Larry Yount

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Lawrence King "Larry" Yount (born February 15, 1950 in Houston, Texas) pitched for Major League Baseball's Houston Astros in 1971 -- or, rather, he didn't. His brother, Robin Yount, had a long major league career that was capped by induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Larry, on the other hand, appeared in only one game -- without actually throwing a pitch.

Yount went to Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, and was a fifth round draft pick in the 1968 amateur draft. He impressed in the Carolina League in both 1968 and 1969 (he had a 2.25 ERA in 1969), and was invited to spring training at the major league camp in 1970 and 1971. After a strong stint with the Astros' AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City, Yount was called up on September 2, 1971. Before he could join the big-league club, however, he had to serve a week-long stint in the military, which he later claimed tightened up his elbow.

Trailing the Atlanta Braves 4-1 in the Astrodome on September 15, 1971, Yount was summoned to pitch the ninth inning. While warming up, though, Yount's elbow began to stiffen. "I went to the mound and took a couple of tosses," he later said, "but (the elbow) continued to hurt, so I came out." Since he was announced, he was credited for having played that one game, even though he did not actually face a batter. Yount went back to the bench, then back to the minors. In spring training in 1972, he was one of the last players cut; two years later, Larry was dealt to the Brewers, where he broke camp with his younger brother Robin, who was trying to make the squad as a rookie.

The elder Yount retired after eight minor league seasons in 1976, later becoming a successful real estate developer in Arizona.

Larry's son Austin Yount is a pitcher/infielder for the Stanford University baseball team [1]; Larry's nephew (and Robin's son) Dustin is currently playing in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

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[edit] Bibliography

  • Tellis, Richard, Once Around The Bases, Triumph Books, Chicago, 1998, pp. 279-284.