THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 20: Mike Lowell signs $38M deal with Red Sox after World Series MVP

Mike Lowell turned a solid season capped by a World Series MVP award into a $37.5 million three-year contract with the Red Sox on this day in béisbol, November 20, 2007.

The Gold Glove third baseman turned down several better offers to remain in Boston, where he hit 21 homers, drove in 120 runs and batted a career-high .324 for the Sox, helping lead the team to its second championship in two years with a 4-0 sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Lowell was named MVP of the Series after hitting .400.

Lowell, who was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents, became a star in Miami after a 1998 trade from the New York Yankees. He retired in 2010 at the end of the contract at age 36.

Also on this day: Adrian Beltre retired at the end of the 2018 season after a Hall of Fame career. The five-time Gold Glover had 477 homers, 1,707 RBI and 3,166 hits over a 21-year career with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, and Rangers. He was inducted into the Hall in 2024.

Alfonso Soriano, 30, became the highest-paid Cub in team history after signing a $136 million, eight-year contract after a 40-40 season in 2006. The Dominican slugger played six and a half years in Chicago before ending his career with the New York Yankees, the team that signed him in 1998 after a stint in Japan.

Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration