Rob Bradford of WEEI.com caught up with Mike Lowell, who made it clear that he’s definitely retired and revealed that his surgically repaired hip “has gone a little bit downhill.”
Lowell underwent surgery on his right hip following the 2008 season and recent X-rays showed that “it has gotten progressively worse.”
Here’s more from Lowell, who hit .239 with a .674 OPS in a part-time role for the Red Sox last year:
Without medication or pain management I don’t think I can run 50 yards right now, I know I can’t. I don’t want to be taking meds to go about my day-to-day life. I feel like my quality of life is going down a little bit. I want to teach my kid how to run the bases in Little League instead of just standing there. It seems trivial but it bothers me that I can’t do it.
Bradford writes that Lowell “understands that a hip replacement is most likely inevitable” and the four-time All-Star explained that he doesn’t regret using “anti-inflammatories and pain medication” to get through last season even if it wasn’t “the greatest thing for the hip” long term.
Lowell became a full-time player for the Marlins in 2000 and ceased being a regular for the Red Sox after 2009. During that decade-long stretch he ranked seventh among third baseman in Wins Above Replacement, trailing only Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Eric Chavez, Adrian Beltre, and Troy Glaus.
