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Butch Wynegar
Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and California Angels, and was a two-time All Star.
Wynegar was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft. In his first season in professional baseball, he batted a league-leading .346 batting average and .464 on base percentage with a .524 slugging percentage and eight home runs and 51 RBIs (5th in the league) for the Rookie League Elizabethton Twins, and was named an Appalachian League All Star.
In 1975, Wynegar played for the unaffiliated Reno Silver Sox of the California League, and batted .314 (4th in the league)/.473 (2nd in the league/.500 (4th in the league). He led the league with 142 walks and 112 RBIs, and was 2nd in the league with 106 runs and 19 home runs. (Reno was officially unaffiliated, but had agreements with the Twins and the San Diego Padres to take players on optional assignment from those teams.)
The Twins invited him to their spring training camp in 1976, where he successfully made the team, never having played Double or Triple-A baseball. To date, Wynegar is the only catcher to have ever jumped directly from A-ball to the majors.
Wynegar proved to be adept both behind the plate and batting. In 1976 he was the fourth-youngest baseball player in the AL. His first major league home run was a game-winner off Catfish Hunter on April 18, 1976. Wynegar was batting .294 with six home runs and 37 runs batted in at the 1976 All-Star break and was named to the American League All-Star team his rookie season. He drew a walk in his only plate appearance, and became the youngest player at the time to appear in an All-Star Game (20 years, 212 days). For the season, Wynegar had 650 putouts, second in the league behind Jim Sundberg, and batted .260 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs and was 9th in the league in walks, with 79. He finished second in the 1976 American League Rookie of the Year balloting to Mark Fidrych, and was named The Sporting News Rookie of the Year.
Wynegar had six home runs and 47 RBIs at the midpoint of the 1977 season to make his second consecutive All-Star team. He drove in a career high 79 runs for the season, and had established himself as one of the better fielding catchers by leading the American League in baserunners caught stealing with 60, and logging a .993 fielding percentage along with 84 assists, second only to Sundberg.
He led the league again in 1979, throwing out 64 baserunners, led the league in caught-stealing percentage at 52.9%, and once again finished second to Sundberg in fielding percentage with a .992 average. In 1980, he led all AL catchers in double plays, with 13.
Wynegar signed a $2 million, five-year contract with the Twins in 1981. He was traded along with Roger Erickson from the Twins to the Yankees for Larry Milbourne, John Pacella and Pete Filson on May 12, 1982. Wynegar claimed that Twins owner Calvin Griffith wanted to get rid of high-priced players however, Griffith responded that Wynegar was being traded because his batting average was only .209.
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Butch Wynegar
Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and California Angels, and was a two-time All Star.
Wynegar was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft. In his first season in professional baseball, he batted a league-leading .346 batting average and .464 on base percentage with a .524 slugging percentage and eight home runs and 51 RBIs (5th in the league) for the Rookie League Elizabethton Twins, and was named an Appalachian League All Star.
In 1975, Wynegar played for the unaffiliated Reno Silver Sox of the California League, and batted .314 (4th in the league)/.473 (2nd in the league/.500 (4th in the league). He led the league with 142 walks and 112 RBIs, and was 2nd in the league with 106 runs and 19 home runs. (Reno was officially unaffiliated, but had agreements with the Twins and the San Diego Padres to take players on optional assignment from those teams.)
The Twins invited him to their spring training camp in 1976, where he successfully made the team, never having played Double or Triple-A baseball. To date, Wynegar is the only catcher to have ever jumped directly from A-ball to the majors.
Wynegar proved to be adept both behind the plate and batting. In 1976 he was the fourth-youngest baseball player in the AL. His first major league home run was a game-winner off Catfish Hunter on April 18, 1976. Wynegar was batting .294 with six home runs and 37 runs batted in at the 1976 All-Star break and was named to the American League All-Star team his rookie season. He drew a walk in his only plate appearance, and became the youngest player at the time to appear in an All-Star Game (20 years, 212 days). For the season, Wynegar had 650 putouts, second in the league behind Jim Sundberg, and batted .260 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs and was 9th in the league in walks, with 79. He finished second in the 1976 American League Rookie of the Year balloting to Mark Fidrych, and was named The Sporting News Rookie of the Year.
Wynegar had six home runs and 47 RBIs at the midpoint of the 1977 season to make his second consecutive All-Star team. He drove in a career high 79 runs for the season, and had established himself as one of the better fielding catchers by leading the American League in baserunners caught stealing with 60, and logging a .993 fielding percentage along with 84 assists, second only to Sundberg.
He led the league again in 1979, throwing out 64 baserunners, led the league in caught-stealing percentage at 52.9%, and once again finished second to Sundberg in fielding percentage with a .992 average. In 1980, he led all AL catchers in double plays, with 13.
Wynegar signed a $2 million, five-year contract with the Twins in 1981. He was traded along with Roger Erickson from the Twins to the Yankees for Larry Milbourne, John Pacella and Pete Filson on May 12, 1982. Wynegar claimed that Twins owner Calvin Griffith wanted to get rid of high-priced players however, Griffith responded that Wynegar was being traded because his batting average was only .209.