 |
 |
Gerald Thomas Lynch
Pittsburgh Pirates
Outfield
Born: July 17, 1930, Bay City, MI
Acquired: Purchased by the New York Yankees from Greenville (Cotton States)
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1954-1956; Cincinnati Reds 1957-1963; Pittsburgh Pirates 1963-1966
Died: April 1, 2012, Austell, GA (age 81)
Jerry "The Hat" Lynch was one of the premier pinch-hitters of his day, accumulating 116 pinch-hits which places him currently 10th on the all-time list. His 18 pinch-hit home runs are currently third on the all-time list behind Cliff Johnson with 20 and Matt Stairs with 23. Lynch's best season came in 1961 with the Reds when he hit .315 over 96 games. He had five pinch-hit home runs that season, driving in 25 runs. His biggest hit that year (not a pinch-hit) was a two-run home run off Bob Anderson on September 26th to give the Reds a 6-3 win over the Cubs and helping the team clinch the 1961 N.L. pennant . The Reds lost in the World Series to the Yankees, but Lynch's fine season earned him 22nd place in the league's MVP voting.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #333
Following our youngest son Ben's flawless performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at his piano recital, our family headed to the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to browse a real live baseball card show. Traditionally, I only venture into malls for baseball card shows and I can't honestly remember the last time, pre-pandemic, I had stepped foot into a mall. The show was small, hosted by S&B Sports Promotions, with about a dozen tables and not much vintage to offer, but it was a sight for sore eyes. It took us only about 15 minutes to scout the whole place out and I was lucky enough to find a friendly dealer with 1960s and 1970s Topps cards in great shape, in order and (best of all) reasonably priced. I took my time going through his 1965 Topps commons, settling on 29 cards we needed and adding a card from the star pile to give us 30 new cards total. I spent an even $100 (after a generous dealer discount) and this Lynch card was about $3.25.
The Card / Pirates Team Set
Lynch wore #14 during his earliest time with the Pirates between 1954 and 1956, and he assumed #24 when he returned to the Pirates in 1963. The "4" on his back is peaking through in this photo and his 1966 Topps card features a photo from the same session, but less cropped. The back of the card notes his proficiency as a pinch-hitter. Lynch still holds the National League record with pinch-hit home runs with 18. Gates Brown (#19) hold the American League record with 16, while atop the overall Major League leaderboard (both leagues) and as mentioned above, are Stairs and Johnson.
1965 Season
Lynch had this season and the next ahead of him before his playing days were over. He appeared in 73 games for the Pirates, starting only 24 games. Overall, Lynch batted .281 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. As a pinch-hitter, he batted only .128 (5 for 39) with a home run and five RBIs.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #234
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1954-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #234
67 - Lynch non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/8/21.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #333
Following our youngest son Ben's flawless performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at his piano recital, our family headed to the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to browse a real live baseball card show. Traditionally, I only venture into malls for baseball card shows and I can't honestly remember the last time, pre-pandemic, I had stepped foot into a mall. The show was small, hosted by S&B Sports Promotions, with about a dozen tables and not much vintage to offer, but it was a sight for sore eyes. It took us only about 15 minutes to scout the whole place out and I was lucky enough to find a friendly dealer with 1960s and 1970s Topps cards in great shape, in order and (best of all) reasonably priced. I took my time going through his 1965 Topps commons, settling on 29 cards we needed and adding a card from the star pile to give us 30 new cards total. I spent an even $100 (after a generous dealer discount) and this Lynch card was about $3.25.
The Card / Pirates Team Set
Lynch wore #14 during his earliest time with the Pirates between 1954 and 1956, and he assumed #24 when he returned to the Pirates in 1963. The "4" on his back is peaking through in this photo and his 1966 Topps card features a photo from the same session, but less cropped. The back of the card notes his proficiency as a pinch-hitter. Lynch still holds the National League record with pinch-hit home runs with 18. Gates Brown (#19) hold the American League record with 16, while atop the overall Major League leaderboard (both leagues) and as mentioned above, are Stairs and Johnson.
1965 Season
Lynch had this season and the next ahead of him before his playing days were over. He appeared in 73 games for the Pirates, starting only 24 games. Overall, Lynch batted .281 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. As a pinch-hitter, he batted only .128 (5 for 39) with a home run and five RBIs.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #234
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1954-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #234
67 - Lynch non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/8/21.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment