Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 20 Players

12. Mike Lowell (14.2)

Mike Lowell was a 6-foot-4, 195 lb. third baseman from San Juan, PR. Born on February 24th, 1974, Lowell was a 20th round choice of the New York Yankees in the 1995 MLB Amateur Entry Draft. He made his major league debut with them in 1998, going four-for-15 in eight games.

Prior to 1999 Spring Training, Lowell was traded to Florida for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson, and Ed Yarnall. He appeared in 97 games for the Marlins, hitting .253/.317/.419 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI.

In 2000, Lowell played in 140 games for Florida, and improved his slashline to .270/.344/.474 for a 110 OPS+. He would remain above the “league average” of 100 for the next five seasons. Lowell hit a team-leading 38 doubles and 22 homers with 91 RBI.

2001 would see Lowell hit 18 home runs and collect a club-second 100 RBI, the first of three times he eclipsed the total in his 13-season MLB career. He hit .283/.340/.448 over 146 games.

In 2002, Lowell made the all-star team for the first time. In 160 games, he hit .276/346/.471 with a team-leading 44 doubles, a team-second 24 homers, and a team-best 92 RBI.

Lowell made the all-star team for the second time in 2003, also earning his only career Silver Slugger Award. Limited by injury to 130 games, Lowell led the eventual World Champions with 32 homers and 105 RBI. He slashed .276/.350/.530, leading the team and setting a career-high with his SLG. He later went nine-for-46 in the playoffs, including two home runs against the Chicago Cubs

In 2004, Lowell again led the team with 44 doubles, hitting 27 homers and collecting a team-second 85 RBI. He slashed a .293/.365/.505 line, with a 127 OPS+ to make the all-star team for a third-straight year.

Lowell failed to make the all-star team in 2005, but did win his only Gold Glove for his work at third base. He committed only six errors in 1126 2/3 innings at the hot corner, and was 12 total zone fielding runs better than the average third baseman. Offensively, he regressed to a line of .236/.298/.360, with only eight hors and 58 RBI in 150 games.

After the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Marlins traded Lowell with Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota to the Boston Red Sox for Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, Anibal Sanchez, and Hanley Ramirez.

Lowell played five seasons for the Red Sox, again making the all-star team in 2007 and earning the 2007 World Series MVP Award.