Japhet Monroe Lynn (December 27, 1913 – October 27, 1977) was a professional baseball player who played

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

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(MLB) from 1939–40 and 1944. He would play for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and New York Giants. Although is MLB career lasted only three season, his professional baseball career encompassed 23 season. Listed at and weighing , the

Kenney, Texas Kenney (also Kinney) is an unincorporated community in northern Austin County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 200 in 2000. It is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Hi ...

native was said to be ambidextrous. Although Lynn only pitched right-handed in games, he sometimes threw batting practice left-handed. Several highlights of Lynn's minor league career came in 1937 while pitching for the

Jacksonville Jax The Jacksonville Jax were a minor league baseball team based at Ragsdale Park in Jacksonville, Texas, USA. They played in the West Dixie League from 1934–1935, the East Texas League from 1936–1940, and again in 1946, the Lone Star League in 194 ...

(

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and p ...

in the

East Texas League The East Texas League was a Texas–based minor league baseball league that existed between 1916 to 1950. The East Texas League played as a Class D level league in 1916 and from 1923 to 1926. The league became a Class C level league from 1936 ...

), when he posted a 32–13

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

(leading all of professional baseball), 2.65

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with 233

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. He also had a breakout year in 1943 while pitching for the

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in the

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finishing the year with a league-leading 21–8 record and 2.47 ERA. Lynn "once told The Sporting News, 'I was a real yokel when it came to pitching. In my first game, when the catcher held down one finger, I thought he wanted me to hold the ball with one finger. I didn't know I was supposed to pitch a fast ball, which happened to be my only pitch. So I held the ball with one finger and it sailed over the catcher's head. When he held down two fingers (for a curve) I put two fingers on the ball. I was really dumb.'" In Lynn's brief three-season MLB career, he compiled a 10–8 record, 3.95 ERA, and 85 strikeouts, while surrendering 85 walks. Lynn work diverse jobs during the off-season including involvement in boxing and wrestling as well as a rodeo cowboy and railroad laborer. Lynn died on October 27, 1977, in Bellville, Texas.

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Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
1913 births 1977 deaths Asheville Tourists players Bakersfield Boosters players Baseball players from Texas Beaumont Exporters players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Red Birds players Detroit Tigers players Hollywood Stars players Huntington Red Birds players Jacksonville Jax players Jersey City Giants players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Lubbock Hubbers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers New York Giants (NL) players Patriotas de Venezuela players Portland Beavers players Salt Lake City Bees players Springfield Redbirds players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub