Snatched from the Pirates in the Rule V Draft, Jerry Lynch was given a chance to play by the Cincinnati Reds and proved to be an invaluable pinch-hitter and fourth outfielder. In 1961, the left-handed hitter batted over .400 in the pinch-hit role, a key reason the Reds won their first pennant in more than two decades. Extremely confident in his own abilities, Lynch never convinced a team to play him regularly for long, despite posting great numbers, especially against right-handed pitching. He retired with 18 pinch-hit homers, a major league record.
Quotes From Jerry Lynch
"The good pinch-hitter is the guy who can relax enough to get the pitch he can hit. You almost always do get one pitch to hit every time you bat. So you have to have the patience to wait. And then you've got to be able to handle the pitch when you get it." — Lynch, quoted in Jim Brosnan's The Pennant Race, p. 189
Best Season: 1961 Lynch did it all for the Reds, in roughly 200 plate appearances. He hit over .400 as a pinch-hitter, and .315 overall with a SLG mark over .600 and an OBP over .400. In April he hit pinch-hit homers in back-to-back games. In September his 8th-inning, game-tying pinch-homer helped the Reds win the game that clinched the pennant.
Where He Played Lynch was a left fielder, though in 1958 he played more than 100 games in right field for the Redlegs.
Born Gerald Thomas Lynch was born on July 17, 1930, in Munger, MI.
