Streak Was Sweet, but Wynne Content With Reserve Role

Marvell Wynne still marvels at those almost inexplicable two months last season. May and June of 1988 will forever be a special time in Wynne’s otherwise modest major league career.

“That was like something I was looking for my whole career,” Wynne said Saturday before a 6-2 exhibition loss to San Francisco. “My average was up. My RBI production was up. The home runs were up. I really surprised myself.”

The two months were like something out of “Damn Yankees.” Wynne, never much of a power hitter, became the Padres’ biggest slugger. He had been transformed into a player he had never been.

He had more home runs by the All-Star break (nine) than he had in any of his previous five major league seasons and led the team in homers, triples (four) and slugging percentage (.503). A career .251 hitter, Wynne’s average peaked at .326 in June.

“It was a case of me being more relaxed, getting a lot of playing time and being real selective at the plate,” Wynne said.

But Wynne’s hitting eventually cooled. Tony Gwynn moved over from right to become the everyday center fielder. And Wynne’s burst of power vanished almost as quickly as it came. Wynne finished with a .264 average, a career-high 42 RBIs and 11 home runs--a career-high by four but far off his midseason pace.

All of this is why Wynne, 29, finds himself back in a more familiar spot with team this season. He no longer is the power boost. He is the fourth outfielder, a late defensive replacement, a pinch-hitter and a left-handed hitter expected start almost exclusively against right-handed pitching.

That role, although hardly the high-profile position Wynne enjoyed for those exciting two months last year, is one he says he’s comfortable filling.

“I’m pleased with where I’m at and what I’m doing right now,” Wynne said. “That is a tough job, too--coming off the bench and trying to do things well. I just have to be physically and mentally prepared for when I get called upon. If I don’t start, my head will still be in the game.”

With the Padres’ starting outfield apparently set with Carmelo Martinez in left, Gwynn in center and John Kruk in right, Wynne figures to start only in certain situations. He could play for Martinez against left-handers, fill in for Martinez or Kruk if either one is called upon to spell Jack Clark at first or play center on the rare days Gwynn does not play.

Wynne’s apparent willingness to accept that position pleases Manager Jack McKeon.

“He is a team player, willing to do whatever we need from him,” McKeon said. “He is like a Tim Flannery. He fits into a particular role on this ballclub. You have to have 24 guys working together to help you win, and he helps us do that.”

That does not mean McKeon undervalues Wynne’s contribution. He said he would like nothing better than for Wynne to get in the same kind of streak he had early last season, but tempers that with an understanding that experience shows Wynne’s hitting bursts run in extreme.

“He just got into a groove and was hot for a couple months,” McKeon said. “It was nice. We enjoyed it. We hope he has a couple more of them this year. But you will notice last year that it didn’t last forever. Every ballplayer goes through that--a period when he is seeing the ball well, when it comes in like a basketball.

“We have a lot of guys who get in streaks similar to that. Flannery is like that and so is Randy Ready. I just hope I have the right guy in there when it is his time to get hot.”

So far in spring training, Wynne is showing signs that he is ready to start strong again. He has hit safely in seven of his nine games, is batting .408 (11 for 27) and is second on the team in RBIs with eight.

But he is reading nothing special into his strong training camp showing. He says he will be happy to be the spot player McKeon said he envisioned when he acquired Wynne from Pittsburgh before the start of the 1986 season for pitcher Bob Patterson.

That trade, Wynne said, could not have come at a better time. It took him out of what was, at the time, a depressing situation in Pittsburgh, where attendance was low, the club had been sold and Barry Bonds was being groomed as the center fielder, later to be left fielder, of the future.

“I was glad to move on,” Wynne said. “The best thing for me was for them to trade me. I was glad the Padres were the organization that really wanted to take a look at me and then stuck with me. The trade was a surprise, but it was something I wanted. I got my wish and here I am.”

Padre Notes

The 6-2 loss to San Francisco broke a three-game Padre winning streak. Starting pitcher Dennis Rasmussen (0-2) allowed six runs on 12 hits in six innings. Dave Leiper, Greg Harris and Mark Davis followed with an inning each of scoreless relief. Three Giant pitchers, led by starter Don Robinson (1-0), held the Padres to seven hits. The crowd of 6,336 at Sun Desert Stadium was the fourth consecutive sellout, a team first. . . . The Padres play Seattle today at 12:05 p.m. Eric Show (1-0, 3.75 ERA) will start for the Padres and Mark Grant is expected to be used in relief. Scott Bankhead will start for the Mariners, and Steve Trout and Reggie Dobie should pitch in relief. . . . Benito Santiago, who was rested Saturday, is the leading hitter among Padre regulars with a .444 average (12 for 27) and has hit .571 (8 for 14) during his four-game hitting streak.