You Won’t See Me? eh? … is it because you can’t see him?
There’s never been a Cena in the major leagues, but Don Cena led the 1948 Waco Pirates, Pittsburgh’s affiliate in the Big State League (Class B) with 23 home runs. One player from that team, Danny Lynch, wound up making the majors… in fact, that very 1948 season, seven games with the Cubs.
Lynch’s debut came on September 14 in Boston, with the Cubs already down 10-0 in the fourth inning. Second baseman Emil Verban had singled and been out on a force play in the third, so perhaps he was hurt on that play, but not so badly as to remain out of the lineup the next day… even though Lynch homered off Johnny Sain (and this was the peak year of Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain) in the ninth inning.
Lynch never got to start a game in the majors, and he only played in one Cubs win, at the Polo Grounds on September 21, the second game of a doubleheader. With Chicago down 1-0 to Red Webb and the Giants, Lynch pinch-hit for Johnny Schmitz and led off with a single. Lynch came around to score on Andy Pafko’s three-run homer, and despite Whitey Lockman homering to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and the Giants getting the tying run on with a Sid Gordon walk, Johnny Mize hit into a double play, and Lynch experienced victory as a major leaguer.
That has as much to do with Don Cena as Don Cena had to do with John Cena, but uh… look at these cool birds.
We Can Pod It Out 65: You Won't See Me