SHERRY, LAWRENCE (Larry; 1935– ) and NORMAN BURT (Norm; 1931– )

SHERRY, LAWRENCE (Larry ; 1935– ) and NORMAN BURT (Norm ; 1931– ), U.S. baseball-playing brothers. A native of Los Angeles, Larry Sherry was born with club feet and underwent operations at the age of six months to correct the deformity, having to wear braces to walk properly until the age of 12. At Fairfax High School, he was converted from an in-fielder to a pitcher because of his lack of speed. A right-handed pitcher, Larry Sherry made his Major League debut on April 17, 1958, and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958–63), Detroit Tigers (1964–67), Houston Astros (1967), and California Angels (1968). In his 1959 rookie season, Sherry was called up on July 4 and went 7–2 with a 2.19 era as a started and reliever – including an almost unbelievable 0.74 era in 36.1 innings of relief pitching – to help lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series. He won the first game of the nl playoff against the Milwaukee Braves, yielding four hits and striking out four in 7.2 innings. In the World Series against the Chicago White Sox, Sherry relieved in all four Dodger wins, recording saves in Games 2 and 3 and wins in Games 4 and 6, while allowing only one run, eight hits, and a 0.71 era in 12.2 innings. He was named the World Series mvp, the first relief pitcher ever to win it. The rest of Sherry's career was anticlimactic, though in 1960 he went 14–10 with a 3.79 era, and led the nl with 13 relief wins, and in 1966 he registered a career high 20 saves (3^rd in the league) for the Tigers. He was released on July 7, 1968, by the Angels with a career record of 53–44, a 3.67 era, and 82 saves. He is 6^th on the all-time era list for Jewish pitchers, 7^th in strikeouts, 8^th in wins, and 4^th in games. Sherry returned to the majors as a pitching coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1977–78 and the California Angels in 1979–80.

Norm, Larry's older brother, was born in New York. A catcher, he made his debut on April 12, 1959, and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959–62) and the New York Mets (1963). In 194 games, he batted .215 with 45 runs and 69 rbis. Sherry managed the California Angels from July 23, 1976, to July 11, 1977. He is credited with helping Koufax's struggling career by advising him during spring training in 1961 to "just try to throw easier, throw more changeups, just get the ball over." On May 7, 1960, August 30, 1961, and June 28, 1962, Larry and Norm were battery mates, the 13^th and last brother battery in mlb history, and the only Jewish brother battery in history. Norm's homer in the 11^th inning won the 1960 game for Larry.

[Elli Wohlgelernter (2^nd ed.)]