Fred Lynn going to Hall

Fred Lynn, who holds the honor of being my favorite player of all time, was among those elected today to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

I don't recall how Lynn became my favorite player. It most likely had something to do with the fact I was 9 when he was ROY/MVP and the Red Sox were probably frequently on Game of the Week. Maybe it was because he was originally drafted by the Yankees, but didn't sign. (Which I had no knowledge of at the time, but could have perhaps sensed.)

I do remember trying to run and carry my glove like him while patrolling the outfield as a Little League player. I also remember This Week in Baseball closed its show every week with a clip of Lynn leaping over a wall to take a homer away from (I believe) Dan Ford. I used to recreate that catch in the backyard all the time.

Here's a note on Lynn from the story about his election to the Hall: Lynn batted .320 with 28 home runs and 111 RBIs, and helped USC win three consecutive College World Series from 1971-73. He went on to become the American League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1975, a nine-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glove winner and the All-Star game MVP in 1983, when he hit the first grand slam in the midsummer classic.

Not mentioned above, Lynn also was the 1982 ALCS MVP even though his Angels lost the series to the Brewers. Lynn was merely 11 of 18 in the five-game set. In 1985, Lynn was the 10th highest-paid player in the game, making a whopping $1.09 million.

I always wonder how great he could have been if not losing so many battles with outfield walls. In 1979, Lynn batted .333-39-122 with 116 R. He led the AL in BA, OBP (.423) and SLG (.637). He finished fourth in the MVP voting and didn't get a single first-place vote, probably because teammate Jim Rice was fifth in the MVP balloting.