Jimmy Wynn - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the judge, see James A. Wynn, Jr.
James A. Wynn, Jr.
James Andrew Wynn, Jr. is an American jurist, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and formerly on both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court....

.

James Sherman Wynn (born March 12, 1942 in Hamilton, Ohio

Hamilton, Ohio

Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....

), nicknamed the "Toy Cannon," is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

center fielder

Center fielder

A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...

. During a 15-year baseball career, he played from 1963-1977 for five different teams: the Houston Colt .45s/Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

, Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

, Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, and Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. His career started in when the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

signed him as an amateur free agent. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted by the then Houston Colt .45s in the 1962 first player draft. He came up as a shortstop through the minor leagues. In his debut major league season of 1963 he also primarily played shortstop. However, he struggled with the position defensively and was moved to center field, where he played most of the rest of his career. He fielded that position fairly well. For eleven years, he was a fixture in the Astros' outfield. A power hitter, it has been speculated that he may have lost a substantial number of home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s to the lengthy fences in the Astrodome. In fact, after his career-high 37 home runs in were edged out by Hank Aaron's 39 in the final days of the season, Aaron, whose Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

played their home games in the more homer-friendly Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, often shortened to "Fulton County Stadium," was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.-History:...

, commented that he considered Wynn the season's home run champion. http://www.astrosdaily.com/files/team/wynn/wynn.html Wynn's nickname was "the Toy Cannon" for his small size (5'8" 170 lbs.) but his bat had a lot of "pop." After being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

for Claude Osteen

Claude Osteen

Claude Wilson Osteen , nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to Gomer Pyle, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for six different teams: the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds , Washington Senators , Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , St...

before the 1974 season, he helped the Dodgers win the N.L. pennant by batting .271 with 32 home runs and 108 RBI and earning the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. He started off 1975 well, but a bad shoulder injury limited his effectiveness at the plate and making throws from center field. He had to move to left field, and was traded by the Dodgers to the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

for Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker

Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker, Jr. is a former player and current manager in Major League Baseball, currently the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a hard-hitting outfielder, mostly with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers...

. He spent the final year of his career (1977) mainly as a designated hitter

Designated hitter

In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...

for the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

and Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

.
His number 24 was retired by the Astros on June 25, , when the Astros played the Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

. Jason Lane

Jason Lane

Jason Dean Lane is a Major League Baseball outfielder in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He was drafted out of the sixth round in . Lane graduated from El Molino High School in Forestville, California in 1995...

, who wore Wynn's 24 before the ceremony, changed his number to 16 as a result.

Wynn currently serves as a post-game analyst on Houston Astros

Houston Astros

television broadcasts on FSN Houston. He also serves as a community outreach executive for the team.

Wynn was a player who walked a lot, giving him a very high on-base percentage. Moreover, he played in the 1960s

1960s

The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

, a low run-scoring era, as well as in the Astrodome, a low run-scoring park. This has led to many statistical analysts (or proponents of sabermetrics

Sabermetrics

Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...

) to argue that Wynn was a very underrated player who might even deserve the Baseball Hall of Fame.

External links

Baseball Evolution Hall of Fame - Player Profile

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See also

External links