Mike Lowell

Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman.

Lowell was born in Puerto Rico to Carl and Beatriz Lowell on February 24, 1974.

His parents were born in Cuba, and are of Irish and Spanish ancestry.

His family relocated to Miami, Florida, when Lowell was four years old.

He has always identified himself as both Cuban and Puerto Rican.

He attended elementary school at Epiphany Catholic School in South Miami, Florida.

As a high school sophomore at Christopher Columbus High School, he was selected to the varsity baseball team but did not get playing time, so he transferred to Coral Gables Senior High School for his junior year.

In 1992, Lowell graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida, where he had a 4.0 GPA and was a star player on the baseball team.

There, he met future wife Bertica, a member of the school's nationally recognized Gablettes dance team, of which she became coach years later.

They have one daughter, Alexis Ileana Lowell, and one son named, Anthony.

In 1993 he played in the Valley Baseball League a collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia for the Waynesboro Generals.

In the summer of 1994, he played for the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).

Lowell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft, and eventually made his MLB debut with the New York Yankees during the 1998 season.

He was also converted to play as a third baseman, having been at shortstop and second base in college.

Lowell was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.

Lowell graduated from FIU in 1997 with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance.

A three-time All Conference player with the Panthers, his uniform number 15 was retired.

During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006–2010).

With the Red Sox, he was named MVP of the World Series.

He made his major league debut as a September call-up for the Yankees in 1998, singling in his first at-bat and playing eight games in the season.

Although Lowell debuted late in the season and did not play in the 1998 postseason, he still received his first career World Series ring as the Yankees won the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres.

On February 19, 1999, Lowell was diagnosed with testicular cancer, causing him to miss nearly two months of the 1999 season while he underwent treatment for the disease.

However, he later recovered and went on to play baseball professionally.

The Lowell family currently resides in Pinecrest, Florida.

Lowell was awarded an athletic scholarship to attend Florida International University (FIU) to play college baseball for the FIU Panthers baseball team.

Lowell was traded to the Florida Marlins on February 1, 1999, for Mark Johnson and Ed Yarnall.

While waiting for spring training, he discovered that he had testicular cancer and underwent surgery on February 21 returning to the lineup on May 29.

He finished his season with a .253 batting average, 12 home runs, and 47 RBI.

Lowell had successful years in Florida and established himself as one of the elite third baseman in the league.

In 2001, he finished with 18 home runs and 100 RBI.

Lowell was having an excellent season in 2003, but in late August he suffered a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch by the Montreal Expos' Héctor Almonte, forcing him to miss 32 games.

He finished the season with 32 home runs and 105 RBI.

Rookie Miguel Cabrera moved from left field to third base after Lowell's injury.

Lowell returned for the postseason and had five hits in the Marlins' World Series win over the Yankees.

In 2004, he hit a career-high (at the time) .293 with 27 home runs and 85 RBI.

Despite a disappointing 2005 season in which he hit .236 with only eight home runs and a .298 on-base percentage, Lowell earned his first Gold Glove Award.

Lowell also finished third in doubles in the league, totaling 47 doubles in the 2005 season.

In 2006, Lowell's sister, Cecilia, married Carlos Curbelo, who was a United States Congressman from 2015 to 2019.

Lowell's autobiography, Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within, was published on May 6, 2008.

Lowell was a league all-star for Chatham, and was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2011.