Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Fred Lynn made an appearance at the home of the Worcester Red Sox on Thursday, signing photos and meeting with fans.
WORCESTER — Fred Lynn roamed the outfield grass at Polar Park Thursday.
The Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer, who played part of one season with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1974, was the guest of honor at the home of the WooSox and threw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the Triple-A team’s game against the Buffalo Bisons.
“Thanks for coming out today,” said Lynn as he addressed fans from the field. “I gotta tell you, in all honesty, I’ve never been here before, first time for me, looking at this field, it’s better than half of the fields I played on in the big leagues.
“You should be proud of that. Let’s go WooSox.”
The guest of honor today at Polar Park was Red Sox Hall of Famer Fred Lynn.
— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) August 7, 2025
Here are sights and sounds from his first visit to the home of the Worcester Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/1JuirbjVO4
After Lynn, a former centerfielder for the Red Sox, inspected the outfield playing surface at Polar Park pregame and gave his speech, the 73-year-old tossed out the first pitch to WooSox hitting advisor Rich Gedman.
The pair of former Red Sox then walked off the playing surface together.
“It’s been a very special day,” Lynn said. “I’ve been treated like a king here.”
Originally selected by the New York Yankees in the third round of the 1970 draft, Lynn elected to play for the University of Southern California — where he helped the Tojans win three straight College World Series titles from 1971-73.
The Red Sox then drafted him in the second round in 1973. Following a standout minor league season with the PawSox in 1974, Lynn debuted with Boston in September of that year.
Despite a short stint in AAA, Lynn still has vivid memories of Pawtucket.
“We were so bad they didn’t wanna talk about us,” said Lynn, who spent four months playing for the PawSox and remembers the sun setting in left field at McCoy Stadium and getting in his eyes when he was hitting. “We didn’t have any coaches. We had a manager. No strength coaches. No, you had 12-ounce beers. It was so different.
Name a more iconic duo@KevinBoston25 | @19fredlynnpic.twitter.com/3GSh2kBFF2
— Tommy Cassell (@tommycassell44) August 7, 2025
“These (current Triple-A player), it’s good for them (these days). They have these facilities that I wish we would’ve had. To be honest, I’m envious of these guys. It’s beautiful. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
After his promotion from Triple-A Pawtucket, Lynn played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues and was a nine-time All-Star. In seven seasons with the Red Sox (1974-80), the sweet-swinging, left-handed hitter slashed .308 with 124 HR and 521 RBI in 828 games.
It was his magical season in 1975, though, that Lynn is most remembered for. At least by Red Sox fans.
The Chicago native and current California resident became the first player in MLB history to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player award in the same season. Lynn batted .331 with 21 HR and 105 RBI for the American League champion Red Sox while leading the AL in doubles (47), runs scored and slugging percentage. He just missed out on the batting title to Twins legend Rod Carew (.359) but in 1979 Lynn won the AL batting title with a .333 average.
Lynn won four Gold Gloves for his play in center field in 1975, ’78, ’79, and ’80. In 1981, he was traded to the California Angles — where Lynn went on to be named a three-time All-Star. He proceeded to play for Detroit and San Diego before his career ended in 1990.
Lynn was elected into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, and on Thursday, the popular former player signed photos and met with fans in the Sherwood’s Diner at Polar Park to wrap up his day in the Canal District.
It was a special first trip to the home of the Worcester Red Sox for the Red Sox Hall of Famer.
“It’s good for me,” Lynn said, “and it’s good for the fans as well.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Fred Lynn makes first appearance at Polar Park
Category: Baseball
