After the passing last week of the Great Dom DiMaggio, I thought it might be nice to showcase a former Red Sox player each week. A few had indicated that they had heard of Dom, but didn’t really know much about him. It is those past players that bring us to this day in history.
Today I would like to feature Fred Lynn, One of my childhood favorites.
Frederic Michael Lynn, born February 3, 1952 , played center field for the Boston Red Sox from 1974-1980, his major league debut was September 5, 1974. In the 1975 season he won the MVP and Rookie of the year awards, the first player ever to win both in the same season. In that same year, he led the AL in runs scored, slugging percentage and doubles and won a gold glove for his defensive play. He and fellow rookie outfielder, Jim Rice, were nicknamed “The Gold Dust Twins” because of their combined baseball talents.
Because of injuries sustained from his fearless playing style, he wasn’t able to duplicate the success of his first season, but still excelled and won 3 more Gold Gloves in 1978-80. He finished 4th in the 1979 MVP voting and was elected to the All-Star team every year as a member of the Red Sox.
His career stats show he had a batting average of .283 with 306 home runs and 1,111 RBI’s. Other notable highlights are 1982 ALCS MVP, 1983 All-Star game MVP and Boston red Sox Hall of Fame. After spending time in Boston, Lynn went on to play for the Angles, Orioles, and Tigers, finishing his career with the San Diego Padres in 1990, retiring at age 38.
On a humorous note, Lynn may be the only AL MVP whose name was misspelled on the MVP trophy. His first name of Frederic was spelled, “Frederec”.
So there you have it folks, a little Fred Lynn info. Feel free to add anything extra. Let me know if you like the idea, and I'll feature a player each week from our glorious history.
