Fun facts about Larry Brown:
-Larry was born in Shinnston, WV and signed with the Indians at age 18 in 1958.
-His older brother Dick was a catcher for four American League clubs (primarily the Tigers and Orioles) from 1957-1965. His career was cut short by a brain tumor that ultimately claimed his life in 1970.
-Brown debuted with the Indians on July 6, 1963, collecting a single off of Al Downing and a walk in three trips to the plate.
-He saw action in 74 games as a rookie, batting .255 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI. One of his homers was a walkoff shot with two outs in the ninth inning against Detroit's Terry Fox.
-In 1964, Larry received 87 starts at second base for the Tribe and had career highs of 12 home runs and 40 RBI. However, he batted only .230 for the season.
-His best all-around season was 1965, when he matched his previous year's RBI total of 40 and added 52 runs scored and 22 doubles while batting .253. He also led American League shortstops with a .977 fielding percentage.
-A nasty collision with Indians outfielder Leon Wagner in 1966 left him with fractures to the skull, nose, and cheekbone. His power stroke seemed to be lessened after his recovery.
-In the late 1960s, he was Cleveland's everyday shortstop. During that time, he ranked among the league leaders for most at-bats between strikeouts. He whiffed once per every 10.8 trips to the plate in 1968, and once per 10.9 at-bats the next season.
-Larry spent time as a backup with the Athletics (1971-1972), Orioles (1973), and Rangers (1974). He finished his career with a .233 average, 47 home runs, and 254 RBI.
-Both his final career home run (May 13, 1973) and his final career hit (a single on September 22, 1974) came against pitcher Lindy McDaniel!
His expression suggests that Brown is in fear for his life--or more likely his job as players had little security then. Life was tough for non-stars.
ReplyDeletePeople always say players back then played for fun and not money but I wonder how much fun it could be for a guy like Larry Brown, who was probably making not much more than a regular job and knew that the team could discard him like a used rag whenever they wanted. It was probably a lot more fun for Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, etc.
Marc - Agreed. Anyone who says that they would play just for the fun of it without any regards for salary is kidding themselves.
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