What a card: Butch Wynegar was coming off a solid season in 1984 in which he won the starter's role behind the plate for the Yankees. He played in the most games (129) since appearing in 146 for the Twins in 1980.
My observation on the front: I love the old-style flap hanging off of Wynegar's mask, which as all you '70s historians no doubt know was created after Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager was struck in the neck by bat shards while standing at the on-deck circle.
More opinion from me: Still, this isn't my favorite Wynegar catching card. I like another one better.
Something you might know: Wynegar was one of the rookie sensations of the 1976 season when he enjoyed an All-Star season with the Twins as a 20-year-old. He was at the time the youngest player to appear in an All-Star Game and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Mark Fidrych.
Something you might not know: The Tigers wanted to draft a catcher first in 1974 and narrowed their options down to Wynegar and Lance Parrish. They chose Parrish, hoping Wynegar would still be around for the second round, but he wasn't. After Wynegar's rookie season, Baseball Digest ran a story headlined, "How the Tigers Missed Out on Drafting Butch Wynegar". Of course, Parrish turned out to be a better player than Wynegar.
My observation on the back: I was disappointed when Wynegar was traded to the Yankees. I always liked him and considered the players on the Yankees as nasty and evil.
The blog wants to speak now: The News category is updated.
Check out his walk to strikeout ratio. Great batting eye! Consistent over the course if his career.
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