Mike Greenwell, who spent his entire 12-year major league career with the Red Sox and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame, has been diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer.
Greenwell made the announcement through Gulf Coast News, a TV station in Lee County, Fla., where he serves as county commissioner.
Drafted in the third round of the 1982 MLB Draft, Greenwell was a two-time All-Star and earned the 1988 Silver Slugger Award. He was the runner-up for the 1988 American League MVP Award to Oakland’s Jose Canseco, who later admitted to steroid use, prompting Greenwell to ask, “Where’s my MVP?”
The successor to Hall of Famer Jim Rice in left field, Greenwell hit .303 with 130 home runs and 726 RBIs. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.
After retiring from MLB, Greenwell signed to play in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball but suffered a herniated disk in spring training. He eventually appeared in seven games for the Tigers but retired for the final time after a foul tip fractured his right foot.
Following his baseball career, Greenwell began a life in local politics near his hometown of Fort Myers, Fla., and in 2022, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, appointed him to serve the remaining term of Lee County commissioner Franklin B. Mann after he died. Greenwell was subsequently reelected for a full term in 2024.
He has been attending meetings via Zoom and over the telephone as a result of his diagnosis, according to Gulf Coast News. He told Gulf Coast News he did not have a timeline for when he may be able to return to in-person work.
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy.