Outfielder, Boston
Red Sox
Age: 23
1st season
with Red Sox
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’1” Weight: 185
Prior to 1975:
Born in
Chicago, Lynn grew up in suburban Los Angeles. At El Monte High School he
lettered in football and basketball as well as baseball, where he pitched and
played center field. He turned down an offer from the New York Yankees to
attend USC. Lynn was chosen by the Red Sox in the second round of the 1973
amateur draft and signed for $40,000. Assigned to Bristol of the Class AA
Eastern League, he batted .259 with 6 home runs and 36 RBIs. He advanced to
Pawtucket of the Class AAA International League where he hit .282 in 1974 with
21 home runs and 68 RBIs. Named a league All-Star he earned a late-season
call-up to the Red Sox where in 15 games he batted .419 with two home runs and
10 RBIs. Along with left fielder/DH Jim Rice, a teammate in Bristol and Pawtucket,
Lynn moved into the lineup for the Red Sox in 1975 amid high expectations
thanks to his all-around hitting ability, speed, and defensive prowess.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared in 145
games
CF – 144, PH – 2,
PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 605
At Bats – 528
Runs – 103 [1]
Hits – 175 [7,
tied with Mickey Rivers]
Doubles – 47 [1]
Triples – 7 [5,
tied with Claudell Washington, Lenny Randle & Pat Kelly]
Home Runs – 21
[13, tied with Joe Rudi & Graig Nettles]
RBI – 105 [3]
Bases on Balls
– 62
Int. BB – 10 [11,
tied with four others]
Strikeouts – 90
[15]
Stolen Bases – 10
Caught Stealing
– 5
Average - .331
[2]
OBP - .401 [5]
Slugging Pct. -
.566 [1]
Total Bases – 299
[4]
GDP – 11
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 6
Sac Flies – 6
[15, tied with eleven others]
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 23, HR - 16, RBI – 71, AVG – .342, SLG - .620
---
League-leading runs
scored were +8 ahead of runner-up John Mayberry
League-leading doubles
were +8 ahead of runner-up Reggie Jackson
League-leading slugging
pct was +.019 ahead of runner-up John Mayberry
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 6 AB) at Detroit 6/18
Longest hitting
streak – 20 games
HR at home – 9
HR on road – 12
Most home runs,
game – 3 (in 6 AB) at Detroit 6/18
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 10 at Detroit 6/18
Pinch-hitting –
1 of 2 (.500) with 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 422
Put Outs – 404
Assists – 11
Errors – 7
DP – 1
Pct. - .983
Postseason
Batting: 10 G (ALCS vs. Oakland – 3 G; World Series vs. Cincinnati – 7 G)
PA – 41, AB – 36,
R – 4, H – 11, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 8, BB – 3, IBB – 0, SO – 5, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .306, OBP - .350, SLG - .444, TB – 16, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF
– 1
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
Gold Glove
All-Star
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Fred Lynn, Bos.:
326 pts. – 22 of 24 first place votes, 97% share
John Mayberry,
KC: 157 pts. – 47% share
Jim Rice, Bos.:
154 pts. – 46% share
Rollie Fingers,
Oak.: 129 pts. – 2 first place votes, 38% share
Reggie Jackson,
Oak.: 118 pts. – 35% share
AL ROY Voting:
Fred Lynn, Bos.:
23.5 of 24 votes, 98% share
Jim Rice, Bos.:
0.5 vote, 2% share
Red Sox went 95-66
to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 4.5 games over the Baltimore
Orioles while leading the league in runs scored (796), hits (1500), doubles
(284), RBIs (756), batting (.275), OBP (.344), slugging (.417) & total
bases (2274). Young players, most notably Lynn and Jim Rice, propelled the Red
Sox to an unexpected division title. Won ALCS over the Oakland Athletics, 4
games to 3. Lost World Series to Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3 in a
drama-filled battle.
Aftermath of ‘75:
With
expectations high following his phenomenal rookie season, Lynn staged a
prolonged holdout in 1976. He had a somewhat lesser year, batting .314 over 132
games with 32 doubles, 8 triples, 10 home runs, and 65 RBIs while the team sagged
to third in the AL East. He was once again an All-Star and remained impressive
defensively in center field. Lynn began the 1977 season on the disabled list
due to an ankle injury and appeared in just 129 games. His batting average fell
to .260 and he hit 18 home runs with 76 RBIs. He came back strong in 1978
hitting .298 with 22 home runs and 82 RBIs while Boston jumped out to a big
lead in the division that failed to hold up as the Yankees caught them and won
a one-game playoff for the title. Lynn also received his second Gold Glove in
recognition of his outstanding defensive play. In 1979, he had the best season
since his Rookie of the Year performance, winning the AL batting title with a
.333 average and topping the circuit with a .423 on-base percentage and .637
slugging percentage, thanks to his 42 doubles and 39 home runs. He also drove
in 122 RBIs as a result of his career-best power production. Lynn’s 1980 season
ended in August when he suffered a broken toe. In 110 games he hit .301 with 12
home runs and 61 RBIs. In the offseason he was dealt to the California Angels
along with RHP Steve Renko for three players that included outfielder Joe Rudi.
The Angels signed him to a four-year $5.25 million contract but he battled a
knee injury during the strike-interrupted season and batted only .219 with 5
home runs and 31 RBIs while appearing in 76 games. In 1982 the Angels topped
the AL West and Lynn contributed a .299 average along with 38 doubles, 21 home
runs, and 86 RBIs despite being hindered by a rib injury down the stretch. In
the five-game ALCS loss to the Brewers he hit .611 with 11 hits and 5 RBIs and
was named series MVP despite playing for the losing club. In 1983 Lynn was an
All-Star for the ninth consecutive year and hit the first grand slam in All-Star
Game history to earn game MVP honors. It was part of a season in which injuries
ultimately limited him to 117 games and he batted .272 with 22 home runs and 74
RBIs. He appeared in 142 games in 1984 (his most with the Angels) and hit .271
with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs. Lynn signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free
agent in the offseason. Back and ankle injuries held him to 124 games in 1985
and he hit .263 with 23 home runs and 68 RBIs while striking out a career-high
100 times. Hampered by injuries again in 1986, Lynn again slugged 23 home runs
and drove in 67 RBIs while batting .287 in 112 games for the last place
Orioles. Injuries limited him to 111 games in 1987 and he once more hit 23 home
runs while batting .253 with 60 RBIs. In 1988 Lynn had 18 home runs with 37
RBIs and a .252 average by the end of August when Baltimore dealt him to the
Detroit Tigers for prospects. With the Tigers battling for the AL East title Lynn
accounted for 7 home runs and 19 RBIs in the final month. Detroit fell short
and placed second to the Red Sox but descended to the cellar in 1989 while Lynn
appeared in 117 games as a left fielder and DH, hitting .241 with 11 home runs
and 46 RBIs. He signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres in 1990,
playing one last season at age 38. In 90 games he batted .240 with 6 home runs
and 23 RBIs. Overall in the major leagues Lynn batted .283 with 1960 hits that
included 388 doubles, 43 triples, and 306 home runs. He further compiled 1111
RBIs and stole 72 bases. With the Red Sox he hit .308 with 944 hits, 217
doubles, 29 triples, 124 home runs, and 521 RBIs. In 15 postseason games he
produced a .407 average with 22 hits, 2 home runs, and 13 RBIs. A nine-time
All-Star (six with Boston), he also received four Gold Gloves (all with the Red
Sox). Lynn went into broadcasting for a time following his retirement. He was
inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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