American baseball player (1953–2024)
Baseball player
Lawrence Calvin Demery (June 4, 1953 – February 20, 2024) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher . He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from 1974 until 1977 , for the Pittsburgh Pirates .[ 1]
Early life and career
A native of Bakersfield, California , Demery was the son of fellow major leaguer Art Demery .[ 2] He played baseball at Wasco High School and later at Locke High School in Los Angeles , where he threw two no-hitters .[ 3] Demery attended Los Angeles City College , where he played college baseball .
Professional career
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Demery in the seventh round of the 1972 MLB draft .[ 4] He began his professional career that year with the Gastonia Pirates and walked more batters than any other pitcher in the Western Carolinas League .[ 5] [ 6] He spent most of the following season in the Carolina League , which he led with fourteen complete games .[ 5] [ 7]
Demery made his major league debut on June 2, 1974, against the Cincinnati Reds .[ 1] He entered in relief of Bruce Kison at Riverfront Stadium and struck out four of the six batters he faced without allowing a run.[ 8] He played for the Pirates until 1977.
Later life and death
As of December 2008[update] , Demery lived in Bakersfield, California .[ 9] He died on February 20, 2024, at the age of 70.[ 10]
Demery appeared in the 2014 film No No: A Dockumentary .[ 11]
References
^ a b "Larry Demery Stats" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved June 4, 2021 .
^ Toni DeRosa (February 27, 2020). "Remembering a legend in Wasco baseball" . wascotrib.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021 .
^ "Larry Demery" . kcsportshalloffame.org . The Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ "7th Round of the 1972 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ a b "Larry Demery Minor Leagues Statistics & History" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ "1972 Western Carolinas League Pitching Leaders" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ "1973 Carolina League Pitching Leaders" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ "Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds Box Score, June 2, 1974" . Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved July 18, 2021 .
^ Elliott, Helene (December 21, 2008). "Dock Ellis, former major league pitcher who counseled drug addicts, dies at 63" . Hartford Courant . Retrieved June 4, 2021 .
^ Former Pirates Pitcher Larry Demery Dies at 70
^ Gold, Daniel M. (September 4, 2014). "A Lightning Rod in a Game With Bats" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 4, 2021 .
External links