My partner in crime Devin Sparks has been spending the past week reviewing the minor league careers of baseball’s newest Hall of Fame class. Thus far he has brought you inside the beginnings of Randy Johnson and Craig Biggio’s career, with Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz still to come. I thought it would be fun to look at another 2015 Hall of Fame-hopeful’s minor league career. Of course, he will be going into the NFL Hall of Fame.
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Earlier this week the NFL named the 2015 finalists for the Hall of Fame ballots, and will name the newest inductees later this month. John Lynch is hoping his name will be called, and by every means it should. Lynch spearheaded the late-90s/ early 2000’s feared Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. He was an AP First Team All-NFL four consecutive years from 1999-2002, as well as a 9 time Pro Bowler. He hoisted a Lombardi Trophy after the 2002 season, and finished his impressive career with 736 tackles, 13 sacks and 26 interceptions.
Before all of those accolades, before being known as one of the fiercest, hardest hitting forces up the middle in NFL history, he was a pitcher in the Florida “Not Miami” Marlins farm system. Lynch was drafted in the second round of the 1992 draft. He went directly to the New York/Penn League where he would pitch for the Erie Sailors. He was managed by Fredi Gonzalez, now the Atlanta Braves manager.
He wound up throwing the first pitch ever in the history of the Sailors. It was a ball but came across at 95 miles per hour. His first season didn’t go the way he wanted it to, but it was by no means terrible. Lynch made seven starts and finished with a dazzling 2.15 ERA. He couldn’t muster a win, however, finishing 0-3 and walked more batters (17) than he struck out (16).
The following season he was bumped up to the Class A Kane County Cougars. He would team up with future Marlins Charles Johnson, Edgar Renteria and future (and current) Marlins’ skipper Mike Redmond. Lynch would make two starts that season and register his first professional win. He finished 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, but walked 12 batters and struck out just 3 over his last two starts of his career.
That was the end of Lynch’s baseball career. He is honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame, as his jersey hangs in honor of being the hurler of the first Marlins’ pitch in their franchise’s history. Now he hopes to join fellow Stanford two-sport superstar John Elway in the Football Hal of Fame.