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Fred Lynn’s rookie season was the most memorable of his career. He burst onto the big league scene by leading the American League in runs (103), doubles (47), on-base percentage (.401), slugging (.566) and OPS (.967). The All Star centerfielder ended the season as the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.

Meanwhile his Boston Red Sox won 95 games on their way to the American League pennant.

In the letter above Lynn recounts one of the most special games in World Series history, Game 6 of the 1975 Fall Classic.

“It was my first full year in the big leagues so I was excited to be in the World Series…Game 6 had a lot of ups and downs for me and my team. I hit a 3 run homer in the first to give us the lead but we couldn’t hold on for long. They went ahead and I just about broke my back chasing a Ken Griffey drive. Bernie Carbo hit a pinch hit 3 run homer to tie it and I had a chance to win it in the 9th but George Foster threw out Denny Doyle at the plate on my flyball that wasn’t deep enough to leftfield.

“I was on deck in the 12th when Fisk hit the game winner. It was a great game to be a part of even if it had not been in the World Series.”

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Fred Lynn had quite a baseball life before beginning his professional career. His teams won championships at the youth and high school levels before he attended USC. In his three years as a Trojan the teams were among the most successful ever. In 1971 his team went 54-13, followed by 50-13 in ’72 and 51-11 in ’73. Each season the won the NCAA championship.

In his first year in the bigs, Lynn and the Boston Red Sox won the American League pennant. They squared off against the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. A Game Six 12th-inning walk-off homer by Carlton Fisk meant the Series would go seven games.

In the letter above, Lynn talks about Game 7.

“We all thought that we would win Game 7 after our dramatic finish the night before. We ended up losing 4-3 on a bloop single by Joe Morgan. It was a very painful way to end our season. I had never lost a championship game at any level. This was very foreign to me and I really didn’t know how to react.

“Looking back on it now, it was a great series and brought a lot of enjoyment to many people”

Lynn then signs his name at the bottom.

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Fred Lynn started his big league career in style. In a 15-game stint as a Boston September call up in 1974 he hit .419 with a .490 on-base percentage and a .698 slugging mark.

Then in his first full season in ’75 Lynn earned the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards. Playing centerfield flanked by Hall of Famer Jim Rice in left and the great Dwight Evans in right, Lynn led the Red Sox to the American League pennant.

His finest season came in 1979 when he led the AL in average (.333), on-base percentage (.423), and slugging (.637). The Gold Glover also topped all of baseball with an 8.9 WAR. He complimented those numbers with 42 doubles, 39 homers, 122 RBI, and 116 runs scored.

Through his final season with the Red Sox in 1980, Lynn looked like a sure-fire Hall of Famer. In addition to his two awards from his rookie season, Lynn had four Gold Gloves, six straight All Star nods, and a batting championship.

In January of ’81 Lynn was dealt to the California Angels in a five-player deal. Glancing at his home/road split as a Boston player, it’s clear the move out of Fenway Park would negatively affect Lynn.

From 1975-1980 with the Red Sox, his home slash line was .348/.423/.607 with 137 doubles. During the same period on the road his he accumulated 78 two-base hits with a slash line of .268/.341/.433.

Predictably, his production fell off in Anaheim. In 7 full seasons with the Sox he hit .307 and averaged 154 hits, 260 total bases, and 85 RBI per season. In the decade after he left Boston he never again hit .300, or had more than 141 hits, or 245 total bases in a season. Only once did he drive in as many as 80 runs.

Lynn did have high points however. He three more All Star teams from ’81-’83, bringing his total to nine consecutive Mid Summer Classic selections. The ’83 contest was a memorable one for Lynn. He hit the first grand slam in All Star history and was voted the game’s MVP.

Lynn played for the Orioles from 1985 through August of ’88 when he was traded to the Tigers. His stay in Detroit lasted through the ’89 season when he was granted free agency. Lynn finished his career with 90 games for the San Diego Padres in 1990.

In the collection is this government postcard signed by Lynn in 1984.

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Fred Lynn ended his career with 1,960 hits, 306 homers, 1,063 runs, and 1,111 runs batted in. He amassed 50.4 WAR and a career 129 OPS+. While those numbers indicate a fine big league career, they put him short of Cooperstown.

Don’t feel badly for Lynn. His trophy case boasts a Rookie of the Year and MVP Award, a batting crown, an American League Champion ship ring, four Gold Glove Awards, and 9 All Star rings.

Lynn’s greatness was sufficient to get him into multiple Halls of Fame. He was recognized by the University of Southern California (1994), College Baseball (2007), and Omaha College Baseball (2017) Halls. In 2002 the Red Sox put him in their Hall and in 2011 the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame recognized him.

All in all, Lynn had a baseball career anyone would be proud of. Shown here is the back of the government postcard. Notice the Anaheim postmark dated January 27, 1984.

A few months earlier Lynn completed his 9th straight All Star campaign. Hitting third for the American League, Lynn hit the first grand slam in All Star Game history.