Jerry Lynch ✝

He was born in Bay City, Michigan. After two years of military service, he made his Major League debut at age 23 on April 15, 1954 in a 7-4 Pirates\' loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Starting in right field and batting third, he had one hit in four at bats. In his first three at-bats he flied out twice and struck out once against Dodgers pitcher Russ Meyer. His first career hit came in the ninth inning off Meyer, as he singled and also drove in his first two runs.\n', ' Lynch helped the Reds win the 1961 National League pennant. On September 26, 1961, he propelled the Reds into the World Series with his two-run home run off Cubs pitcher Bob Anderson, scoring Vada Pinson. He finished 22nd in voting for the 1961 NL MVP. He was hitless in three official at bats and four plate appearances during the 1961 World Series, which the Reds lost in five games to the New York Yankees.\n', ' Lynch is considered one of baseball\'s all-time best pinch hitters. He had 116 pinch hits during his career, which ranks him 10th on the all-time list. Lynch is third on the all-time pinch hit home run list (he was first when he retired) with 18, with five of those coming during the 1961 season while driving in 25 runs.\n', '