Boston Sports Hero of the Week - Maurice "The Hit Dog" Vaughn

My man. The Hit Dog. Words can't describe how much I admired this guy. Ever since my father sold this guy a car when he was still on the PawSox, he was an immediate influence on everything I loved about baseball. The stance. The power. The absolute calm about this guy was absolutely sick. He took time out of his day to not only come to my middle school and do an interview in front of 200 screaming 7th graders....but he actually paid for those same 200 7th graders to go sit in the bleachers and actually enjoy a day at friendly Fenway. Now that's a true ballplayer. But enough about all that. I'm sure there are plenty of people that know people. Let's talk about what Big Mo did on the field. Upon his full arrival in the lineup in 1993, Mo went on to crank 29 home runs and drive in 101 RBI's. Not bad for a kid that made his way from the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League...all the way to the big leagues in such a short period of time. After the cursed strike shortened season of 1994, Big Mo made his presence felt in baseball for quite some time. In 1995, Mo batted .326, 39 HR, 129 RBI, and 11 SB....on his way to his first and only AL MVP award. Round of applause, please.

Does anyone remember how nasty Mo was? He used to get crucial hit, after crucial hit. He made his living by cranking balls the opposite way off the Green Monster. Mo was the Big Papi of the mid to late 90's. No? He continued to improve over the next several seasons, batting .315 or higher from 1996 to 1998 and averaging 40 home runs and 118 RBIs. Those are the numbers of an absolute friggin' beast. BEEEEEAAAAAAAASTTTTTTTTT. When I was a junior in high school, I had the liberty of having front row seats for opening day against the Seattle Mariners in 1998. The Red Sox were losing by 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, until Big Mo stepped up and delivered a walk-off grand slam that sent Fenway Park into an absolute debacle.

Sure, I may be blacked out right now. But do you honestly think I give a f*ck. Mo Vaughn and Mike Greenwell were by far the best of the 90's....I love them both. But Big Mo was everything that Boston loved. He played hard, and play played even harder. Sure he loved and probably still does love strippers....but who doesn't So what if he flipped his SUV and never had any charges formally against him? He's a goddamn ball player, and that's what ball players do.

Hats off to you, Maurice Vaughn. May the Hit Dog forever live. You made watching the Red Sox during the 90's absolutely incredible. I am forever grateful to have met you, hung out with you, and just flat out loved watching you play. F*CK DAN DUQUETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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