CBS SportsLine
Chat Transcript
October 8, 1997

Former baseball great Fredd Lynn, a former Rookie of the Year and winner of the American League's 1975 MVP Award stopped by to chat with CBS SportsLine fans on October 8, 1997.

Find out what Fred had to say in the full transcript of his chat below.

Chat Host: Please welcome the only player to ever receive MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season -- Fred Lynn!

Fred Lynn: Hello, sports world! I'm ready for some questions.

Chat Host: Great! Here's your first question...

Question: Besides Fenway, what was your favorite ballpark?

Fred Lynn: My favorite ballpark other than Fenway would have to be Wrigley Field for two reasons. One, I'm from Chicago, but I was raised in Southern California. And as a kid, I visited the park. And two, as a player, I loved to play there... It's really a great park where the fans are practically on top of the stadium looking down on the field.

Question: Will the Red Sox ever get better?

Fred Lynn: No. It's the curse of the Bambino! Don't you know?

Question: Your thoughts, please, on the current state of the Red Sox? Do you think they will re-sign Mo Vaughn or will they try to swap him for some arms?

Fred Lynn: Current Red Sox team? Ugh! They're going to lose Mo Vaughn this year. And yes, and they need better defense and pitching.

Question: What's your opinion on UFO's? Do you believe that they exist? And, do you follow the X Files?

Fred Lynn: As for UFOs, I don't know if I believe in them, but I can't say that I don't. There's a lot of space out there and it's pretty arrogant for us to look up and say "Yep, we're the only ones." There are just so many stars and so many planets that you have to wonder whether or not we're alone in this universe. Hey, maybe somebody else out there knows baseball and can remove the curse (of the Bambino). And, as for the X Files, yes, of course, I watch it!

Question: Would you ever coach in Boston?

Fred Lynn: I'd probably be crucified like every other manager or player is at some point. The press is tough there.

Question: Who are you pulling for to win the World Series?

Fred Lynn: Right now, I guess my allegiance would be with Baltimore because I played with the O's for 4 years.

Question: What do you think of realignment?

Fred Lynn: I like the status quo right now. We've already made changes as far as inter-division play. I think a little is good and a lot is not.

Question: What's your opinion of the DH? Keep it or toss it?

Fred Lynn: What do I think of the DH? Get rid of it! Get it out now! I like to see the pitcher hit. When you watch the NL games, you see it the way it was meant to be played... Some will argue that "well, a player's going to lose a job." I don't believe that. There's plenty of other positions a guy could play.

Question: Can you share with us one of your greatest memories during your career?

Fred Lynn: I think hitting the Grand Slam in the 1983 All-Star game. And that was in Chicago, by the way, at the old Comiskey Park.

Question: What do you think of the wild card?

Fred Lynn: I like it. I wish we would have had it when I was playing, because my Red Sox team came in second a lot and it never did us any good... And, you're seeing a good reason for it right now with the Marlins.

Question: Do you think anyone will ever break Roger Maris' record?

Fred Lynn: Yes, I do. Every record is going to be broken with the exception of a couple... The ballparks are being built smaller now... Guys are getting bigger and stronger... They're doing more and more to facilitate offense. However, it won't be done by a guy who will hit 20 HRs in the last part of the season, because, well for one thing, the press will be on him... They'll need to do it early and be going into August with 50.

Question: Have you been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet? If not, do you think you ever will be?

Fred Lynn: No, I am not. I probably won't be inducted, because I didn't play enough games. There's no criteria, but unless you play a certain amount of games, your chances of being inducted are very slim.

Question: Were the Red Sox days your favorite?

Fred Lynn: Yes, the Red Sox teams, every one of them were great, the only thing we lacked was a closer. We won a lot of games and every year we won 90-plus games. Winning is fun and losing is not. We didn't win a lot of divisions, but we did win a lot of games. And, that's why we needed the wild card then.

Question: What was the biggest rivalry for the Red Sox back then?

Fred Lynn: Well, that was the Yankees. We had a real rivalry with New York Yankees. I think because they had Munson and we had Fisk, and they hated eachother... There was never any good blood between the two teams. But, they had a good closer and we didn't.

Question: Do you know if Fenway is going to be torn down?

Fred Lynn: They're talking about it a lot! I think it would be a mistake and I'll tell you why: You can only get about 32,000 in Fenway now and that's without the fire marshall coming down on ya! Now, the fans wouldn't feel that the tickets are scarce and may feel like anybody can get tickets anytime and might not show up as much. Plus, there's so much history in that ballpark. I think the fans would revolt. In fact, even I have a piece of the old, tin wall that they tore down. It's worth a lot to me.

Question: Is 1975 your most memorable year?

Fred Lynn: A lot of things happened to me that year. It was new and it happened very fast. I really didn't enjoy everything that was happening for me until later. Personally, I didn't get a chance to enjoy that until years later. As a team, I enjoyed that we were winning and in first almost the entire year. I came from a winning background (USC) with three national titles.

Question: Do you ever regret not finishing your career with the Red Sox and at Fenway.

Fred Lynn: Yes, I sure do wish I could have finished my career at Fenway.

Question: Who are you picking to win the current series and who's your pick to win it all?

Fred Lynn: Hey, I thought the Yankees would beat Cleveland. And last night, I thought Atlanta would take over, but they played awful! But, I'm still taking Atlanta to win the whole thing. It's going to be Baltimore (who will blow away Cleveland) and Atlanta.

Question: Who were your favorite players growing up?

Fred Lynn: There were really two players that I saw a lot of -- Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays -- the reason was that they could everything well and they had no holes in their game.

Question: Do you still follow baseball? And, can you evaluate today's game (offense and defense)?

Fred Lynn: I follow it closely. Even though I don't announce full-time, I follow it very closely. As far as defense, it's lacking in today's game and all the players ever get recognized for is hitting. But, if you think about it a player bats four times a game, but plays for nine innings. Unless he's a DH! Ha, ha!

Question: What do you think of the Dodgers? Did they choke?

Fred Lynn: They should be winning - plain and simple - no excuses. And, there were not many player injuries so you have to say they're underachieving. They have enough pitching and as much as anybody else. However, their team is all right-handed - in pitching and hitting. They need a lefty in there to compete a little better. Mo Vaughn may fit in rather nicely.

Question: What's your favorite memory of Boston?

Fred Lynn: Well, I met my wife there. That was memorable :) But, when we clinched the pennant we didn't get to celebrate at Fenway and we lost the World Series there... that's a tough question. Maybe watching Yaz get his 3,000th hit there. As for me, yes, we won a lot of games at Fenway... And, as far as other milestones for the team, they never seemed to happen in Boston.

Chat Host: Fred, thank you for joining us today and answering so many interesting questions. We hope you can join us again in the near future.