first pitch in the organization's history as a member of the Erie Sailors; thus, his jersey with the Sailors is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played two seasons in the minor leagues with the Sailors and the Kane County Cougars, starting nine games and going 1–3 with a 2.35 earned run average. Football career Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Lynch in the third round (82nd pick overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft. Lynch was the sixth safety drafted in 1993. 1993 season: Rookie year On May 15, 1993, the Buccaneers signed Lynch to a two-year, $526,750 contract. Lynch began his rookie season as a special teams player. He made his NFL regular-season debut and first NFL start in the season-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded a tackle during their 27–3 loss. On November 14, 1993, Lynch earned his third start of the season, replacing Marty Carter at strong safety. During Week 11, Lynch recorded a season-high six combined tackles during a 45–21 loss against the San Francisco 49ers. He was demoted back to behind the backup strong safety after Week 12. Lynch finished his rookie season with ten combined tackles and two forced fumbles in 15 games and four starts. 1994 season Lynch remained as a backup strong safety under head coach Sam Wyche in 1994. In Week 11, he collected a season-high four combined tackles in a 14–9 road loss to the Detroit Lions. Lynch finished his second professional season with 16 combined tackles in 16 games and no starts. 1995 season Lynch competed against Barney Bussey to be the starting strong safety after it was left vacant by the departure of Marty Carter. Head coach Sam Wyche named Lynch the backup strong safety behind Barney Bussey to begin the regular season. During Week 6, Lynch recorded two combined tackles and made his first NFL interception during a 19–16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. Lynch made his first career interception off a pass attempt by Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake, that was intended for wide receiver Darnay Scott, in the fourth quarter. In the next game against the Minnesota Vikings, Lynch earned the job as the starting strong safety and had his breakout performance during the 20–17 victory, collecting a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo), deflecting two passes, and making two interceptions off of Vikings quarterback Warren Moon. His