Jimmy Wynn was one of baseball’s most feared sluggers of the 1960s and early 1970s. Playing for the Houston Astros, however, muzzled just how powerful a hitter he was. Wynn and the Astros called the Houston Astrodome home, and it was by far one of the most difficult stadiums in baseball history to launch home runs in. Yet, Wynn, still put up remarkable numbers. In fact, Wynn produced nearly all of the power the Astros possessed. In 1967 he walloped 37 homeruns, while the rest of the Astros managed to hit just 56. In 1968 he hit 26 homeruns, while the rest of the team hit just 40; and in 1969, Wynn hit another 33 homeruns while the rest of his teammates hit 71. Wynn’s relationship with the team and manager Harry Walker was not exactly great. In fact, despite Wynn’s power, Walker tried to change Wynn’s approach at the plate which would have reduced his power and made him into more of a line drive and opposite field hitter. Wynn fought back and never acquiesced. Of course, this put a strain on the whole team and ultimately, the Astros fired Walker and eventually traded Wynn to the Los Angeles Dodgers … and it was with the Dodger where Jimmy Wynn enjoyed his happiest and best season. In 1974, Wynn hot a Los Angeles record 32 homeruns, a career-high 108 RBI and batted .271 to help lead L.A. into the World Series against the Oakland A’s. Wynn, by the way, also started the All Star game in 1974. Known as the “Toy Cannon” a nickname he did not appreciate at first, Wynn was small in stature (just 5-feet-9) but loomed large at the plate. For his career he slugged 291 homeruns, knocked in 964 and hit .250. By today’s standards, not overwhelming. But if you consider the fact that Jimmy Wynn played most of his games in the Houston Astrodome, the site where fly balls went to die, and the fact that he out homered his team at home on a routine basis, then you would understand just how dangerous a hitter the “Toy Cannon” was. Mark Armour, one of the founders of the baseball biography project for SABR, joins the podcast to talk about the great Jimmy Wynn.
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