Early Wynn- Life Begins at Thirty

Early Wynn was called by the great Ted Williams "the toughest pitcher I ever faced". One day, late in his career, his own son, who was a promising player, took batting practice against Early Wynn; after a couple of long drives the boy was sent sprawling in the dust at home plate by a knockdown pitch. Early Wynn began his baseball career with the lowly Washington Senators, and then escaped the fate of being with a perennial loser when he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. It was in Cleveland that Early Wynn met a coach who would turn his life in baseball from that of just another pitcher into one who would win 300 games and go on to the Hall of Fame.

Born in 1920 in rural Alabama, Early Wynn escaped the fate of working for a living in the cotton and peanut fields through his right arm. A gifted pitcher in high school, Early Wynn was signed at age seventeen by the Senators after a local tryout. Wynn did not even finish high school, and he went 16-11 in the minors in his first year in pro ball in 1937. He was with the Senators by age nineteen and made his big league debut on September 13th, 1939. The next season Wynn was sent back to the minors for more experience, precipitated when he bunted into a triple play in a big spot. When 1941 came along, Early Wynn was in the Eastern League with a 16-12 record. Early was recalled to the Senators for the end of the campaign, but suffered the loss of his wife Mabel in an automobile accident.

As part of the Senators' pitching staff from 1942 through 1948, Early Wynn had his ups and downs. Wynn had seasons of 18 and 17 victories, but also lost 19 games one year and 17 another. Washington was a horrible team, but did manage a second place finish in 1943 when Early Wynn went 18-12 and led the American League in games started with 33. But it was not until Wynn was traded to the Indians after the 1948 season that his career blossomed; he would win twenty or more games five times after the age of thirty.