Larry McWilliams

Larry McWilliams
Larry McWilliams
	Pitcher
	Born: February 10, 1954 (age 70); Wichita, Kansas
	Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
	July 17, 1978, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
	May 12, 1990, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	78–90
Earned run average	3.99
Strikeouts	940
Teams
	Atlanta Braves (1978–1982); Pittsburgh Pirates (1982–1986); Atlanta Braves (1987); St. Louis Cardinals (1988); Philadelphia Phillies (1989); Kansas City Royals (1989–1990);

Larry Dean McWilliams (born February 10, 1954), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1978-1990. During his playing days, he stood 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, weighing 180 pounds (82 kg).^[1]

McWilliams was born in Wichita, Kansas, and graduated from LD Bell High School in Hurst, Texas, in 1972.^[2] He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1974 amateur draft.^[1]

McWilliams was the winning pitcher when the Atlanta Braves stopped Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak in 1978, which was McWilliams’ rookie season. He made what was probably the key play to stop the streak when Rose, in his second at-bat of the game, lined a pitch up the middle that McWilliams reached back and caught.^[3]

McWilliams' best seasons were 1978, his rookie season, when he went 9-3, and 1983, when he posted a 15-8 record with 8 complete games, 4 shutouts, and a 3.25 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was nicknamed Spaghetti by Pirates catcher Tony Pena. "That's what I call him. Take a look at his legs. They look like spaghetti. Real thin." said Pena during a postgame interview in 1982.

On September 2, 1989, McWilliams was traded from the Phillies to the Royals for Minor League Baseball (MiLB)catcher Jeff Hulse.^[1]

McWilliams and his wife have four children, Maurine, Tara, Brenna, and Trevor. He is married to Vicki McWilliams and they have six children and nine grandchildren.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Larry McWilliams Stats". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
^ "Larry McWilliams BR Bullpen". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
^ Garber, Braves end Rose threat to Dimaggio record

External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Larry McWilliams at Baseball Almanac
Larry McWilliams at Baseball Gauge

This biographical article relating to an American baseball pitcher born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[bbrefmcwilliams-1] "Larry McWilliams Stats". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

[highschoolbullpen-2] "Larry McWilliams BR Bullpen". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.

[3] Garber, Braves end Rose threat to Dimaggio record

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