Boston Red Sox
Cooper made his big league debut with the Boston Red Sox on September 5, 1990 as the Red Sox hosted the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park. Appearing for Carlos Quintana as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of a 10-0 A's win, Cooper struck out looking in his first MLB at bat and his only big league at bat that season.
Appearing in 14 games with Boston in 1991, Cooper hit .457 (16-for-35) with seven RBI. His first big league hit came September 12, 1991 as a pinch hitter for Jody Reed, singling off New York Yankees pitcher Rich Monteleone in the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. He picked up the first of his 33 career home runs on September 4, 1992 - a solo shot off A's star Dave Stewart in Oakland.
Blocked at third base by Wade Boggs, Cooper struggled to find time on the active roster and in ballgames but spent a solid chunk of the 1992 season play first base. In 123 games that season, Cooper hit .276 with five home runs and 33 RBI over 337 at bats. When Boggs signed with the Yankees as a free agent in the offseason, Cooper became the starting third baseman and was selected to two consecutive All Star teams over his first two seasons with the job.
On April 12, 1994, Cooper hit for the cycle in a 22-11 drubbing over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Batting seventh and playing third base, Cooper hit a two-run double off Kevin Appier in the first inning, homered in the third inning, tripled off Hipolito Pichardo only to be nailed at the plate trying to stretch it into an inside the park home run, reached on an error in sixth inning, hit another two-run double in the seventh inning off Jeff Montgomery and singled in the ninth inning off infielder-turned-pitcher David Howard. Cooper was the 18th player in Red Sox history to hit for the cycle and was the first to do so since Mike Greenwell in 1988.
In 1993 and 1994, Cooper was the lone Red Sox player named to the All Star team. Cooper's Red Sox career - the most productive seasons of his career - ended when he and reliever Cory Bailey were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 9, 1995 for pitcher Rheal Cormier and outfielder Mark Whiten.
Read more about this topic: Scott Cooper (baseball)
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