Robert Douglas Flynn Jr. (born April 18, 1951 in Albany, New York

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

) is a former Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 infielder

Infielder

An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

 from -. He is best remembered for being one of the players the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 acquired in the infamous "Midnight Massacre."

Cincinnati Reds

Flynn grew up in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 and graduated from Bryan Station High School

Bryan Station High School

Bryan Station High School, founded in 1958, is a high school within the Fayette County Public Schools system in Lexington, Kentucky. During the 2006-2007 school year, students were moved to their newly built school known as Bryan Station High. The school was named for Bryan Station, a 18th century...

. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Cincinnati Reds

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

 in , and was part of the "Big Red Machine" team that won the and World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

. However, his only post season appearance came as a defensive replacement in the 1976 National League Championship Series

1976 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaReds starter Don Gullett held the Phils to two hits in eight strong innings and helped his own cause with an RBI single in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth...

 against the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

.

New York Mets

Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver

George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...

 was in a contract dispute with New York Mets chairman M. Donald Grant

M. Donald Grant

Michael Donald Grant was the chairman and a minority owner of the New York Mets baseball club from its beginnings in 1962 to 1978.Grant was born in Montreal in 1904, the son of Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Mike Grant...

 when on Wednesday, June 15, Grant traded Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry

Pat Zachry

Patrick Paul Zachry is a former Major League baseball pitcher who had a ten year career from to .-Cincinnati Reds:...

, Steve Henderson

Steve Henderson

Steven Curtis Henderson is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who is best remembered for being one of the players the New York Mets acquired in the infamous "Midnight Massacre."-Cincinnati Reds:...

, Dan Norman

Dan Norman

Daniel Edmund Norman is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets and Montreal Expos...

 and Flynn. Dave Kingman

Dave Kingman

David Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. The towering 6' 6" Kingman was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s...

 was also traded to the San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

 for pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 Paul Siebert

Paul Siebert

Paul Edward Siebert is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of five seasons in the majors, from until . Paul's father was former major league first baseman Dick Siebert....

 and Bobby Valentine

Bobby Valentine

Robert John "Bobby V" Valentine is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is currently the manager of the Boston Red Sox. He previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan...

. Somewhat more quietly that day, they also acquired Joel Youngblood

Joel Youngblood

Joel Randolph Youngblood III is a former Major League Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Montreal Expos and San Francisco Giants from to . Youngblood was a versatile player who could play many different positions, as well as pinch hit...

 from the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 for Mike Phillips

Mike Phillips (baseball)

Michael Dwaine Phillips , is a veteran of professional baseball who played shortstop, second base, and third base in the majors from 1973-1983. The first-round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants in 1969, he saw action for the Giants, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and...

.

His role with the Mets became more defined when Felix Millan

Félix Millán

Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball.-Baseball career:Millán, nicknamed "The Kitten" , born in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, made his major league debut on June 2, 1966 with the Atlanta Braves, and played for Atlanta until 1973. Millan was primarily a second...

 retired following the 1977 season, and Flynn assumed the job of their everyday second baseman

Second baseman

Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 for the season. He won the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 Gold Glove Award at second base for the Mets in .

On August 5, 1980, Flynn tied a Mets record by hitting three triples

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

 in one game in a 11-5 loss to the Expos in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

.

Following the season, he was traded to the Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers (baseball)

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 with Dan Boitano

Dan Boitano

Danny Jon Boitano was a Major League Baseball pitcher from to . Boitano holds the distinction of having been the Philadelphia Phillies' first round pick in the secondary phase of both the and amateur draft. A highly touted prospect, he had also been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers , St...

 for Jim Kern

Jim Kern

James Lester Kern is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Kern had a thirteen-year Major League career from 1974 to 1986 with the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.Kern was elected to the American League All-Star...

 (who was then packaged with Greg Harris

Greg A. Harris

Greg Allen Harris is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees from 1981 to 1995. Harris pitched in 703 games in his career, starting 98...

 and Alex Trevino

Alex Treviño

Alejandro Treviño Castro is a Mexican retired professional baseball catcher. Trevino played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues beginning with the New York Mets for four seasons , followed by the Cincinnati Reds for two full seasons before splitting the 1984 season between the Reds and the Atlanta...

 for George Foster from the Cincinnati Reds).

Rangers, Expos & Tigers

With the Rangers, Flynn reassumed the back-up middle infielder role he had in his early career. Midway through the season, the Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 purchased Flynn's contract from Texas, and used him in this role through June 11, , when he was released. He signed with the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 for the remainder of that season, and retired from baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 when the Tigers released him in Spring training

Spring training

In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

the following season.

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