Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks obstructs St. Louis Cardinals runner Allen Craig during Game Three of the 2013 World Series at Busch Stadium on October 26, 2013 in St Louis, Missouri. Getty
Will Middlebrooks , the former Boston Red Sox third baseman who now broadcasts the team's games on both TV and radio, turns 38 today, the Red Sox shared through their Portland Sea Dogs affiliate. Why the Sea Dogs? Middlebrooks will spend part of the week making Portland history.
The Sea Dogs have elected him to the team's Hall of Fame, with Middlebrooks' induction ceremony set for Thursday at Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
The club says fans can meet Middlebrooks before Thursday's game at the ballpark. The honor lands the day after a birthday that closes a loop on a path running from Texas high school fields to a World Series ring and, now, a Red Sox broadcast booth.
Middlebrooks was born September 9, 1988, in Greenville, Texas, before his family moved to Texarkana in 1999, where he won state titles in football and baseball at Liberty-Eylau High School, according to Texarkana Magazine . His father, Tom, coached him in both sports.
Boston drafted Middlebrooks in the fifth round in 2007 and converted him from shortstop to third base. He broke out with Portland in 2011, batting .302 with 25 doubles, 18 home runs and 80 RBI in 96 games , numbers that earned him an Eastern League All-Star selection and a trip to the All-Star Futures Game.
Middlebrooks reached the majors in 2012 and was named Red Sox Rookie of the Year, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 75 games before a broken right hand ended his season , according to his MLB .com player page. The following year he helped Boston win the 2013 World Series, though his own postseason is remembered as much for a single play as for the ring.
GettyRed Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks obstructs St. Louis Cardinals runner Allen Craig during Game 3 of the 2013 World Series at Busch Stadium on October 26, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Game 3 of that World Series ended on an obstruction call against Middlebrooks, after Allen Craig tripped over him as he dove for a wild throw at third and umpires waved Craig home safe.
"When I pushed myself up, he was on my back pushing off me, so what am I supposed to do?" Middlebrooks said, as quoted by MLB.com reporter Alden Gonzalez . The Cardinals won that game, but Boston closed out the series, and their third of four World Series championships since 2004 in six.
Middlebrooks played six major league seasons with the Red Sox, Padres , Brewers and Rangers, finishing his career with a .228 average, 43 home runs and 155 RBI in 347 games. A severe leg injury that occurred in a collision with a teammate during 2018 spring training with Philadelphia ended his playing days. He officially retired in January 2019.
Middlebrooks moved into broadcasting after his early retirement , working as a CBS Sports HQ analyst before joining NESN as a Red Sox studio and game analyst. He has since become the lead color commentator for the Red Sox Radio Network on WEEI and picked up postseason work for ESPN Radio.
He married former NESN Red Sox reporter Jenny Dell in February 2016, three years after the two began dating while she covered the team and Middlebrooks was still a member of the Red Sox, according to The Boston Globe report on their wedding . Dell now works as the lead college football reporter for CBS Sports' SEC coverage. The couple has two daughters and lives in South Florida.
Thursday's induction adds one more chapter to a Texarkana kid's improbable run through pro baseball. A plaque now waits alongside the Sea Dogs greats who helped put him there.
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