all the old baseball stories come back.”
It’s interesting Mike Greenwell had not visited Fenway for years following his retirement, for as he related regarding his return, “I kind’ve got goose bumps when I walked in. I remembered that same feeling when I first walked into Fenway Park — it was the first time I had ever seen a big-league park; I had never been to a big-league game until I was wearing the uniform. I remember that feeling of looking out and going, ‘Wow!’”
But Bo Greenwell emphasized, “I’m making a name for myself, and that’s been the biggest thing since I became a professional baseball player. I’m just looking to make a name for myself; make my own way. (Work-ethic) was instilled in me when I was young. I was brought up to out-work everybody, out-hustle everybody, to be the first one to the locker room and the last one to leave. Being taught that has meant everything.
“He was just ‘dad,’ and when he walked away from the game, he really did just walk away from the game. It was a good thing and a bad thing,” the youngster continued. “It was a good thing because we lived on the outskirts of Fort Myers, and when he decided to be done with the game, that was it. He raised us the way he wanted to raise his two kids. ... He’s been with me every step of the way, but never pushed me to play the game. He let me develop a love for the game, which I think is so important. I developed the fire to want to be successful in this game, and I love him for that.”
When Mike retired, Bo was a 9-year-old whose most vivid recollection of his father’s playing career was infamous.
“I remember him getting ‘beaned’ on the head on his 30th birthday by Randy Johnson. I remember that very clearly. There’s nothing like watching dad just fall on his face on home plate on his birthday,” the youngster recalled with a chuckle, adding, “But I do remember hanging out in the clubhouse with Mo Vaughn, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, all the guys coming up to me and giving me a cherry-Coke after the games. It helped me see that life, and I still remember that, even though I was young, and I’m eager to get there. It’s pushing me,” he added.
Ironically, father and son share a commonality besides love of the game: Both have transitioned from the infield to the outfield.
“Bo was a first baseman ... I think he played 11 games his senior year (of high school) in the outfield. So when he got drafted, they moved him to the outfield because of his speed. So he’s still learning, really, to play the outfield,” the elder Greenwell analyzed, relating, “I went through similar things because I was a third baseman in the minor leagues. But we had this guy, Wade Boggs, who, I guess was pretty good,” he said with a smile, “... and we were getting older in the outfield with (Jim) Rice and (Darrell) Evans. I never played the outfield ’til I was in triple-A. I was in A ball, had a really good year in the Carolina League, and they (including former Bosox manager John McNamara) actually brought me into spring training in camp and started working with me in the outfield, and I had such a good spring training they sent me to triple-A —I went from A-ball to triple-A — and at the end of that year I went to the big leagues as an outfielder. I’d only played about 120 games in the outfield, and really had to learn how to play in, of all places, Fenway and the ‘Green Monster.’
“(Taught) myself,” Greenwell continued. “ ... Rice — and I’ve joked with him about this over the years — I asked him, ‘How come you never helped me?’ and he said, ‘You were taking my job.’ So, I understood that.”
Mike Greenwell was asked to be more pragmatic than parental in analyzing his son’s skill set:
“Bo’s a complete player. He plays the game hard, he’s developing his power as we speak — he’s still young, but the ball jumps off his bat well; he uses the field well. I truly believe that he is a kid that is going to work his way into the big leagues; he’s just got that work-ethic and desire and dream. There’s a lot of kids that act like (they’re going to make it), but I think he knows it and I think that’s the advantage he has: He knows in his mind, ‘I’m going to get myself to the big leagues, no matter what it takes,’ and that’s just the work-ethic and the desire to get there, and I don’t think you can teach that.
“Bo was a very good football player and actually had some offers to go play college football, but he just always knew that he was going to be a baseball player. And I think that’s part of it: you have to know it; I don’t even know if it’s that you’ve gotta want it; you’ve gotta know it, and he knows it.
“So far ... he’s progressed every year. I’ve talked to some of the coaches through the organization and they all say the same thing about him: Hardest worker; one of most improved players in the organization; just gets better every time you see him. And that’s what you’ve got to do, you’ve got to make yourself a prospect,” Mike Greenwell continued. “ ... He knows I played and he knows I was good. But coaches asked him one time about the pressures of having a dad play at the level I played, and it’s funny, but he said, ‘I gotta worry about me getting better.’ I thought that was a great answer, ’cause it’s true. I tell him all the time, ‘you’ve gotta know you’re a star, you’ve gotta believe it, you’ve gotta find a way to be a star. That guy’s usually the guy that out-works everybody else ... you can’t worry about the last at-bat; you’ve gotta take care of the next one. And that doesn’t matter if you hit a 3-run homer; you’ve got to worry about the next one, that’s all part of it.”
“I’m trying to develop myself as an all-around player,” Bo Greenwell began. “I’m still young, I’m still raw, I’m still learning every day, which I think is gonna benefit me in the long run. Obviously, my bat is one of my strengths. Defensively I moved from first base to the outfield just last year, and I’m just kind’ve getting a feel for the outfield. So if I had to pick a weakness, I’d say it’s the defensive part of my game.
“But, if you can swing it, they’re gonna find a place for you to play, but I’m looking to develop that part (defense) of my game so I’m an all-around prospect,” he added.
“Being an athlete, it’s easy to go from the infield to the outfield,” the youngster continued. “It’s been a good thing, so I can just go out there and run, learning how to develop my angles on balls hit, learning how to stretch out my arm so as to get a little more carry on my (throws). Really, it’s just little things I need to work on defensively, and when those get there then I’ll be where I need to be.”
Fryman, the 2nd-year Scrappers’ skipper, offered this assessment:
“I know they were hoping that (Bo) would be here last year, but it didn’t work out. But he did a good job this spring, made our club, and probably will be our left fielder. So we’re looking forward to having him.”
“I’m excited, obviously, because Travis Fryman’s here,” the elder Greenwell admitted. “’Old-school’ player, ‘old-school’ guy, and I think he’s going to be great for these kids, to have a guy with that kind of knowledge and experience coaching them. So it’s a great stepping stone for any kid; for mine, I’m excited about it. I think (Fryman) will get the best out of Bo and take Bo to a different level.”
“It’s going to be great,” the youngster echoed, regarding Fryman. “He knows so much about the game. He was a student of the game, and he worked his butt off. He’s an ‘old-school’ type of coach, he wants his players to work every day, work hard, play the game hard, and that’s how I play the game. I think we’re a good fit together, and I cannot wait to play for him. I’m gonna learn a lot from him, and it’s gonna be a great season.”
“It’s gotta be tough to be a dad and in that position, especially being a former player,” observed Fryman, who was a contemporary of Greenwell’s. “You think, as a former player you know the ins and outs, you know what’s going on. But at the same time you’re a dad first, and you want it badly for your kid. So that can be tough for Bo, too. But he’s a very mature, respectful young man, and I think he’ll do well.”
“I get more nervous watching my son play, without a doubt,” Mike admitted. “You feel it for him, you see the disappointment when they struggle, you see the happiness. I know what he’s going through, so it’s definitely tougher watching your own son ’cause you can’t control it.
“But Bo’s a heckava player, and you guys (media) will see he’s an ‘old-school’ player, he works hard, plays hard, he’ll give you 100 percent every play and every at-bat, and those are the guys that make it.”
Bo said the pressure of being a second-generation pro with MLB aspirations is a positive.
“I’ve had a target on my back since ... I can remember striking out in Little League, and the place just going nuts — ‘You struck out Mike Greenwell’s son!’ — so it’s always been there.
“But pressure’s candy, in my opinion,” the youngster continued. “I grew up around it, and no matter if I’m standing up there the first at-bat of the game or it’s bases loaded, one out, and we’re down by two, I want that. I was able to push through that in high school and when I was younger, also, and I can push through it now. That’s when it gets fun, that’s why we play the game.
“We don’t get to this level because when stuff got hard, we crawled into a shell; we all rose above it, and that’s why we’re here, and we love that part of the game.
“I can only be as good as I’m gonna be,” the newest Scrapper said. “I’ve got a lot of (his father’s) skills. He developed me young, and being with the Indians, they’ve developed me, also — being a raw player — and it’s a combination that’s going to push me to be my best. And we’ll see what the outcome of that is. I’m only 20, I’m a ‘pup,’ and if I do become what he became, great — that’d be awesome! But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. There’s a lot of people that have played this game, but stuff has to bounce your way; you have to get that break, and I’m looking for that and I’m going to be ready for that.”
“I’m a big believer in letting him grow,” Mike Greenwell said. “It’s Travis Fryman’s job right now, and he’ll do a good job.”
“Go day by day, make sure you’re healthy, learn something every day, take something with you every day, and if you do that in the minor leagues, you’re gonna succeed,” the youngster observed. “If you work hard every day, you’re gonna succeed.”
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Photos
Bo Greenwell
David E. Dale/Herald