Memories of ’75 Series Still Pain Lynn

Written by: Jerry Milani on 9th July 2010

Memories of '75 Series Still Pain Lynn | read this item

Fans of a certain age, when discussing Fred Lynn, will recall his great rookie season, his propensity for running through walls and headlong into warning tracks, and for hitting the first grand slam in All-Star competition. That fabulous debut in 1975 earned the center fielder the MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove and the everlasting love of Red Sox Nation – even if Sox fandom wasn’t quite known by that moniker yet.

But for Lynn, the enduring memory of that season wasn’t any of those awards or the 47 doubles, 21 home runs and 105 RBI he accumulated. It wasn’t even the team’s magical run to the precipice of the franchise’s first World Series championship in almost 70 years. It was the sting of losing Game 7 to the Reds in what many consider the greatest series ever.

“All those things I accomplished individually and that we achieved as a team are nice, but my biggest memory was watching ‘Yaz’ fly out to end the game,” remembered Lynn as he prepared to coach Little Leaguers today in the SUBWAY Restaurants’ Little League Baseball Appreciation Game, a special four-inning exhibition game featuring two All-Star teams from both Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif. “That sinking feeling, I had never experienced before, since I had never lost a championship game at any level, so it was the first time for me.”

Perhaps his highlighting that memory is not as surprising as it might sound, when one considers the kind of competitor Lynn was in his 17 years in the majors. While the nine-time All-Star was certainly productive, hitting more than 300 home runs and driving in more than 1100 runs with the Sox, Angels, Orioles, Tigers and, briefly, the Padres, Lynn’s all-out style led to debilitating injuries and disabled list stints that curtailed what could have been. But Lynn has no regrets about how he played the game.

“I had managers specifically say, ‘We need you in the lineup, don’t do anything crazy, diving for balls,’” he said. “I’d say, ‘OK, Skip,’ but how can you do that to your team, to your pitcher, knowing that if I can make a play on a ball I will do it. Even though I wasn’t a big guy, 175-180 pounds, I was a football guy that played baseball. Anything that was in my area, I wasn’t going to let it drop.”

What Lynn’s style lost him in service time, it made up for in fan admiration.

“People remember my style of play,” said Lynn. “The second half of my career, I put up some numbers, they were in a limited number of games, but they remember how hard I played.”

Fred Lynn - Subway DeSIGNS baseball

Lynn is hoping to impart a little of that in kids as he assists with the Subway Baseball DeSIGNS Tour, kicking off with today’s game, in which his squad of youngsters will take on a team coached by fellow superstar Orel Hershiser. Lynn played the game because it was fun, and that’s the idea he wants to impart on the kids through the program.

“The number one priority is to have a good time,” he explained. “If I see a kid that needs some coaching, a mechanical error, I’ll help out a little but the idea is to have some fun.”

Lynn is also helping the program by signing a baseball specially designed by a youngster and available at www.subwaybaseballdesigns.com. Lynn is 40 celebrities and athletes to have added their signatures to unique pieces. The tour will make stops in four U.S. cities (Los Angeles; Anaheim, Calif.; New York and Williamsport, Pa.) from July through the Little League Baseball World Series in late August.

“I almost didn’t want to put my name on it,” joked Lynn about his ball. “You don’t normally think of a baseball as a work of art, but these kids have a lot of talent, and I’m excited to be a part of the program.”

That the kickoff is in Southern California around All-Star time has special meaning to Lynn as well, as it was as a member of the Angels that Lynn’s historic grand slam helped the American League win the 1983 All-Star Game in the 50th anniversary of the first Midsummer Classic in Chicago. For Lynn, winning that game had even more significance to players than it does today.

“I didn’t even know at first that it was the first grand slam, our big concern was that the NL was beating us like a drum for 10 years,” said Lynn, whose third-inning shot off lefty Atlee Hammaker propelled the Junior Circuit to a 13-3 win. “In those days, the leagues were separate, we had our own League Presidents, own umpires, we didn’t need any incentive to beat those guys.”

Lynn may have been an Angel by then, but he never left the hearts of Red Sox fans, even when he was peddled off to California in a purge of the cohesive late 70′s group that included the exile of Carlton Fisk and Rick Burleson, favorites with the fans but not management. The biggest challenge for Lynn in making the move West, near his Southern California roots, was, of all things, the playing field, as Anaheim Stadium was then the home of the NFL’s L.A. Rams and the site of motocross and other events that changed Lynn’s aggressive style in center, particularly on ground balls.

But later, a new ownership in place in Boston, Lynn was welcomed back to the Red Sox fold, earning a spot in the team’s Hall of Fame and is now a frequent host for Sox charity events and the new “Legends Skybox” at Fenway Park.

Topics: Center Fielder, Certain Age, Championship Game, Exhibition Game, Fabulous Debut, Fred Lynn, Game 7, Gold Glove, Grand Slam, Home Runs, Little League Baseball, Losing Game, Monicker, Orange County Calif, Precipice, Red Sox Nation, Rookie of the Year, Rookie Season, Sinking Feeling, Star Competition, Subway Restaurants

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