Top 100 San Diego Padres: #96 Marvell Wynne
The following is a guest article by Michael Baker of metalsupply, a San Diego Padres blog.
MARVELL WYNNE | LF/CF/RF | 1986-1989 | CAREER STATS
Marvell Wynne was never a great player, but he was one of my favorites. He lingers in my memory for his above-average centerfield defense and his great baseball name. He played only eight seasons in the major leagues, and only three-and-a-half years with the Padres, but Marvell managed to make a lot out of a limited skill set, somewhat similar to later Padres player Eric Owens and Padres draftee Thomas Howard.
Marvell was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Royals in 1979. In 1981 he was traded to the Mets for Juan Berenguer (a terrible trade for the Mets), and later played for the Pirates, with whom he first reached the major leagues.
Marvell was primarily used as a defense-first centerfielder, and he arguably never would have played a game in the major leagues if not for his quick jump and good range. Early in his career he stole a few bases and managed to score a few runs, but he had no power whatsoever, terrible plate discipline, and generally hit like a pitcher. He was caught stealing as often as he was successful, which probably accounts for him stealing no more than 12 bases in any season apart from 1984, his only season as a regular.
In 1986, just after spring training, Marvell was traded to the Padres for reliever/spot starter Bob Patterson. In four seasons with the Padres, Wynne never accumulated more than 350 at bats. He had arguably his finest season as a professional with the Padres in 1988, when he compiled a .751 OPS in limited duty.
In 1989, Wynne was traded with Luis Salazar to the Cubs for the aged Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson, and Phil Stephenson. After spending a little more than a year with the Cubs, Marvell Wynne's MLB career ended, and given the choice of a hard life on the road in the minor leagues or a steady paycheck elsewhere, he chose the latter. He ended his career with the Hanshin Tigers in Osaka, the former team of Rob Deer, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Larry Parrish, Randy Bass, and Cecil Fielder. The team currently features former Padre Andy Sheets and one time Yankees phenom Shane Spencer. When he retired, Wynne returned to his home in Poway, CA.
Interestingly, Marvell Wynne might not be the best athlete named Marvell Wynne in his own family. His son, Marvell Wynne II, was a highly touted collegiate soccer player at UCLA, and was recently the first overall pick in the 2006 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He will begin his professional career as a defender for the New York Red Bull (formerly MetroStars).
MARVELL WYNNE | LF/CF/RF | 1986-1989 | CAREER STATS
Marvell Wynne was never a great player, but he was one of my favorites. He lingers in my memory for his above-average centerfield defense and his great baseball name. He played only eight seasons in the major leagues, and only three-and-a-half years with the Padres, but Marvell managed to make a lot out of a limited skill set, somewhat similar to later Padres player Eric Owens and Padres draftee Thomas Howard.
Marvell was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Royals in 1979. In 1981 he was traded to the Mets for Juan Berenguer (a terrible trade for the Mets), and later played for the Pirates, with whom he first reached the major leagues.
Marvell was primarily used as a defense-first centerfielder, and he arguably never would have played a game in the major leagues if not for his quick jump and good range. Early in his career he stole a few bases and managed to score a few runs, but he had no power whatsoever, terrible plate discipline, and generally hit like a pitcher. He was caught stealing as often as he was successful, which probably accounts for him stealing no more than 12 bases in any season apart from 1984, his only season as a regular.
In 1986, just after spring training, Marvell was traded to the Padres for reliever/spot starter Bob Patterson. In four seasons with the Padres, Wynne never accumulated more than 350 at bats. He had arguably his finest season as a professional with the Padres in 1988, when he compiled a .751 OPS in limited duty.
In 1989, Wynne was traded with Luis Salazar to the Cubs for the aged Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson, and Phil Stephenson. After spending a little more than a year with the Cubs, Marvell Wynne's MLB career ended, and given the choice of a hard life on the road in the minor leagues or a steady paycheck elsewhere, he chose the latter. He ended his career with the Hanshin Tigers in Osaka, the former team of Rob Deer, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Larry Parrish, Randy Bass, and Cecil Fielder. The team currently features former Padre Andy Sheets and one time Yankees phenom Shane Spencer. When he retired, Wynne returned to his home in Poway, CA.
Interestingly, Marvell Wynne might not be the best athlete named Marvell Wynne in his own family. His son, Marvell Wynne II, was a highly touted collegiate soccer player at UCLA, and was recently the first overall pick in the 2006 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He will begin his professional career as a defender for the New York Red Bull (formerly MetroStars).
posted by Richard B. Wade at 8:45 AM
5 Comments:
Dre! Good to see you here. If you hadn't heard of Marvell, then I'll bet you haven't heard of Padre #95, either.
Speaking of whom, I better get back to work penning his profile.
Michael, Eric Owens is the tenth most similar player to Marvell, according to baseballreference.com.
Good call.
Am I the only one who remembers Wynne, Gwynn, and Kruk leading off a game against the Giants in April '87 with three consecutve homers?
Overjoyed. I'll hound Richard into adding you to our links. I'm not blog-savvy enough to perform such intricate tasks.
Added!
Lance - good call on the HR trifecta ... when I think if Marvell Wynne, the first thing that pops into my mind is the Padres' home opener in 1987 ... http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B04130SDN1987.htm ... 3 solo shots to start the bottom of the 1st for the Padres ... Wynne + Gwynn + Kruk! :-)
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