 Fred Lynn
After graduation from USC, Lynn started his career for the Red Sox with a phenomenal 1975 season in which he won the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards, the first player ever to win both in the same season. He and fellow rookie outfielder Jim Rice were dubbed as the “Gold Dust Twins” because of their combined baseball talents. In 1975, Lynn led the American League in doubles, runs scored and slugging percentage, finished second in the batting race with a .331 average, and won a Gold Glove Award for his defensive play. His MVP-Rookie of the Year double was the first in MLB history, and has only been duplicated by Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
Unfortunately, Lynn found it difficult to duplicate the extraordinary success of his first season, and was hampered by injuries. These sometimes were caused by fearless play, such as a broken rib caused by crashing into an outfield wall, or knee injuries from breaking up double plays, but most were simply of the nagging variety, such as strains and sprains. Although he didn't maintain the same level of his rookie season, he still excelled, winning three more Gold Gloves in 1978-80 and finishing 4th in the 1979 MVP voting, while being elected to the All-Star team every year.
Because Lynn longed to play in California where he had grown up, the Red Sox traded him to the Angels after the 1980 season. Lynn went on to hit more than 20 home runs in six consecutive seasons starting in 1982, and was selected MVP of the 1982 American League Championship Series, the first player from the losing team ever selected. In 1983, he hit the only grand slam in All-Star history and was named MVP after being elected to the team for the ninth consecutive year. His four home runs in All-Star games is second only to Stan Musial.
Detroit acquired Lynn for their 1988 pennant drive, which also proved unsuccessful. For the first time, he was playing in a park which favored left-handed power hitters, but age and injuries had taken their toll. Following a disappointing 1989 season, Lynn wrapped up his career with one season with San Diego in 1990, retiring at the age of 38 with career statistics which, while outstanding, only hinted at his early potential. His 306 career home runs placed him behind only Willie Mays, Ken Griffey, Jr., Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Dale Murphy, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Edmonds, and Andruw Jones among center fielders.
In 1981, at a point in his career when it looked like he would one day rank among the game's all-time greats, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
In his 17-year career, Lynn batted .283 with 1111 RBI, 1960 hits, 1063 runs, 388 doubles, 43 triples, and 72 stolen bases in 1969 games.
Fred Lynn was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.
[edit] Career highlights
- 9-consecutive times All-Star (1975-83)
- AL MVP (1975)
- AL Rookie of the Year (1975)
- AL Championship Series MVP (1982)
- All-Star Game MVP (1983)
- 4-time Gold Glove winner (1975, 1978, 1979, 1980)
- Twice in Top 10 of MVP vote (1975, 1979)
- Led league in batting average (.333, 1979)
- Twice led league in slugging average (1975, 1979)
- Led league in on base percentage (1979)
- Twice led league in on-base plus slugging (.967, 1975; 1.059, 1979)
- Led league in runs (1975)
- Hit for the cycle (1980)
- Hit 3 home runs, triple, single, and drove 10 runs on June 18, 1975 tying an American League record for total bases in a game with 16. (The Major League record is 19 by Shawn Green.)
- Hit first-ever grand slam in an All-Star Game (1983)
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