Lynn won his first batting title in 1979.
Not on the card - he played 11 more seasons and never surpassed .301. His career average was .283.
He only played 177 minor league games.
Lynn's career is hard to define. As a kid I was really excited to get his cards. When I think about his career now, I think of his cards in the commons boxes at card shows.
He was a nine-time all-star. Throw in four Gold Glove awards and his 1975 Rookie of the Year and MVP awards.
Since I've been looking at MVP votes to see what others thought of the player, I will do that with Lynn. After his impressive 1979 season he was fourth in the MVP voting. He received MVP votes in only two other seasons and neither time he finished in the top 20.
In 1979 Don Baylor won the MVP. Ken Singleton and George Brett finished ahead of Lynn.
Sadly, our hobby now sees guys as Hall of Famers or commons. Lynn hit 306 homers to go with all of the other things mentioned above.
I'm convinced he would have had a Hall of Fame career if he stayed with Boston. His swing was perfect for Fenway.
ReplyDeleteChanging teams has done that to a few other guys too.
DeleteMy favorite player. When I was a kid no matter what position I played I would always yell out "I'm Fred Lynn!"
ReplyDeleteAnother cool stat is he is the first player to hit a grand slam in a all-star game.
Once in a while I played fast pitch one-on-one with a friend. It was simple - stand in front of a park district back wall that had a strike zone painted on it. One guy pitched and the other guy batted. Most of the time you'd announce which player's swing you'd be copying. My friends played this more than I did. Why? I didn't like pitching and guess what, I wasn't good at it either.
DeleteMy brother went to that All-Star game. I got the ticket and a program.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Lynn... I think of that outstanding Red Sox outfield featuring him, Rice, and Evans. And when I was a kid... he was definitely a star in my book.
ReplyDelete