A True Professional, Lowell Leads By Example

by

Aug 12, 2009

A True Professional, Lowell Leads By Example Do you ever hear a coach, manager or GM reference a certain one of his players’ professionalism and wonder what he’s talking about? 

When you or I think about professional behavior, we immediately think of our own lives in the workplace, or in the office. When you think about athletes who are paid a ton of money to go out every day and play a game, believe it or not, the same rules apply.

Tuesday night, Mike Lowell again showed Red Sox Nation just how loyal and classy he is while continuing his red-hot play. Lowell was not in the lineup prior to Game 2 of the Red Sox-Tigers series. Inserted into the lineup after Kevin Youkilis was ejected from the game in the second inning, Lowell dominated, blasting two home runs en route to a 7-5 Red Sox  win. He became the first Red Sox to come off the bench to hit two homers in a game since Joe Foy on June 9, 1967. Needless to say, it doesn’t happen very often, but Lowell came to the ballpark ready to play – despite not being in the starting lineup – as only a true professional would.

Hall of Famer Jim Rice said after the game that Lowell won’t speak out about his playing time, he won’t complain that the Sox went out and got Victor Martinez at the trade deadline from Cleveland, and he won’t argue the manager’s decisions. What he will do is get ready to play ball, no matter if he’s expected to play or not. A true professional in every sense of the word, Lowell speaks with his bat. And he loves to play.

In his postgame press conference, Terry Francona echoed these thoughts and spoke about how challenging it is to come into a game like that and dominate.

“I do think it shows a lot of professionalism,” said the Sox manager. “That’s not an easy thing to do, and he comes in and directly impacts the game twice. I think he would like to play more. I completely understand that. I would hope his hip feels better as he doesn’t grind on it as much, but I don’t think we need to take credit for him being a good hitter. He’s been that for a while.”

A good hitter and a good teammate. There’s no question that Mike Lowell stands for everything good this game is all about. And when you may wonder what “professionalism” in sports truly means, look no further than the Red Sox' veteran third baseman.

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