Larry Shepard
 |
| Larry Shepard | |
|---|---|
| Manager | |
| Born: April 3, 1919 Lakewood, Ohio | |
| Died: April 5, 2011 (aged 92) Lincoln, Nebraska | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games managed | 320 |
| Wins-Losses | 164–155 |
| Win/Loss % | .514 |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
- As coach
Lawrence William Shepard (April 3, 1919 – April 5, 2011) was an American professional baseball player, manager and pitching coach. He managed the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball to a 164–155 win-loss record in 1968 and 1969. He was born in Lakewood, Ohio, and lived with his family after the age of 14 in Montréal, Québec,[1] where he attended McGill University.[2]
During his playing days, Shepard was a right-handed pitcher who played minor league baseball from 1941 through 1956, with time out for United States Army service during World War II. He was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg). He became a playing manager in the Brooklyn Dodgers' farm system in 1948, with the Medford Nuggets of the Class D Far West League. His club finished second, thanks to the 22–3 record of his star pitcher – Shepard himself. He then moved up to the Billings Mustangs of the Class C Pioneer League, where, as a pitcher, he won 21, 22 and 24 games in successive (1949–51) seasons. As a skipper, his 1949 club won the league playoffs.
In 1952 and part of 1953, Shepard took a break from managing, becoming strictly a relief pitcher for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. Concurrently, he left the Dodger system for the Pirates' organization. He resumed his managerial career in the middle of the 1953 season in the Pittsburgh system, winning the 1956 and 1957 Western League championships with the Lincoln Chiefs. From 1958 through 1966, he managed at the Triple-A level for Pittsburgh with the Salt Lake City Bees and Columbus Jets, notching three first-place finishes.
In 1967, Shepard reached the Major League level when he was named pitching coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. After only one season, he was appointed manager of the Pirates. In his two seasons as skipper of the Bucs, Pittsburgh finished sixth in the ten-team National League in 1968 (with a record of 80–82) and were fourth in the NL East at 84–73 in 1969 when Shepard was released on September 25. During his two seasons at the helm he managed the legendary Roberto Clemente, who batted .291 and .336 under Shepard.
After his firing by the Pirates, Shepard returned to the coaching ranks. He was the pitching coach of the fabled Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" dynasty under Sparky Anderson from 1970 through 1978, and finished his coaching career with the San Francisco Giants in 1979.
References
- ^ Sturgill, Andy. "Larry Shepard". Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ The Baseball Register, 1976 Edition. St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1976.
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Larry Shepard managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- 1919 births
- 2011 deaths
- American expatriate baseball people in Canada
- American military personnel of World War II
- Baseball players from Ohio
- Billings Mustangs managers
- Billings Mustangs players
- Charleston Rebels players
- Cincinnati Reds coaches
- Hollywood Stars players
- Lincoln Chiefs players
- Major League Baseball managers
- Major League Baseball pitching coaches
- McGill University alumni
- Medford Nuggets players
- Minor league baseball managers
- Nashua Dodgers players
- Philadelphia Phillies coaches
- Pittsburgh Pirates managers
- Pueblo Dodgers players
- Salt Lake City Bees players
- San Francisco Giants coaches
- San Francisco Giants scouts
- Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio
- Sportspeople from Lakewood, Ohio
- Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska
- Sportspeople from Montreal
- Trois-Rivières Renards players
- Williamsport Grays players