| Butch Wynegar | |
|---|---|
 Wynegar in 1984 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1956-03-14)March 14, 1956 (age 69) York, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 9, 1976, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 24, 1988, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 65 |
| Runs batted in | 506 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Harold Delano "Butch"Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956)[1] is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher who played 13 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played for theMinnesota Twins,New York Yankees andCalifornia Angels, and was a two-time All Star.[1]
Wynegar was drafted by theMinnesota Twins in the second round of the1974 Major League Baseball draft.[2] In his first season inprofessional baseball, he batted a league-leading .346 batting average and .464 on base percentage with a .524 slugging percentage and eighthome runs and 51 RBIs (5th in the league) for the Rookie LeagueElizabethton Twins, and was named anAppalachian League All Star.[3][4]
In 1975, Wynegar played for the unaffiliatedReno Silver Sox of theCalifornia 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.[5][6] (Reno was officially unaffiliated, but had agreements with the Twins and theSan Diego Padres to take players on optional assignment from those teams.)
The Twins invited him to theirspring training camp in 1976, where he successfully made the team, never having played Double orTriple-A baseball.To date, Wynegar is the only catcher to have ever jumped directly from A-ball to the majors.[7]
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Wynegar proved to be adept both behind the plate and batting. In 1976 he was the fourth-youngest baseball player in the AL.[1] His first major league home run was a game-winner offCatfish Hunter on April 18, 1976.[8] Wynegar wasbatting .294 with six home runs and 37runs batted in at the 1976 All-Star break and was named to theAmerican LeagueAll-Star team his rookie season.[9] 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).[10] For the season, Wynegar had 650putouts, second in the league behindJim Sundberg, and batted .260 with ten home runs and 69 RBIs and was 9th in the league in walks, with 79.[1] He finished second in the 1976American LeagueRookie of the Year balloting toMark Fidrych, and was namedThe Sporting News Rookie of the Year.[11]
Wynegar had six home runs and 47 RBIs at the midpoint of the1977 season to make his second consecutiveAll-Star team. He drove in a career high 79runs for the season, and had established himself as one of the better fielding catchers by leading the American League in baserunnerscaught stealing with 60, and logging a .993fielding percentage along with 84assists, second only to Sundberg.[12]
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.[13] In 1980, he led all AL catchers indouble plays, with 13.[1]
Wynegar signed a $2 million, five-year contract with the Twins in 1981. He was traded along withRoger Erickson from theTwins to theYankees forLarry Milbourne,John Pacella andPete Filson on May 12, 1982.[14] Wynegar claimed that Twins ownerCalvin Griffith wanted to get rid of high-priced players however, Griffith responded that Wynegar was being traded because his batting average was only .209.[15]
Wynegar hit well with the Yankees in 1982, producing a .293 average in 63 games.[1] He had more walks than strikeouts, leading to a .413 on base percentage.[1]
Heplatooned withRick Cerone behind the plate in 1983, batting .296./.399/.429 in 94 games. He was the Yankees catcher on July 4, 1983, whenDave Righetti pitched ano hitter inYankee Stadium against theBoston Red Sox.[16]
Wynegar became the Yankees starting catcher in 1984, playing in 129 games.[1] His average dipped to .267 in 1984, and fell further to .223 in 1985, in part due to an injury that occurred when he was hit in the head by afoul ball while standing in theon deck circle.[1][17] In 1985, Wynegar caught bothPhil Niekro's 3000thstrike out and his 300th win.[18][19]
After three and a half seasons with New York, Wynegar became afree agent and re-signed with the Yankees for the 1986 season. However, the stress of playing for a high-profile team in New York City led by ownerGeorge Steinbrenner, managerBilly Martin, and then managerLou Piniella began to wear on him and led to him suffering from a deep depression.[20][17][21][22] A contract dispute in 1985, the firing of Yankee managerYogi Berra, and a personality conflict with new Yankee manager Billy Martin took their toll on Wynegar's morale.[17][23] In July 1986, Wynegar informed the Yankees that he had lost his enthusiasm for the game and did not want to play in New York anymore. He calledClyde King, the general manager, and asked him for permission for some time off, explaining that he could no longer cope.[22] After talking to owner Steinbrenner, King told Wynegar he could have one day off.[22] But the game was no longer fun for Wynegar and he told King "this was no one-day thing," departed for home, and did not play for the rest of the season.[22] He left the team forfeiting $1.4 million ($4,000,000 in current dollar terms) still owed on his contract.[24][25]
Months later, Wynegar requested to be traded.[17][21] The Yankees traded Wynegar to theCalifornia Angels on December 19, 1986, for pitcherRon Romanick and player to be named later relief pitcherAlan Mills.[26]
With the Angels, Wynegar became a back-up for the first time in his career, working behindBob Boone during the1987 season. In May 1987 the Angels' team physician removedbone spurs from hisarthritic right big toe, and operated again after the season removingcalcium deposits from Wynegar's foot.[25][27]
He retired as a player early in the1988 season at the age of 32, as he was batting .255/.338/.418, due to his arthritic big toe.[24]
In 1991 and 1992, Wynegar coached atRollins College. In 1994, he became themanager of theBaltimore Orioles'South Atlantic League affiliate, theAlbany Polecats. A year later, in 1995, Wynegar was named manager of theCharlotte Rangers of theFlorida State League, where he remained through the 1997 season. He spent the next five seasons, through 2002, as theTexas Rangers' roving hitting instructor, and part of 1999 as the Rangers major league bullpen coach.[28]
From 2003 to 2006 Wynegar was the hitting coach for theMilwaukee Brewers.[29] In 2007, he went back in the New York Yankees' organization, serving as hitting coach through 2014 for the AAAScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.[30][1][31]
In 2015, Wynegar moved to the Pirates organization as AAAIndianapolis Indians hitting coach.[32] In 2018, he was made hitting coach of the Pirates'Class A-Advanced affiliateBradenton Marauders.[33]
In a 13-year major league career, Wynegar played in 1,301games, accumulating 1,102hits in 4,330at bats for a .255 career batting average along with 65 home runs and 506runs batted in.[1] He ended his career with a .989 fielding percentage.[1] Wynegar logged 10,521 innings behind the plate in his career.[1]
Wynegar grew up inYork, Pennsylvania, the son of Harold D. Wynegar Sr. and Dorrea L. "Dee" (Storm) Wynegar.[24] He attendedRed Lion High School.[24] Wynegar had a son, Mark, with his wife, Deborah.[24]
· Baseball Almanac