1977 fred lynn

fred lynn lost his all-star banner, and also had his photo cropped differently and his facsimile autograph slightly moved on this, his 1977 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

it looks to me like the photo was adjusted east-west (compare the pole in the upper left corner), and the autograph north-south (check the top loop of the 'l' and where it lands relative to the fence).

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

lynn proved that he was human in 1977.  after his monster rookie year in 1975 and another season of hitting over .300 in 1976, he hit just .260 with an ops of .774.  still, he was named to the all-star team as a reserve, and was 0 for 1 with a walk and a run scored in relief of teammate carl yastrzemski in center field.  lynn did increase his home run total by 8 in 1977, and had four different games in which he hit two home runs.  he also took part in the red sox' july 4th barrage against the blue jays where, over the course of two innings and 9 batters, the bosox hit 6 home runs.

voici à vous, 1977 fred lynn!

1990 fred lynn

fred lynn signed as a free agent with the padres in december of 1989 as they continued to revamp their outfield.  here's his 1990 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

the pads acquired joe carter on the same day that they signed lynn, and with lynn in left and carter in center, the padres hope for big things. they got 30 home runs and 138 rbi from the pair, but lynn played only about a quarter of the season in the field and contributed just 6 long balls and 23 rbi in what would be his final season in the big leagues.

voici à vous, 1990 fred lynn!

1985 fred lynn

fred lynn joined the orioles as a free agent in december of 1984. here's his 1985 o-pee-chee card:

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

lynn was a model of consistency during his early 30's, which included his first few years in baltimore. he hit 21 homers for the angels in 1982 at the age of 30. the next year, he hit 22. then, from 1984 through 1987, he hit exactly 23 home runs each year. otherwise, he didn't accomplish a whole lot in baltimore, and the orioles dealt him to the tigers in 1988.

voici à vous, 1985 fred lynn!

1981 fred lynn

perennial all-star fred lynn was traded by the red sox to the angels in january of 1981.  here's his 1981 o-pee-chee card:

it's one of my favorites, simply because of the translation of his all-star designation, which is something o-pee-chee did not do in 1979 or 1980.  here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

i recall being pretty excited about lynn joining the halos in '81, even though it meant the loss of frank tanana.  unfortunately, lynn's first year in anaheim was disappointing - 76 games played, just 5 home runs and a .219 batting average.  he didn't homer after may 1st, and his average was in the .270s when the strike started, meaning that his second 'half' of the season really stunk.  still, he was named to the al all-star (vedette de la la) squad, and had a pinch-hit rbi single off of burt hooton in his only at bat of the game.

lynn rebounded in 1982, hitting .299 with 21 home runs and 86 rbi while helping the angels get to the postseason for only the second time in their history.  in the alcs, lynn went off, batting .611 with 11 hits and an ops of 1.539!  unfortunately, the angels dropped three straight to the brewers after winning the first two and failed to advance to the world series.

voici à vous, 1981 fred lynn!