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Here we go, with Box 3.0's very first edition of Baseball's Hall of Names, tied once again to the excellent "Hall Watch" story by Mike Green looking at one of our All-Larry team stalwarts, Larry "Chipper" Jones (also a member, as you might expect of our earlier All-Jones team).

Wow, this one was surprisingly easy to fill out ...

... who knew "Larry" was such a popular MLB name? And this doesn't even include the seven men (just one All-Star) with the surname "Lawrence" or former Yankee Killer and Tiger All-Star Frank Lary; and for spelling consistency reasons, apologies to former Brewer All-Star Lary Sorenseon.

We're a little weak on the right side of the infield (Though thanks to the magic of internet updates and some fine suggestions from readers, not as weak as originally) and in the bullpen, and I didn't build out a bench (Although again, thanks to suggestions and updates, we've started to do so), but there have been more than 100 Larrys in MLB history, so give it a go! How can this team be better?

** Indicates Hall of Fame
* Indicates All-Star
# Indicates probably would have been an All-Star if such a thing had existed at the time.

GM: Larry MacPhail**
Co-Managers: Dierker, Bowa (They won't clash at ALL)

C Larry "Yogi" Berra**
1B Larry Biittner
2B Larry Doyle#
SS Larry Bowa*
3B Larry Parrish
LF Larry "Chipper" Jones*
CF Larry Doby**
RF Larry Walker*
DH Larry Hisle*

RHSP Larry Dierker*
LHSP Larry French* (197 wins)
RHSP Larry Jackson* (194 wins)
LHSP Larry Gura* (126 wins)
RHSP Larry Jansen* (122 wins)

CL Larry Sherry (RHRP - 82 career saves)
LHRP Larry McWilliams
RHRP Larry Andersen
RHRP Larry Luebbers

BENCH
C Larry Owen
IF Larry Milbourne
IF Larry Brown
2B/3B Larry Gardner
OF/1B Larry Stahl

We'd love to make room for RHP Larry Yount, if only for his genetics -- he's Robin's older brother -- but according to BBRef, he appeared in just one game for the '71 Astros without facing a batter or recording an out, so I'm not positive he qualifies as having been in the big leagues. He was traded to the Brewers in 1974, the same year little bro debuted with that team as a teenage shortstop, but Larry never made the bigs in Beertown.

Who else, Bauxites?

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Magpie - Friday, February 18 2005 @ 06:27 PM EST (#102990) #
Surely the second baseman should be Laughing Larry Doyle (1907-1920) - some of you know of my interest in the 1912 Giants, and he was one of the best players in the league that year. His career as a whole is not too shabby, either.

He was basically a Chuck Knoblauch type. When Knoblauch was good.
Magpie - Friday, February 18 2005 @ 06:31 PM EST (#102991) #
Speaking of 1912, the Red Sox 3B was Larry Gardner - also a pretty good player, probably better than Parrish.

You're not going to get the guys from 1912 by <i>me</I>, I remember them so clearly...

I'd also flip-flop Larry Doby and Larry Hisle - Doby really was a CF, Hisle really was a DH (at the end, anyway)
Mick Doherty - Saturday, February 19 2005 @ 12:09 AM EST (#103017) #
Thanks, Magpie. good suggestions -- they have been incorpoirated above.
Magpie - Saturday, February 19 2005 @ 12:20 AM EST (#103019) #
The strange case of Larry Yount - the Moonlight Graham of the 70s? No, even worse. Retrosheet has the play-by-play.

It was September 15, 1971 in Houston. Yount came out to pitch the 9th inning and injured himself warming up. Jim Ray had to come into the game.

And that was Larry Yount's major league career.

Craig B - Saturday, February 19 2005 @ 12:21 AM EST (#103020) #
We'd love to make room for RHP Larry Yount, if only for his genetics -- he's Robin's older brother -- but according to BBRef, he appeared in just one game for the '71 Astros without facing a batter or recording an out, so I'm not positive he qualifies as having been in the big leagues.

Larry Yount is a fascinating story. Called up to the majors from AAA, he was injured while making his warmup tosses and never pitched again in the majors. Since he did not actually pitch in the game, but was credited with an appearance because he was announced, it is the shortest pitching career in MLB history.

Yount's story is well-chronicled over at AstrosDaily.

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