“FENWAY'S BEST PLAYERS”

2001-2003 SHEA HILLENBRAND   3B Shea Hillenbrand played for Mesa Community College from 1994 through 1996. He chalked up accolades as a First Team All-American and 1996 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year playing baseball. Drafted by the Red Sox Shea was sent to play for the Lowell Spinners in 1996. The next season, he was promoted to the Sarasota Red Sox of the Florida State League and finished the season with the Michigan Battle Cats of the Midwest League. Despite being drafted as a shortstop, he played at first base and third base during his first two years in the minors. In 1998, he was converted to a catcher and had his best season in the minors, with a .349 batting average and 19 home runs. That earned him a promotion in 1999 to AA Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League. The 2000 season saw him back at Trenton and playing first base and third base again. Shea's work earned him an invitation to spring training with the Red Sox in 2001 and he won a spot on the roster for opening day. He played mostly at third base, with a .263 batting average at season's end. He retained his spot on the roster for 2002 and had a great year. On April 13th, Shea pulled off the nearly unfathomable by slamming a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the eighth, to lift the Sox to an electrifying 7-6 victory over the Yankees. Later, in Tampa on May 4th, his ninth-inning, pinch grand slam gave the Sox a 7-5 win. Shea was one of six Red Sox players to make the 2002 AL All-Star team, and at the end, had a break-out season, hitting for a .293 average with 18 homers. Unfortunately for him, the Red Sox signed free agent Bill Mueller for the 2003 season, who was hitting around .380 and playing a solid third base. Shea therefore became expendable and was traded to Arizona for pitcher Byung-hyun Kim in May.