Don Larsen, the only pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter in World Series history, has died at age 90
Don Larsen, the only pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter in a World Series game, has died at age 90. Larsen's agent, Andrew Levy, said the former pitcher died of esophageal cancer in Hayden, Idaho, adding that Larsen's son, Scott, confirmed the death.
Larsen was the unlikeliest of characters to attain what other Hall of Famers couldn't pull off. He never won more than 11 games in a season, and finished an unsightly 3-21 with Baltimore in 1954, the year before he was dealt to the Yankees as part of an 18-player trade.
In the 1956 World Series, won in seven games by the Yankees, he was knocked out in the second inning of Game 2 by the Brooklyn Dodgers and didn't think he would have another opportunity to pitch. But when he reached Yankee Stadium on the morning of October 8, he found a baseball in his shoe, the signal from manager Casey Stengel that he would start Game 5.
"I must admit I was shocked," Larsen wrote in his autobiography. "I knew I had to do better than the last time, keep the game close and somehow give our team a chance to win. Casey was betting on me, and I was determined not to let him down this time."
The Dodgers and Yankees split the first four games and Stengel liked the deception of Larsen's no-windup delivery. The manager's instincts proved historically correct. The lanky right-hander struck out seven, needed just 97 pitches to tame the Dodgers and only once went to three balls on a batter.
In winning 2-0, the Yankees themselves only managed five hits against the Dodgers' Sal Maglie, but scored on a Mickey Mantle home run and an RBI single by Hank Bauer.
Larsen, named MVP of the 1956 series, survived two close calls. In the second inning, Jackie Robinson hit a hard grounder that was deflected by third baseman Andy Carey to shortstop Gil McDougald, who threw Robinson out. In the fifth, Mantle ran down a long drive to left-center field by Gil Hodges. With two out in the ninth, pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell took a third strike, completing the perfect game and sending catcher Yogi Berra dashing out from behind the plate to leap into Larsen's arms. It remains one of baseball's most joyous images.
"When Yogi Berra jumped on me and grabbed with the bear hug, my mind went completely blank," Larsen wrote in his autobiography. "I was under friendly attack ... I was swept into the dugout."
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Don Larsen, who remained a welcome & familiar face at our annual Old-Timers' Day celebrations," The Yankees said in a statement. "The Yankees organization extends its deepest condolences to Don's family and friends during this difficult time. He will be missed."
Born August 7, 1929, in Michigan City, Indiana, Larsen moved with his family to San Diego, where he went to Point Luma High School, the alma mater of another Yankee who would go on to pitch a perfect game, David Wells. Larsen played basketball and baseball and was signed by the St. Louis Browns for a $500 bonus and $150 a month.
After two minor league seasons, Larsen hurt his arm and then spent two years in the Army. He was promoted to the Browns in 1953 and moved with the team to Baltimore the following year. He struggled through his 3-21 season, but two of the wins were against the Yankees, who insisted he be included in the trade that also brought pitching star Bob Turley to New York.
Larsen started 1955 with the Yankees farm team in Denver, where he went 9-1 and developed the no-windup delivery. Promoted to the Yankees midway through the season, he finished 9-2 for New York. Larsen went 11-5 the next season and enjoyed the party atmosphere of the Yankees, often running with Mantle, Billy Martin and Whitey Ford in their late-night rounds of the city. On the night before his perfect game, he had been out on the town, believing he was not in Stengel's plans for the next day.
Larsen pitched in three other World Series. He won Game 2 of the 1957 series against Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves, but lost the decisive Game 7. He shut out the Braves 4-0 on six hits in Game 3 of the 1958 series, when New York beat Milwaukee 4-3, and was back in the 1962 matchup with the San Francisco Giants.
Pitching against the Yankees on Oct. 8, the sixth anniversary of his perfect game, he won in relief at Yankee Stadium. After the 1959 season, he was traded to Kansas City in a deal that brought Roger Maris to New York. With the A's, he went 1-10 in 1960, a reminder of his dreadful season with the Orioles. He was sent back to the minors where he became a relief pitcher and then moved on to play on a number of other major league teams.
Larsen retired in 1967 with an 81-91 record over 14 major league seasons. He later worked as a liquor salesman and paper company executive. When the Yankees' David Cone pitched a perfect game during the 1999 season, Larsen was in attendance, having thrown out the ceremonial first pitch to Berra as part of the festivities for Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium.
No other pitcher has thrown a perfect game in the postseason, but in 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds during the National League Division Series. "They can never break my record," Larsen would say of his game. "The best they can do is tie it. October 8, 1956, was a mystical trip through fantasyland. Sometimes I still wonder whether it really all happened."