Larry Dierker | |
---|---|
![]() Dierker in 2014 | |
Pitcher / Manager | |
Born: Hollywood, California | September 22, 1946|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 22, 1964, for the Houston Colt .45s | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 1, 1977, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 139–123 |
Earned run average | 3.31 |
Strikeouts | 1,493 |
Managerial record | 435–348 |
Winning % | .556 |
Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Lawrence Edward Dierker (born September 22, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, manager, and broadcaster. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964 to 1977 for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals. He also managed the Astros for five years (1997–2001).
Playing career[edit]
Larry Dierker's number 49 was retired by the Houston Astros in 2002. |
Signed by the Houston Colt.45s at age 17, while attending William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, CA. Dierker made his major-league pitching debut on his 18th birthday – and struck out Willie Mays in the first inning. He pitched 2+2⁄3 innings while allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits, three walks while having three strikeouts; he was credited with the loss while starting his career with a 6.75 ERA.[1] He pitched in two other games that season, both being the last pitcher for the team, although they were both in losses. In 1965, he appeared in 26 games while garnering a 7–8 record, a 3.50 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 146.2 innings. In the following year, he went 10-8 while having a 3.18 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 29 game appearances and 187 innings pitched. He pitched in just 15 games for the 1967 season, though he went 6–5 with a 3.36 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 99 innings. His 1968 season was not too much better as he went 12–15 in 32 games with a 3.31 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 233.2 innings. He pitched the Opening Day game for the Astros that season. He pitched a complete game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing four runs on six hits as the Astros pulled a 5–4 win.[2]
In 1969, he became the Astros' first 20-game winner, while compiling a 2.33 earned run average, 20 complete games and 232 strikeouts over 305 innings. He was elected to the National League All-Star team that season. He went 16-12 the following season on 37 games while having a 3.87 ERA and 191 strikeouts on 269.2 innings pitched. In 1971, he went 12–6 on 24 game appearances while having a 2.72 ERA and 91 strikeouts on 159 innings pitched while being named to the All-Star Game, although an elbow injury ended his season after August. In 1972, he went 15-8 while having a 3.40 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 31 game appearances and 214.2 innings. He appeared in just 14 games in 1973 due to injuries, going 1-1 while having a 4.33 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 27 innings. He rebounded a bit the following year, going 11–10 with a 2.90 ERA and 150 strikeouts on 223.2 innings and 33 games. He went 14-16 the next year while having a 4.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts on 232 innings and 34 games. 1976 was his last full season of play along with his last with the Astros. He went 13-14 while having a 3.69 ERA and 112 strikeouts on 187.2 innings and 28 games. On July 9 of that year, Dierker no-hit the Montreal Expos 6-0 before 12,511 fans at the Astrodome, recording eight strikeouts along the way.[3] On November 23, 1976, he was traded (along with Jerry DaVanon) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bob Detherage and Joe Ferguson.
The 1977 season was his last season in baseball. He pitched in 11 games while garnering a 2–6 record with a 4.58 ERA and six strikeouts on 39.1 innings. He garnered his last victory on July 1 with a seven inning, five hit performance while allowing only one run in a 3–1 over the Chicago Cubs. His last appearance was a one inning performance on October 1 against the New York Mets, walking one on no hits and runs.[4] On March 28, 1978, he was released by the Cardinals.
As of 2019, Dierker is the last 17-year-old to make his major league debut.[5]
On May 19, 2002, the Astros honored Dierker, retiring his No. 49 jersey.
Broadcasting[edit]
From 1979 to 1996, Dierker served as a color commentator on the Astros' radio and television broadcasts, a position he returned to in 2004 and 2005. In 1995, Dierker alongside Pete Van Wieren called Games 1–3 of the National League Division Series between the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies for The Baseball Network. The first two games were broadcast on NBC while Game 3 was on ABC.
Managerial career[edit]
Dierker was elected National League Manager of the Year in 1998. Houston finished in first place in four of the five years Dierker managed the team, failing only in 2000 when the Astros placed fourth.
In 1999, Dierker had a medical scare during a game against the San Diego Padres. The Houston manager had been plagued by severe headaches for several days. During the June 13 game, Dierker had a grand mal seizure that rendered him unconscious and nearly killed him. He required emergency brain surgery for a cavernous angioma caused by a tangle of blood vessels in his brain. The game was suspended with the Astros ahead 4–1; it was not completed until the Padres returned to Houston on July 23 (the Astros won, 4–3). After four weeks of recovery, he returned to the helm of the Astros and guided the team through the duration of the season. The Astros won 97 games and a third consecutive National League Central Division title.
Dubiously, he has the most postseason appearances for a manager without winning a single postseason series (four).
Later career[edit]
Dierker penned a book entitled This Ain't Brain Surgery, which detailed his baseball career as a pitcher and a manager. He later wrote My Team, in which he ruminated on the greatest players he had been witness to in his years of baseball.
After a short period where Dierker had terminated relations with the club, as of 2015, the Astros' website lists Dierker as employed by them in the role of Special Assistant to the President, Reid Ryan.
In 2017, Dierker and Benjamin Scardello created a podcast called 49's Fastball in which Dierker shares baseball stories he researched going back to the early years of baseball.
The stories include a wide range of subjects and little known "back story" narratives about Players, Stadiums, Records, Promos and Unusual Events, Pitching, Openers and Debuts, Hitting, and All-Star Games.
Managerial records[edit]
Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
HOU | 1997 | 84 | 78 | .519 | 1st in NL Central | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost NLDS to ATL |
HOU | 1998 | 102 | 60 | .630 | 1st in NL Central | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost NLDS to SD |
HOU | 1999 | 84 | 51 | .622 | 1st in NL Central | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost NLDS to ATL |
HOU | 2000 | 72 | 90 | .444 | 4th in NL Central | – | – | – | – |
HOU | 2001 | 93 | 69 | .574 | 1st in NL Central | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost NLDS to ATL |
Total | 435 | 348 | .556 | 2 | 12 | .143 |
See also[edit]
- Houston Astros award winners and league leaders
- List of Houston Astros no-hitters
- List of Houston Astros team records
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
References[edit]
- ^ "San Francisco Giants at Houston Colt .45s Box Score, September 22, 1964".
- ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston Astros Box Score, April 10, 1968".
- ^ "Montreal Expos at Houston Astros Box Score, July 9, 1976".
- ^ "Larry Dierker 1977 Pitching Game Logs".
- ^ Yearly League Leaders & Records for Youngest at Baseball-Reference.com
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Larry Dierker Tribute Page
- Dierker, Larry and Joseph Pratt. Larry Dierker Oral History, Houston Oral History Project, July 14, 2008.
- Larry Dierker's Podcast 49's Fastball