Boston.com · Sep 5, 2020
Forced to retire from baseball early, Will Middlebrooks now has a budding second career
Will Middlebrooks hit 17 home runs for the Red Sox in 2013, and helped them win the World Series that year.Had certain plot twists gone a different way, Will Middlebrooks might still be playing for the Boston Red Sox.
It was eight years ago — yes, that long now — that he arrived at age 23 as a welcome summer phenom with a floundering 2012 Red Sox team, hitting 15 home runs in 75 games.
A year later, he was the primary third baseman on the beloved “Boston Strong” World Series champions, hitting 17 home runs. But struggles at the plate late that season plagued him through 2014, and he was traded that December to the Padres.
