Larry Parrish
From BR Bullpen
Larry Alton Parrish
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 215 lb.
- School Seminole Community College
- Debut September 6, 1974
- Final Game October 2, 1988
- Born November 10, 1953 in Winter Haven, FL USA
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[edit] Introduction
Larry Parrish played fifteen years in the major leagues, hitting over 250 home runs. He later played in Japan, managed in the minors and was the Detroit Tigers' manager in 1998 and 1999.
[edit] Minors
Parrish was signed as a free agent in 1972 and played from 1972-1974 in the Montreal Expos' minor league organization. He showed moderate power.
[edit] Majors
He made his major league debut in September 1974 and while hitting only .203, showed enough to become a regular for the Expos in 1975, jumping all the way from AA to the majors. He remained as the regular third baseman through 1981. Teammates included Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines and Tim Wallach. Wallach, who played mostly outfield in 1981, would replace Parrish at third base from 1982 on.
Larry's top year with the Expos was 1979, when he hit 30 home runs with a .307 batting average. He was fourth in the MVP voting and was named Expos Player of the Year, playing for a team that won 95 games.
At the end of spring training in 1982, he was part of a trade for Al Oliver. Parrish would spend almost all of the rest of his major league career as a regular outfielder and DH for the Texas Rangers. Perhaps his most notable year was 1987, when he hit 32 home runs with 100 RBI.
Released by the Rangers in the middle of 1988, he signed with the Boston Red Sox and spent the rest of the season with the division-winning team, often playing first base, a position he had not previously played in the majors.
[edit] Japan
After his major league career ended, Parrish played two seasons in Japan. In 1989 he made the Best Nine at 1B after a .268/.320/.562 year for the Yakult Swallows. He led the Central League in home runs (42), beating out Cecil Fielder and Hiromitsu Ochiai but the Swallows released him because of his tendency to whiff (129 strikeouts), his poor defense at first and a bad knee. Parrish expressed amazement that he was released after the best year of his career. In "The Meaning of Ichiro" Robert Whiting includes Parrish as one of many gaijin to be let go by Swallows manager Katsuya Nomura due to his disdain for American players. He signed on with the Hanshin Tigers to replace Fielder in 1990. That year he hit .249/.331/.512 with 28 home runs. He again made the All-Star team. For the second consecutive season he led the Central League in double-play grounders. An injury that August ended his pro career.
[edit] Manager, coach and scout
In 1992 and 1993, Parrish managed the Niagara Falls Rapids, and in 1994 replaced Joe Sparks as Toledo Mud Hens manager. He was a roving hitting instructor in 1995 and the beginning of 1996, then replaced Bill Plummer as manager of the Jacksonville Suns in mid-year. He was the bench coach of the Detroit Tigers in 1997 and 1998 and managed the team in 1998 and 1999. In 1997, he was one of the finalists for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays managerial opening but lost out to Larry Rothschild. Parrish was a Tiger scout from 2000-2002, and in 2003 became manager of the Toledo Mud Hens.
Parrish led the Mud Hens to back-to-back Governors' Cup Championships in 2005 and 2006. He was supposed to manage the team again in 2007, but had to have surgery on his ankle on April 4 for a degenerative condition and spent the year in convalescence as Mike Rojas took over his managerial duties. He returned to the fold in 2008 and led the team for three more seasons. In 2011, he moved to the Atlanta Braves as the team's hitting coach but kept the position for only one season.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1975 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 2-time All-Star (1979 & 1987)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1979, 1983, 1984, 1986 & 1987)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1979 & 1987)
- 100-RBI Seasons: 2 (1984 & 1987)
| Preceded by Buddy Bell | Detroit Tigers Manager 1998-1999 | Succeeded by Phil Garner |
