Toy Cannon: The Autobiography of Baseball's Jimmy Wynn

This is a very good autobiography by Jimmy Wynn. He is very honest with his life. He admits his mistakes and gives advice on how to avoid those mistakes in your life. His comments on the players,managers and executives of the time are very candid. He talks about who he liked and the ones he didn't like, such Spec Richardson and Reggie Jackson. I can remember Wynn as player when I was growing up. I loved his nickname, "The Toy Cannon". He tells how he got that nickname in this book too. If you liked 70's baseball and want to get some first hand in sight, this is a good book to read.

It was a very good book, and the book was in excellent condition,

as a 10 yr old boy, I had the chance to see Jimmy Wynn hit a home run off of Chris Short at Old Connie Mack Stadium on May 13, 1966. The ball cleared the left field roof and as of today February 11, 2017, I believe it is still traveling up. His book was fabulous. It was as if Mr. Wynn was sitting next to me telling me his story. To the authors, a well done job.

When I saw the relatively steep purchase price of this book, I hesitated. However, I'm glad that I let my interest in learning more about one of baseball's underrated legends win out. Wynn and his co-writer do a fine job of mixing in his personal accounts with actual facts and major events of the 1950s thru the 1970s eras which spanned his professional playing days.While serious baseball fans will notice a few errors in accuracy--most glaringly his claim that Henry Aaron tied Babe Ruth's career home record near the close of the 1973 season--that was number 713--the engaging writing style compels the reader to finish. Wynn's story is inspirational, and I highly recommend it.

Great book by a great player.

I love books like this. There are entirely too many books about super duper stars and not enough about players of Wynn's caliber - an excellent player, an all-star, someone who was underrated during his prime and certainly after his playing days ended. As an example, Wynn was on the Hall of Fame ballot just once (in 1983) and received zero votes.I really appreciate Jimmy Wynn's honest in sharing his life story. It's not too often that you'll see someone admit their mistakes and discuss how they have learned from those. Wynn is an exception as he readily admits the challenges he went through and owns his part in them.Wynn and co-author Bill McCurdy roll chronologically through Wynn's childhood in Cincinnati and then into the minor leagues. He was taken in the minor league early in his professional career by the recently formed Houston Colt 45s (now Astros) from his hometown Reds, who had originally signed him. Wynn comes of age in Houston, teaming up with Rusty Staub and future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan to provide some potent offense for the fledgling franchise.Wynn's candor comes into sharp focus early on as he discusses how a club executive suggested that he get married to avoid being pressed into military duty. He also discusses the troublesome attitude of manager Harry Walker toward minorities.Sprinkled into this chronological account are some heartfelt comments about his teammates. My favorite story involved Bob Aspromonte and a young fan who was struggling with vision problems.Wynn goes into the details of his trade from the Astros to the Dodgers, stating he chose LA over the Cubs because he felt the Dodgers could win the pennant. They did so in his first year and Wynn goes into the account of his involvement in getting Anita Martini access to the locker room following a pennant clinching win over the Astros. Martini was a longtime radio personality in Houston that Wynn had known and, with Wynn's assistance, became the first female journalist allowed in a baseball locker room.A couple of misses on the fact checking. In discussing the Astros early baseball monopoly in Houston and the desire to put a team in Dallas, he claims the expansion teams in the American League in 1969 were awarded to Seattle and Washington and that the Washington franchise would become the Rangers. That's partly correct. The second version of the Washington Senators did move to Dallas and become the Rangers. But they were an expansion team in 1961. The other AL expansion team in 1969 was the Kansas City Royals. This is one of those errors that made me scratch my head. If you are a baseball fan and were alive in this era, this, to me, is common knowledge and I'm surprised this wasn't caught when the manuscript was being worked on.Wynn incorrectly references South America as the location of an earthquake that sent Roberto Clemente into action, organizing relief efforts and ultimately flying on an ill-fated cargo plane to deliver some of those supplies. The earthquake happened in Nicaragua.Wynn also incorrectly names Roger Bacon High School as the alma mater of fellow Cincinnatian Roger Staubach. He graduated from Purcell Marian High School.In spite of those issues, I'd recommend this book to baseball fans and especially to fans of the Astros and Dodgers.

Wynn's "call-'em-like-I-see-em" autobiography is well written and will be a treat for all baseball fans. The Toy Cannon fires away at a wide range of subjects and recounts with great clarity and passion his rapid ascent into the big leagues and how he came to be Houston's all-time home run leader upon his departure from the club following the 1973 season, although by no means did his baseball career--or life story--end there.Wynn and co-writer Bill McCurdy have put together a great story with much of interest for baseball fans of all ages and persuasions: the life of a young African-American playing minor-league baseball in the deep South, the travails of a slugger looking to go deep inside the pitching-friendly confines of the Houston Astrodome, the thrill of reaching the World Series only to be derailed by a baseball juggernaut.A colorful, assured figure in his playing days, Wynn has lost none of the vigor and vitality which helped make him a baseball star. He remains as outspoken today as he was undersized in his playing prime. A good and entertaining read, this is a baseball book truly deserving of a place of honor on the bookshelves of the library in your home.