Larry Dierker was born on Sunday, September 22, 1946, in Hollywood, California. Dierker was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 22, 1964, with the Houston Colt .45s. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Larry Dierker baseball stats page.
"If you can get a guy to pull your best fastball, you've got him. He has no chance unless he has been guessing. If he normally hits that way, he can't hit any kind of breaking ball or off-speed pitch." - Larry Dierker in Baseball Turf War Focuses on Inner Part of Plate (Baseball Digest : August 1998)
Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Autograph on a 1973 Topps Baseball Card (#375) |
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Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
1964 | 18 | Colt .45s | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - |
1965 | 19 | Astros | 26 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 8 | .467 | 3.50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 146.2 | 611 | 135 | 57 | 69 | 16 | 37 | 4 | 109 | 8 | 3 | 2 | - |
1966 | 20 | Astros | 29 | 28 | 0 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 3.18 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 187.0 | 776 | 173 | 66 | 73 | 17 | 45 | 0 | 108 | 4 | 1 | 0 | - |
1967 | 21 | Astros | 15 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3.36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 99.0 | 410 | 95 | 37 | 44 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 68 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
1968 | 22 | Astros | 32 | 32 | 0 | 12 | 15 | .444 | 3.31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 233.2 | 981 | 206 | 86 | 95 | 14 | 89 | 12 | 161 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
1969 | 23 | Astros | 39 | 37 | 0 | 20 | 13 | .606 | 2.33 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 305.1 | 1,207 | 240 | 79 | 97 | 18 | 72 | 6 | 232 | 9 | 1 | 0 | - |
1970 | 24 | Astros | 37 | 36 | 1 | 16 | 12 | .571 | 3.87 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 269.2 | 1,132 | 263 | 116 | 124 | 31 | 82 | 4 | 191 | 8 | 6 | 0 | - |
1971 | 25 | Astros | 24 | 23 | 0 | 12 | 6 | .667 | 2.72 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 159.0 | 647 | 150 | 48 | 50 | 8 | 33 | 1 | 91 | 6 | 2 | 0 | - |
1972 | 26 | Astros | 31 | 31 | 0 | 15 | 8 | .652 | 3.40 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 214.2 | 887 | 209 | 81 | 87 | 14 | 51 | 0 | 115 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
1973 | 27 | Astros | 14 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 4.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 | 120 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - |
1974 | 28 | Astros | 33 | 33 | 0 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 2.90 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 223.2 | 913 | 189 | 72 | 76 | 18 | 82 | 4 | 150 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
1975 | 29 | Astros | 34 | 34 | 0 | 14 | 16 | .467 | 4.00 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 232.0 | 982 | 225 | 103 | 109 | 24 | 91 | 6 | 127 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
1976 | 30 | Astros | 28 | 28 | 0 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 3.69 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 187.2 | 790 | 171 | 77 | 85 | 9 | 72 | 6 | 112 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
1977 | 31 | Cardinals | 11 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4.58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.1 | 169 | 40 | 20 | 21 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
14 Years | 356 | 329 | 10 | 139 | 123 | .531 | 3.31 | 106 | 25 | 1 | 2,333.2 | 9,661 | 2,130 | 857 | 948 | 184 | 711 | 43 | 1,493 | 104 | 50 | 10 | 0 |
Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1964 | 18 | Colt .45s | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1965 | 19 | Astros | 26 | 50 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .100 | .118 | .160 |
1966 | 20 | Astros | 29 | 67 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .149 | .174 | .224 |
1967 | 21 | Astros | 15 | 31 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .226 | .242 | .323 |
1968 | 22 | Astros | 33 | 73 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .068 | .093 | .082 |
1969 | 23 | Astros | 39 | 118 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .144 | .158 | .186 |
1970 | 24 | Astros | 37 | 92 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .174 | .181 | .196 |
1971 | 25 | Astros | 24 | 54 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .074 | .091 | .093 |
1972 | 26 | Astros | 31 | 78 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167 | .188 | .167 |
1973 | 27 | Astros | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1974 | 28 | Astros | 33 | 71 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .197 | .208 | .239 |
1975 | 29 | Astros | 34 | 76 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .092 | .092 | .092 |
1976 | 30 | Astros | 28 | 64 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .141 | .136 | .188 |
1977 | 31 | Cardinals | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
14 Years | 357 | 789 | 38 | 107 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 12 | 0 | 272 | 70 | 4 | 1 | 16 | .136 | .149 | .169 |
Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1964 Colt .45s | P | 3 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1965 Astros | P | 26 | 19 | 440 | 31 | 1.2 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .871 | 1.66 |
1966 Astros | P | 29 | 28 | 561 | 41 | 1.4 | 39 | 13 | 26 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .951 | 1.88 |
1967 Astros | P | 15 | 15 | 297 | 19 | 1.3 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .895 | 1.55 |
1968 Astros | P | 32 | 32 | 701 | 42 | 1.3 | 41 | 13 | 28 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 1.58 |
1969 Astros | P | 39 | 37 | 916 | 59 | 1.5 | 56 | 14 | 42 | 3 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 1.65 |
1970 Astros | P | 37 | 36 | 809 | 53 | 1.4 | 50 | 19 | 31 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .943 | 1.67 |
1971 Astros | P | 24 | 23 | 477 | 40 | 1.7 | 39 | 16 | 23 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .975 | 2.21 |
1972 Astros | P | 31 | 31 | 644 | 35 | 1.1 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.47 |
1973 Astros | P | 14 | 3 | 81 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.00 |
1974 Astros | P | 33 | 33 | 671 | 45 | 1.4 | 44 | 10 | 34 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 1.77 |
1975 Astros | P | 34 | 34 | 696 | 49 | 1.4 | 46 | 15 | 31 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .939 | 1.78 |
1976 Astros | P | 28 | 28 | 563 | 37 | 1.3 | 35 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .946 | 1.68 |
1977 Cardinals | P | 11 | 9 | 118 | 7 | 0.6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.60 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
P Totals | 356 | 329 | 7,001 | 462 | 1.3 | 439 | 152 | 287 | 23 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 1.69 | |
14 Years | 356 | 329 | 7,001 | 462 | 1.3 | 439 | 152 | 287 | 23 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 1.69 |
Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1964 Colt .45s | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.67 | 5.00 | 3.00 |
1965 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 50.0 | 3.3 | 25.0 | 2.95 | 6.69 | 2.27 |
1966 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 67.0 | 3.2 | 16.8 | 2.40 | 5.20 | 2.17 |
1967 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 2.72 | 6.18 | 2.27 |
1968 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.1 | 24.3 | 1.81 | 6.20 | 3.43 |
1969 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 118.0 | 3.1 | 16.9 | 3.22 | 6.84 | 2.12 |
1970 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 23.0 | 2.33 | 6.37 | 2.74 |
1971 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.4 | 27.0 | 2.76 | 5.15 | 1.87 |
1972 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.3 | 19.5 | 2.25 | 4.82 | 2.14 |
1973 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.38 | 6.00 | 4.33 |
1974 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.6 | 10.1 | 1.83 | 6.04 | 3.30 |
1975 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.6 | 15.2 | 1.40 | 4.93 | 3.53 |
1976 Astros | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 64.0 | 3.2 | 16.0 | 1.56 | 5.37 | 3.45 |
1977 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.38 | 1.37 | 3.66 |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
14 Years | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 197.3 | 2.9 | 17.2 | 2.10 | 5.76 | 2.74 |
Larry DierkerLarry Dierker Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1964 Houston Colt .45s | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1965 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1966 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1967 Houston Astros | 49 | $17,000.00 | - | - |
1968 Houston Astros | 49 | $27,000.00 | - | - |
1969 Houston Astros | 49 | $54,000.00 | Stats | - |
1970 Houston Astros | 49 | $54,000.00 | - | - |
1971 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1972 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1973 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1974 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1975 Houston Astros | 49 | Undetermined | - | - |
1976 Houston Astros | 49 | $120,000.00 | - | - |
1977 St. Louis Cardinals | 49 | $100,000.00 | - | - |
Larry Dierker Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Larry Dierker was the first Houston Astros pitcher to win twenty games in a single season? In 1969, the hard throwing righty won a personal best twenty games, lost thirteen, had over 300 innings pitched, threw 20 complete games, and finished the year with a 2.33 ERA. To date, no Astros pitcher has yet to match his innings pitched or his complete games totals!
Larry Dierker made his Major League Debut on, September 22, 1964. He lost that game, surrendered a home run, but struck out three batters, including Willie Mays. Later that year he would become the last Colt .45s player to wear #49, and when he stepped onto the field April 19, 1965, he became the first Astros player to wear #49. Eleven years later, Dierker was still using that same number when he pitched his first big league no-hitter, something he almost did when he was 18 as well:
Larry Dierker No-Hitter. July 9, 1976.
Larry Dierker had flirted with no-hitters before. In 1965, he almost became the youngest pitcher to ever hurl a big league no-hitter when at the 18, he gave up a leadoff single in the ninth inning against the New York Mets. Four years later, he lasted eight and two-thirds innings against the Atlanta Braves before yielding a hit.
By 1976, Dierker was on the downside of his career, arm problems having taken a heavy toll. But on Friday July 9, working with a 7-8 record for the NL West's fourth place Astros, the 29-year-old hurler, still had enough left to pitch a no-hitter against the NL East's sixth place Montreal Expos.
There were only 12,511 in the stands at the Astrodome to watch Dierker square off against Don Stanhouse. What they saw was a masterpiece in which the one-time Houston ace struck out eight and walked four. Dierker faced just three batters over the minimum while getting standout defensive support from second baseman Rob Andrews and center fielder Jose Cruz.
Dierker opened with an easy first inning, setting down Pepe Mangual on a fly to right, Jim Lyttle on a fly to left and Mike Jorgensen on a grounder to first.
Andre Thornton walked leading off the second, and promptly stole second. But Larry Parrish struck out and Pete Mackanin lined a hard shot that Dierker speared and tossed to second to double up Thornton.
Over the first four innings, Dierker faced the minimum 12 batters. He got a big boost in the fourth from Andrews, who grabbed Lyttle's hard one-out grounder and threw off-balance to first for the out.
The Astros helped Dierker by giving him an early lead. They scored twice in the second as Stanhouse had a fit of wildness. Bob Watson walked and scored on a double by Cruz. Then after a wild pitch and two more walks, Cruz scored on Dierker's one-out sacrifice fly.
Houston scored two more times in the fourth on a solo home run by Ed Herrmann, an infield single by Roger Metzger, two ground outs and an RBI single by Andrews. The Astros added their last two runs in the fifth with Watson getting a single, stealing second and after an error on Cliff Johnson's grounder, scoring on Herrmann's single. Metzger singled home Johnson with the sixth run.
Dierker had his own problems with wildness in the fifth. With one out, he walked Parrish and Mackanin. But he escaped the game as Johnson flew out to right and Pepe Frias struck out.
In the seventh, Cruz came to the rescue when he made a fine running catch of Jorgensen's drive at the base of the wall in center. Dierker followed with a walk to Thornton, but settled down to get Parrish to ground into a force at second and Mackanin to strike out.
Montreal sent up three pinch-hitters in the eighth. Barry Foote sent an easy roller to third and Tim Foli bounced out to short. Jose Morales then smashed a drive to deep right-center. Cruz made his second sparkling catch of the game with a running grab near the wall.
Dierker was in complete command in the ninth. He struck out Mangual and Lyttle with ease. Then Jorgensen grounded to Watson, and the first baseman ran to the bag to make the final out unassisted.
That was it. Dierker finished the season with a 13-14 record, after which he was traded to St. Louis. He won just two games in 1977, before calling it quits.
Source: Researched and written by author Rich Westcott (RichWestcott.com / Rich Westcott Books), original text from No-Hitters (McFarland, 02/15/2000, 'Larry Dierker', Pages 290-291).
Larry Dierker No-Hitter | The Pocono Record | July 10, 1976 | Page 14
Chris Haughey made his big league debut on October 3, 1943, the first teenager to make his Major League debut on his birthday. When Dierker made his big league debut, it was also his birthday and he became only the second teenager to make his Major League debut on his birthday.