Fred Lynn, baseball slugger
Frederic Michael Lynn was born February 3, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois. When Fred finished high school in 1970, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round, but decided to go to college instead. After graduating from the University of Southern California (where he helped lead the Trojans to three NCAA titles), Fred was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1973. Two years in the minors, and he was called up to sit on the bench for the last two weeks of the 1974 season. Still, he managed to make a strong impression: he batted .419 in 15 games. That was, of course, just a sign of the things to come.
Fred's 1975 season was one of legend. The 23 year old rookie batted .331, led the league with 47 doubles and 103 RBIs, was named to his first All-Star Game, and along with fellow rookie Jim Rice helped get the team to their first World Series in 8 years. Though the team lost to the Big Red Machine, Fred was a lock for the American League Rookie of the Year, also capturing his first of four Gold Gloves. To put icing on the cake, Fred captured 22 of 24 first place votes in the MVP race, easily capturing the award, becoming the first player ever to do so.
From 1976 to 1980 Fred's career seemed to slow down from his meteoric rise. Fred was a graceful fielder, but not blessed with much speed - and so he compensated by playing recklessly in right field, lunging after balls constantly. He suffered several injuries that hampered his playing time and his batting ability - he appeared in 140 games or more for only 4 seasons in his 14 year career - but he still proved to be a strong fielder and showed flashes of his original brilliance, enough to be named to the All-Star team each year. In 1979 he played a full healthy season and captured the batting title with a .333 mark, clubbing a career-high 39 home runs in the process. In 1980 he batted .301 and batted for the cycle but again was plagued by injuries. The Red Sox, frustrated, traded him in the offseason to the California Angels, his hometown team. Fred never batted .300 again.
There, Lynn suffered another injury, this time of his own doing - he fractured two ribs crashing into the outfield wall. Then from 1982 to 1987 Fred became the model of above-average consistency. Every year he managed to bat around .270, except for a .253 stint in '87; every year he managed to hit about 70 RBIs, with a low of 60 in 1987 and a high of 86 in 1982; and he his home run totals for those years were 21,22,23,23,23, and 23. He also made the All-Star team in 1981, 1982, and 1983 - where he hit the first and only grand slam in the Mid-Season Classic's history. In 1985 he signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Baltimore Orioles.
Still suffering from minor nags and injuries, Fred played half a season with Baltimore in 1988, and then was traded shortly before the trade deadline to the Detroit Tigers. Between the two teams he only played in 114 games, but true to his consistent nature, he hit 25 home runs. Playing in a limited role with the Tigers in 1989, Fred hit his 300th career home run on September 4. In the 1990 off-season he signed on as a backup with the San Diego Padres, and retired at the season's end.
Today Fred lives in Carlsbad, California with his wife Natalie. Fred spends most of his time working within the Red Sox organization and working for Child Haven, an organization dedicated helping disadvantaged youth. He enjoys golfing, going to the ballpark, and fishing.
Career Statistics
YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
1974 BOS AL 15 43 5 18 2 2 2 10 0 0 6 6 .419
1975 BOS AL 145 528 103 175 47 7 21 105 10 5 62 90 .331
1976 BOS AL 132 507 76 159 32 8 10 65 14 9 48 67 .314
1977 BOS AL 129 497 81 129 29 5 18 76 2 3 51 63 .260
1978 BOS AL 150 541 75 161 33 3 22 82 3 6 75 50 .298
1979 BOS AL 147 531 116 177 42 1 39 122 2 2 82 79 .333
1980 BOS AL 110 415 67 125 32 3 12 61 12 0 58 39 .301
1981 CAL AL 76 256 28 56 8 1 5 31 1 2 38 42 .219
1982 CAL AL 138 472 89 141 38 1 21 86 7 8 58 72 .299
1983 CAL AL 117 437 56 119 20 3 22 74 2 2 55 83 .272
1984 CAL AL 142 517 84 140 28 4 23 79 2 2 77 97 .271
1985 BAL AL 124 448 59 118 12 1 23 68 7 3 53 100 .263
1986 BAL AL 112 397 67 114 13 1 23 67 2 2 53 59 .287
1987 BAL AL 111 396 49 100 24 0 23 60 3 7 39 72 .253
1988 BAL AL 87 301 37 76 13 1 18 37 2 2 28 66 .252
DET AL 27 90 9 20 1 0 7 19 0 0 5 16 .222
TOT AL 114 391 46 96 14 1 25 56 2 2 33 82 .246
1989 DET AL 117 353 44 85 11 1 11 46 1 1 47 71 .241
1990 SDP NL 90 196 18 47 3 1 6 23 2 0 22 44 .240
CAREER 1969 6925 1063 1960 388 43 306 1111 72 54 857 1116 .283
* Bold denotes led league.