Lynn, Fredric M.
Baseball
b. Feb. 3, 1952, Chicago, IL
After playing 15 games with the Boston Red Sox at the end of the 1974 season, batting .419, Lynn became the team's starting centerfielder in 1975. He helped lead Boston to a pennant, leading the league in runs with 103, doubles with 47, and slugging with a .566 percentage.
Lynn batted .331 that year with 21 home runs and 105 RBI and also played outstanding defense. He the league's rookie of the year and most valuable player awards and was also named male athlete of the year by the Associated Press. He hit .364 in Boston's victory over the Oakland As in the league championship series and .280 with 3 runs and 5 RBI in a seven-game loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.
After hitting only .260 in 1977 and .298 in 1978, Lynn won the AL batting title with a .333 average in 1979 and was also the league's top slugger with a .637 percentage. He batted .301 in 1980, then went to the California Angels as a free agent.
A left-hander, Lynn had prospered at Fenway Park by slicing singles and doubles off the short left-field fence. Once he left Boston, he wasn't the same hitter, though he was still a fine defensive outfielder. He never hit over .300 again and he retired after batting only .240 for the NL's San Diego Padres in 1990.
With the Angels, Lynn set a league championship series record by hitting .611 (11 for 18) in 1982.