I never thought this day would come, but THE unsung hero from the World Series champion 2004 Boston Red Sox has been discovered. I FOUND A BILL MUELLER SHIRT. Not only is this an incredible find, but it restores faith in my quest that I can find every player T from the 04 team. If I can find a Bill Mueller shirt I can find any shirt. Who knows who will be next, Pokey Reese, Doug Mirabelli, or even Keith Foulke?

Know that I have rejoiced and celebrated my find I can get into my favorite part, writing about the players I uncover on my thrifts. We remember the Ortiz walk off, the Millar walk and of the course the Roberts stolen base, but the true heroic moment goes to Bill Mueller and his game tying base knock off the greatest closer of all time.

The Base Hit

Coming to the plate in the 9th inning against Mariano Rivera is the epitome of a big game moment. Rivera is arguably the greatest post season performer in baseball history. According to Mike Foss of U.S.A Today more people have walked on the moon then scored on the Sandman in the postseason. THAT IS BANNANAS. The greatest part of Rivera’s dominance is it makes Mueller’s single that much more legendary. #11 stared into the eyes of the beast and blasted a single right back at him. Bill Mueller was not scarred of the imposing Rivera. He did not look to walk ( no offense Kevin Millar) and he did not even look to bunt with a man on second and no outs. Instead he did the sweetest thing a hitter can do and sent a screaming line drive right back where it came from. I should mention that Mueller was given the nickname of the “Rivera slayer” because he holds a lifetime .455 batting average against the Hall of Fame closer. (That would be like a guy averaging 40 points a night against Michael Jordan)

The Batting Title

Mueller’s post season heroics are not the only achievements he should be praised for. In 2003 the third basemen his .326 winning the batting title and the silver slugger award. 2003 was his best year a a ball player as he slugged an impressive 45 doubles and cranked 19 homers. A professional hitter in every sense, he wrapped up his career with a .291 life time batting average and a reputation of consistency.

The Walkoff

To stay consistent with the theme of flying under the radar Mueller blasted a walkoff, against off who else but Mariano Rivera, in what has become known as the turning point of the 2004 season. However, this walkoff is always the second story of this game as the headline belongs to the famous brawl where A-Rod began spouting choice words to Bronson Arroyo (he was hit with a curve ball…relax Alex) and Jason Varitek politely asked A-Rod to take his base, A legendary moment in the Sox vs Yanks rivalry which symbolized that this team was not interested in being intimidated by the Bronx bombers. This game would not have meant nearly as much if they had not gotten the W, and Mueller’s walkoff turned the entire season around. Who knows, maybe this walkoff was in the back of Mueller’s mind during the game 4 at bat…or more importantly still in Rivera’s.

The Record

Since we are going down a Bill Mueller rabbit hole we might as well finish with a feat that he can claim he is the only player to ever accomplish. In a game where he belted 3 home runs and 9 RbI (not a bad day if you ask me) Mueller hit 2 grand slams from each side of the plate. No other player is MLB history has done this and I do not see anyone doing this for a long time. So congratulations and thank you to Bill Mueller for all that you have done for the Boston Red Sox. I hope you get the credit you deserve.