1983 Profile: Butch Wynegar

"Butch's value to the Yankees was immediately apparent when he subbed for catcher Rick Cerone, who suffered a broken thumb a month into the '82 season.
Only 26 years old, the switch-hitting Wynegar joined the Yankees from Minnesota, where he had spent six impressive seasons with the Twins.
But his heart has always belonged to the Yankees. 'My dad lived and died with the Yankees,' says Butch. 'Our family always followed the Yankees, especially Mickey Mantle. In fact, I became a switch-hitter because I wanted to be just like Mantle.'
Last season, in 63 games as a Yankee, Wynegar hit a very respectable .293 and handled his catching chores capably. With Wynegar and Cerone behind the plate, the Yankees' catching ranks among the finest in baseball."

-The New York Yankees Official 1983 Yearbook

"His trade to the Yankees on May 12 coincided with Rick Cerone's broken thumb on May 11, but the trade had been worked out with Minnesota in advance of Cerone's injury. Wynegar was the Yankees' No. 1 catcher with Cerone on the disabled list and split the catching duties with Cerone upon Rick's return on July 15 until Butch was disabled on July 25 with a viral infection; he was activated on September 1 but saw limited duty the rest of the season.
Butch batted .417 (15-for-36) with men in scoring position to lead the Yankees. He ended the season batting .267 overall, but was batting only .209 at the time of his trade from Minnesota to the Yankees.
He was an All-Star selection each of his first four seasons as a professional. In 1976 Wynegar became the youngest player (20 years, 121 days) to appear in a major league All-Star Game. He hit his first career home run off Catfish Hunter. Coming into 1983, Butch has thrown out 38% of runners trying to steal on him. He also starts '83 with a .258 average batting left-handed and a .251 average batting right-handed. He missed the first month and a half of the 1981 season because of a bone chip that was found in his throwing elbow and which required surgery to remove.
Wynegar played third base until he was moved to catcher his junior year at Red Lion High in York, PA. He was a four-year letterman in baseball and also lettered in football, basketball and wrestling."

-1983 New York Yankees Information Guide