12-16-2017, 06:18 PM
Frank Lary, star pitcher of one of the greatest teams to ever get shut out of post-season play (1961 Detroit Tigers)
Former Detroit Tigers teammates fondly recalled pitching star Frank Lary, who died Wednesday night at age 87 in Northport, Ala.
Lary was a fun-loving character nicknamed “Taters”, "Mule” and most famously, “The Yankee Killer” for his dominance over the perennial world champion New York Yankees
“It’s really tough when you lose one of your teammates” said Al Kaline, upon his return from the baseball winter meetings. ”Frank was a great guy and a real character with that strong Alabama accent.”
Lary, who often played guitar singing country songs, may have been channeling some century-old Civil War sentiments when he once quipped to a Detroit writer, "Me being a Southern boy, I never thought Yankees was too smart."
Former teammate and pitcher Paul Foytack was stunned when he heard that Lary had died.
“Taters was such a good man and had a wonderful sense of humor," Foytack said. "I remember once in a pregame meeting we were talking about a certain hitter that we didn’t want to beat us. Someone said 'we should just walk him.' Frank said, ‘Hell, why don’t we just hit him.' "
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Lary, the sixth of seven sons of a farmer and fiddle maker, grew up in a two-bedroom house in Northport just a few miles from Tuscaloosa, where he would later help lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to the College World Series his sophomore year.
Signed by the Tigers in 1950, Lary toiled in the minors and served in the Army before joining Detroit in 1954. From 1955 to 1961, the two-time All Star and ’61 Gold Glove winner led the American League in wins (117), complete games (115), innings pitched (1,799.2), games started (242) and batters faced (7,569).
Armed with a nasty slider, a curve, sinker and fastball, the stocky right hander first earned the nickname “the Yankee Killer” during a stretch from 1957 to 1959 in which he posted a 13-1 record against the Bronx Bombers. In 1958, he beat New York seven times, something no pitcher had done since 1916. Over the course of his career Lary compiled a record of 28-13 against New York.
“He really was a different pitcher against the Yankees. Frank had a strong slider and Mickey Mantle always had a tough time against him,” said Kaline.
Lary’s greatest year was in 1961, when he posted a 23-9 record and a 3.24 ERA while finishing third in Cy Young voting behind the Yankees' Whitey Ford and the Braves' Warren Spahn.
Lary, who served up Roger Maris homers Nos. 31, 52, and 57 that season as the Yankee slugger surpassed Babe Ruth’s single season home run record with 61 dingers, also provided hitting heroics of his own in the Bronx.
“In the game at Yankee Stadium (May 12) when I went into the stands to protect my dad from a fan, Frank won it with a home run in the top of the ninth inning,” said Rocky Colavito. “He really was the 'Yankee Killer.' They hated each other. That was a helluva lineup he faced over those years and the Yankees wanted to beat him so bad.”
[url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2017/12/16/remembering-detroit-tigers-yankee-killer-frank-lary/958396001/?src=rss](Detroit Free Press)
Former Detroit Tigers teammates fondly recalled pitching star Frank Lary, who died Wednesday night at age 87 in Northport, Ala.
Lary was a fun-loving character nicknamed “Taters”, "Mule” and most famously, “The Yankee Killer” for his dominance over the perennial world champion New York Yankees
“It’s really tough when you lose one of your teammates” said Al Kaline, upon his return from the baseball winter meetings. ”Frank was a great guy and a real character with that strong Alabama accent.”
Lary, who often played guitar singing country songs, may have been channeling some century-old Civil War sentiments when he once quipped to a Detroit writer, "Me being a Southern boy, I never thought Yankees was too smart."
Former teammate and pitcher Paul Foytack was stunned when he heard that Lary had died.
“Taters was such a good man and had a wonderful sense of humor," Foytack said. "I remember once in a pregame meeting we were talking about a certain hitter that we didn’t want to beat us. Someone said 'we should just walk him.' Frank said, ‘Hell, why don’t we just hit him.' "
[/url]
Lary, the sixth of seven sons of a farmer and fiddle maker, grew up in a two-bedroom house in Northport just a few miles from Tuscaloosa, where he would later help lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to the College World Series his sophomore year.
Signed by the Tigers in 1950, Lary toiled in the minors and served in the Army before joining Detroit in 1954. From 1955 to 1961, the two-time All Star and ’61 Gold Glove winner led the American League in wins (117), complete games (115), innings pitched (1,799.2), games started (242) and batters faced (7,569).
Armed with a nasty slider, a curve, sinker and fastball, the stocky right hander first earned the nickname “the Yankee Killer” during a stretch from 1957 to 1959 in which he posted a 13-1 record against the Bronx Bombers. In 1958, he beat New York seven times, something no pitcher had done since 1916. Over the course of his career Lary compiled a record of 28-13 against New York.
“He really was a different pitcher against the Yankees. Frank had a strong slider and Mickey Mantle always had a tough time against him,” said Kaline.
Lary’s greatest year was in 1961, when he posted a 23-9 record and a 3.24 ERA while finishing third in Cy Young voting behind the Yankees' Whitey Ford and the Braves' Warren Spahn.
Lary, who served up Roger Maris homers Nos. 31, 52, and 57 that season as the Yankee slugger surpassed Babe Ruth’s single season home run record with 61 dingers, also provided hitting heroics of his own in the Bronx.
“In the game at Yankee Stadium (May 12) when I went into the stands to protect my dad from a fan, Frank won it with a home run in the top of the ninth inning,” said Rocky Colavito. “He really was the 'Yankee Killer.' They hated each other. That was a helluva lineup he faced over those years and the Yankees wanted to beat him so bad.”
[url=https://www.freep.com/story/sports/2017/12/16/remembering-detroit-tigers-yankee-killer-frank-lary/958396001/?src=rss](Detroit Free Press)
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