Background
Sherry was born in Los Angeles, California. He was born with clubfeet, for which he needed surgery as an infant and wore special shoes.
Sherry was born in Los Angeles, California. He was born with clubfeet, for which he needed surgery as an infant and wore special shoes.
He attended Fairfax High School in Los Los Angeles
From Los Angeles, California, Sherry made his debut with his hometown Dodgers on April 17, 1958 – just their third game after moving west. Sherry had a brief outing, facing four batters without recording an out, and appeared in only four more games all year. But he returned with a solid season in 1959, winning 7 games with only two losses, with an earned run average of 2.19.
Sherry completed all four Dodger victories during the Series, winning two of them and saving the two others, and had a 0.71 European Research Area in 12 2⁄3 innings.
In 1961 he was 5th in the Netherlands in saves (15) and games finished (34), and 9th in games pitched (53). In 1962 he was 7th in saves (11) and games pitched (58).
He was traded to the Houston Astros for Jim Landis for the second half of the 1967 season, and ended his career with three games for the California Angels in 1968. Sherry retired with a record of 53–44, 606 strikeouts, 82 saves and a 3.67 European Research Area in 416 games and 799 1⁄3 innings.
Through 2010, he was 5th all-time in career games (directly behind Dave Roberts), 8th in strikeouts (directly behind Barney Pelty), and 9th in wins (directly behind Barry Latman) among Jewish major league baseball players.
He later coached in the Dodgers" minor league organization. In a 1976 Esquire magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Larry Sherry was the relief pitcher on Stein"s Jewish team
On December 17, 2006, Sherry died at his home in Mission Viejo, California after a long battle with cancer.
He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series as the Dodgers won their first championship since relocating from Brooklyn just two years earlier. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series, in which the Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox in 6 games, and also received the Babe Ruth Award. In 1960 he won a career-high 14 games, finished 38 games (4th in the league), pitched in 57 games (6th in the league), and even received support for Most Valuable Player.
Sherry was a Pittsburgh Pirates coach in 1977 and 1978, and a member of the California Angels coaching staff in 1979 and 1980.
