Angels: Who is this guy on the Red Sox mound?

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The Boston Red Sox, with a proud history that spans more than a century, will trot out one of their distinguished alumni to throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Angels.

Troy O’Leary.

No, really.

O’Leary is an outfielder who played 11 seasons in the major leagues, including seven for the Red Sox. He never made an All-Star team, and Baseball-reference.com says the players most comparable to him are Mel Hall and Disco Dan Ford.

He is throwing out the first pitch tonight because, in 1999, O’Leary hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs for Boston in Game 5 of the American League division series against the Cleveland Indians.

Leary played in nine other division series games in his career, with zero runs batted in.

-- Bill Shaikin