Larry Sherry

Lawrence Sherry (July 25, 1935 – December 17, 2006) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series as the Dodgers won their first championship since relocating from Brooklyn just two years earlier.

Larry Sherry
Pitcher
Born: (1935-07-25)July 25, 1935
Los Angeles, California
Died: December 17, 2006(2006-12-17) (aged 71)
Mission Viejo, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 1958, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
July 7, 1968, for the California Angels
MLB statistics
Win–loss record53–44
Earned run average3.67
Strikeouts606
Saves82
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Sherry was born in Los Angeles, California, and was Jewish.[1][2] He was born with clubfeet, for which he needed surgery as an infant and wore special shoes.[3] He attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.

Baseball career

From Los Angeles, Sherry made his debut with his hometown Dodgers on April 17, 1958 – just their third game after moving west. Adding to the pressure, the game was played on the road against their hated rivals, the San Francisco Giants, who had also relocated from New York City. Sherry had a brief outing, facing four batters without recording an out, and appeared in only four more games all year.

But he returned with a solid season in 1959, winning 7 games with only two losses, with an earned run average of 2.19.[2] He was named MVP of the 1959 World Series, in which the Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox in 6 games, and also received the Babe Ruth Award.[2] Sherry completed all four Dodger victories during the Series, winning two of them and saving the two others, and had a 0.71 ERA in ​12 2⁄3 innings.[4]

In 1960 he won a career-high 14 games, finished 38 games (4th in the league), pitched in 57 games (6th in the league), and even received support for MVP, coming in 20th in the voting.[2]

Sherry in 1961

In 1961 he was 5th in the NL in saves (15) and games finished (34), and 9th in games pitched (53).[2] In 1962 he was 7th in saves (11) and games pitched (58).[2]

Sherry and his brother Norm, a Dodgers catcher from 1959 to 1962, became the first all-Jewish battery in major league history.

He was traded to the Tigers for Lou Johnson and cash just before the 1964 season, and spent three and a half years with his new club, earning a career-best 20 saves in 1966, 3rd-best in the AL.[2]

He was traded to the Houston Astros for Jim Landis for the second half of the 1967 season, and ended his career with three games for the California Angels in 1968.[2]

Sherry retired with a record of 53–44, 606 strikeouts, 82 saves and a 3.67 ERA in 416 games and ​799 1⁄3 innings.[2]

Through 2010, he was 5th all-time in career games (directly behind Dave Roberts), 8th in strikeouts (directly behind Barney Pelty), and 9th in wins (directly behind Barry Latman) among Jewish major league baseball players.[5]

Coaching career

Sherry later coached in the Dodgers' minor league organization. He was a Pittsburgh Pirates coach in 1977 and 1978, and a member of the California Angels coaching staff in 1979 and 1980.[6]

Accolades

In a 1976 Esquire magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Sherry was the relief pitcher on Stein's Jewish team. [Esquire, Vol. 86 (July, 1976), 74–75, 115.]

In 1993 Sherry was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[7]

Death

On December 17, 2006, Sherry died at his home in Mission Viejo, California, after a long battle with cancer.

See also

References
  1. "Big League Jews". Jewish Sports Review. 12 (137): 20. January–February 2020.
  2. Larry Sherry Stats Baseball-Reference.com
  3. Goldstein, Richard (December 20, 2006). "Larry Sherry, 71, M.V.P. of 1959 World Series, Is Dead". The New York Times.
  4. Zimniuch, Fran (2010). Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-60078-312-8.
  5. "Career Pitching Leaders". Career Leaders. Jewish Major Leaguers. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  6. "Larry Sherry – BR Bullpen". Baseball-reference.com. October 25, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Don Osborn		 Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach
1977–1978		 Succeeded by
Harvey Haddix
Preceded by
Marv Grissom		 California Angels pitching coach
1979–1980		 Succeeded by
Tom Morgan
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