February 3

February 3 - Fred Lynn hits MLB like a lightening rod

February 03, 2025

Fredric Michael Lynn was born on February 3, 1952

He arrived on the big league scene like a bolt of lightning through the evening sky. Fred Lynn played in his first game on September 5, 1974 and proceeded to smash major league pitching to the tune of a .419 batting average and a .698 slugging average over his first 15 games. He followed that up with one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the Red Sox to the World Series and earning the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and Gold Glove awards for the 1975 season. Lynn was the first player to achieve this trifecta, an accomplishment matched by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners in 2001.

Fred Lynn had the greatest coming out party in baseball history in 1975, when as a rookie, he played a stellar center field for the Red Sox and earned the American League Most Valuable Player Award. All season, opposing pitchers searched in vain for a way to get the left-handed hitter out, and all season they were left scratching their heads. Lynn hit .331 in his freshman campaign, and followed it with a .314 mark in 1976, but injuries kept him out of the lineup all too frequently for the remainder of his career.

He was healthy in 1978 and 1979, and in the latter year, he had his best overall campaign, belting 39 homers to go with 122 RBI, 116 runs scored, 42 doubles, 82 walks, and a .333 average.

After he was traded by Boston to the Angels, he was never quite the same player. He did recapture his magic twice after leaving Red Sox Nation, however. In 1983 he hit the first grand slam in All-Star Game history, and in the 1982 League Championship Series, he punished Brewers' pitchers for a .611 batting average and 11 hits in the Angels' five-game defeat. Fred Lynn became the first player on a losing team to be named Most Valuable Player in a League Championship Series.

Seemingly destined to become one of the game's greats, Lynn never met those lofty (and unfair) expectations, but he still produced 306 homers and more than 1,100 RBI in his injury-riddled career.

Fred Lynn play list that includes his:

3 Hr Performance in Detroit
1983 All Star Game
Peter Gammon’s tribute
Hardball Podcast

Enjoy!

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Today’s Featured Game: 1983 All Star Game

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Trivia:

The league championship series started in 1969, Fred Lynn is the only player in American League history to date to win the ALCS MVP on a losing team. Can you name the two National League Players to win the NLCS MVP from losing teams?

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February 3, 1920 Rube Foster spearheads the formation of the Negro Leagues

February 3, 1952 - Fredric Michael Lynn was born on February 3, he arrived on the big league scene like a bolt of lightning through the evening sky. Fred Lynn played in his first game on September 5, 1974 and proceeded to smash major league pitching to the tune of a .419 batting average and a .698 slugging average over his first 15 games. He followed that up with one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, leading the Red Sox to the World Series and earning the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, and Gold Glove awards for the 1975 season.

February 3, 1961 — Charlie Finley douses an old school bus bearing the sign “the Kansas City-to-New York shuttle” with gasoline and sets it on fire in the left field parking lot of Municipal Stadium. As the vehicle becomes engulfed in flames, the new owner of the A’s tells reporters the stunt symbolizes the end of the team sending talented young players to the Yankees in exchange for major leaguers well past their prime, a practice deeply resented by the Kansas City fans.

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February 3, 1975 Billy Herman, Earl Averill and Bucky Harris are selected for the Hall of Fame

February 3 1979 — The Minnesota Twins trade star first baseman Rod Carew to the California Angels for outfielder Ken Landreaux and three lesser players (Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens). Carew, who hit .333 for the Twins in 1978 but had vowed never to play again for owner Calvin Griffith after he made disparaging remarks against black players a few months earlier, will hit .318 for the Angels this season. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

February 3, 1998 — The Yankees announce Brian Cashman will replace Bob Watson, who recently resigned as the team’s general manager. During Watson’s brief 2+ year tenure, the Yankees won their first World Series since 1978.

Passed away, Bob Friend on February 3, 2019, Friend was a Four time all Star and part of the 1960 Pirates World Championship team.

Quote of the day:

"I really didn't have any holes in my game other than the fact that I couldn't stay on the field for the second half of my career."

Hall of Famer - Fred Lynn, musing on his career

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