James Sherman Wynn (March 12, 1942March 26, 2020), nicknamed "the Toy Cannon", was an American professional baseball player. He played 15 seasons as a center fielder; he spent ten of his fifteen seasons with the Houston Colt .45s / Astros before playing 2 All-Star seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers and then two more seasons with three other teams. Wynn was nicknamed "The Toy Cannon" because his bat was described as having a lot of "pop" for his small size at and .
Professional career
Minor leagues
Wynn's career started in 1962 when the Cincinnati Reds signed him as an amateur free agent after he attended Taft High School. He played that season with the Tampa Tarpons in the Florida State League. He played mostly at third base, batting .290 with 14 home runs. After the season, he was drafted by the then Houston Colt .45s in the 1962 first-year minor league player draft.
Houston Astros (1963–1973) Wynn began the 1963 season with the Double-A San Antonio Bullets in the Texas League, and while there split his time between shortstop and third base while batting .288 with 16 home runs in 78 games. He was promoted to the major leagues in July, and made his major league debut on July 10. Starting at shortstop, he went 1-for-4 with a stolen base. He split his time during the rest of that initial season between shortstop and the outfield, most often playing left field. He finished the season having played in 70 games, having 61 hits, four home runs, 27 runs batted in, four stolen bases and a .244 batting average.
Having struggled defensively at shortstop, Wynn was converted to a full-time outfielder in 1964. He opened the season as the Colt .45s starting center fielder, but was sent back to the minor leagues in June, with Mike White taking over. He was called up in September, and finished the season starting in center field. He ended the season having played 67 games, with 49 hits, five home runs, 18 runs batted in, five stolen bases, and a .224 batting average.
He played his first full season the following year, playing in 157 games; accordingly, he had 155 hits, 22 home runs, 73 runs batted in, 43 stolen bases and a .275 batting average and a .371 on-base percentage.
His 1966 season ended abruptly after 105 games after breaking his left arm crashing into the outfield wall at Connie Mack Stadium chasing down a Dick Allen fly ball resulting in a game-winning, inside-the-park home run for Allen and the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the 10th inning on August 1, 1966. He had 107 hits, 18 home runs, 62 runs batted in, 13 stolen bases, a .256 batting average and .321 on-base percentage.
His 1967 season was a return to form, as he played in 158 games, having 148 hits, 37 home runs (a career high), 107 runs batted in, 16 stolen bases, a .249 batting average and a .331 on-base percentage, was named to his first ever All-Star Game and finished 11th in the MVP voting, being edged out by Hank Aaron (and his 39 home runs) in the home run chase for the season in the final days of the season; it has been speculated Wynn may have lost a substantial number of home runs to the lengthy fences in the Astrodome, while Aaron played in the more homer-friendly Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. Aaron himself commented he considered Wynn the season's home run champion. Perhaps Wynn's most famous home run came on June 10 of the 1967 season at Crosley Field. The shot, which came in the eighth inning of the Astros' 8–3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, cleared the 58-foot scoreboard in left-center field and landed on Interstate 75 outside the stadium. Five days later, Wynn became the first Houston batter to hit three home runs in one game as his Astros defeated the San Francisco Giants 6–2 at the Astrodome. In the first game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates one month later, on July 23, Wynn hit another tape measure home run, the ball clearing Forbes Field's center-field wall from home plate.
The following season, he played in 156 games while having 146 hits, 85 runs, 26 home runs, 67 runs batted in, 11 stolen bases with a .269 batting average and a .376 on-base percentage, although he walked 90 times and struck out 131 times.
His 1969 season had its highs and lows, as he played in 149 games while having 133 hits, 113 runs, 33 home runs, 87 runs batted in, 23 stolen bases, 148 walks (leading the major leagues) for a .269 batting average and a .436 on-base percentage, although he struck out 142 times. He successfully got on base at least once in 52 straight games from June 4 to August 3; the mark was tied by Greg Gross six years later, which still stands as a franchise record. Wynn finished 15th in the MVP balloting.