Baseball teams come to be defined by their players as much
as the successes or failures they have with their win/loss records. In
particular, the Boston Red Sox have a rich tradition of players who have left
indelible marks on the franchise and its fans. One player who is surely in that
category is Troy O’Leary, who came to Boston under humble circumstances, but
left as a tremendous success.
The left-handed O’Leary was a 13th-round draft choice of the
Milwaukee Brewers in 1987. He was a .300 hitter in the minors, but could never
crack the team’s big league roster beyond brief stints in 1993 and 1994.
Shortly after the start of the 1995 season, O’Leary was
released, but was quickly snapped up by the Red Sox, who had a big hole in
right field. It turned out to be a brilliant maneuver, as he went on to hit
.308 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI in 112 games, and the Red Sox won the
American League East.
O’Leary wound up having a productive seven-year career with
the Red Sox, playing both right field and left. His best season came in 1999,
when he hit .280 with 28 home runs and 103 RBI in 157 games.
His defining moment came that same year in the ALDS in the
deciding Game 5 against the Cleveland Indians. Behind his two home runs
(including a grand slam) and seven RBI, the Red Sox rallied from an early
deficit to take the series and advance to the ALCS against the New York
Yankees.
While they team failed to make the World Series in 1999, the
heroics of O’Leary became a permanent part of Red Sox lore.
His final season in Boston came in 2001 when he appeared in
104 games, but hit just .240 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI.
Following the season, he signed as a free agent with the
Montreal Expos. After one season there, he finished his major league career
with the Chicago Cubs in 2003. He also played in Korea in 2004, and in Mexico
in 2005 before calling it a career.
During his 11 seasons in the majors, he hit a combined .274
with 127 home runs and 591 RBI. He was often overshadowed in Boston by bigger
names like Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez and Mo Vaughn, but the once
lightly-regarded player carved out a very nice career and niche for himself in
team history.
Other than trying to jumpstart a baseball
reality show, O’Leary has remained out of the spotlight in retirement. But
that shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the way he quietly became one of the
most consistent players in Red Sox history.
I had the opportunity to exchange messages with O’Leary and
ask him a few questions about his career. Check out what he had to say!
Troy O’Leary
Questionnaire:
Who was your favorite
coach or manager?: Kevin Kennedy.
What was the
strangest thing you ever saw as a player?: A routine ground ball and a
person ran on the field naked.
Who was the toughest
pitcher you ever faced?: Randy Johnson.
If you could do
anything differently about your career, what would that be?: Not go to
Korea.
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