 10/29/2004 5:40 PM ET
Red Sox exercise option on Mueller
Former AL batting champion secured for 2005 season
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| Bill Mueller got the game-tying hit in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4 of the ALCS. (Charles Krupa/AP)
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BOSTON -- On the eve of their world championship parade, the Red Sox secured a piece of their puzzle for next season, exercising the $2.1 million club option on third baseman Bill Mueller.
The 2003 American League batting champion had another solid year in '04, hitting .283 with 12 homers and 57 RBIs in 110 games. The switch-hitter's season was shortened by right knee surgery that kept Mueller out of the mix for 37 games between May 20-June 2.
Thankfully for the Sox, Mueller was strong upon his return, making all the plays in the field and contributing plenty of clutch hits at the plate.
In fact, Mueller's walk-off, two-run homer against Mariano Rivera that beat the Yankees on July 24 was considered a key turning point to the season.
Mueller kept at it in the postseason, belting another key hit off Rivera, this one an RBI single that tied things up in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. If the Sox had lost that game, they would have been eliminated in four straight by the Yankees.
Instead, they engineered a historic comeback and then swept the Cardinals in the World Series. Mueller played no small role in the Fall Classic, hitting .429 in his 14 at-bats.
The 33-year-old Mueller is a .292 career hitter. The 2005 season will be Mueller's third with the Red Sox. Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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