1976 Topps #141 - Larry Parrish

• Larry Parrish played in the majors from 1974-1988, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the Texas Rangers. Parrish started as an 18-year-old outfielder in the Montreal organization in 1972. He moved to third base in 1973 and played in the minors in '73 and '74. Larry made his major league debut on my 8th birthday (September 6, 1974) and batted .203 in 69 at bats.

• Parrish was given the Expos' starting 3B job in 1975 and he ended up 3rd in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. He batted .274 with 10 homers in 145 games. Larry didn't do as well in 1976 (.232 with 11 HR in 154 games) or 1977 (.246 with 11 HR in 123 games). His 1978 season was similar to his rookie sesaon (.277 with 15 HR in 144 games).

• Larry had his best season in 1979. He batted .307 and hit 30 home runs. Parrish was selected to the NL All Star team and was fourth in MVP balloting.

• Larry's 1980 and 1981 seasons were very similar to his 1975-1977 seasons, and he was traded to the Texas Rangers with Dave Hostetler for Al Oliver during spring training of 1982 to make room for Tim Wallach. Since the Rangers had Buddy Bell at 3B, Parrish was moved to right field and batted .264 with 17 homers in 128 games. Larry hit three grand slams in one week in July 1982. He had more power in 1983 (26 home runs) and in 1984 (22 homers).

• Larry slipped in 1985 (.249 with 17 homers in 129 games) due to torn carilage in his left knee but bounced back with 28 home runs in 1986. Parrish made the AL All Star team as a DH in 1987 as he hit 32 home runs and had 100 RBI. Parrish was batting .190 with 7 home runs when he was released by the Rangers on July 9, 1988. The following week he was picked up by the Boston Red Sox, where he finished up with a total of 14 homers and a .217 average. Larry was released after the season. Parrish played in Japan in 1989 and 1990.

• After coming back to the U.S., Parrish became a coach in the Detroit Tigers system. He managed and coached until 1997, when he became the bench coach for Bell in Detroit. When Bell was dismissed in the middle of the 1998 season, Parrish was named manager of the Tigers. He finished the 1998 season and managed the Tigers through the 1999 season before he was replaced by Phil Garner. Larry scouted for the Tigers from 2000-2002, then returned to managing in the minors. Parrish is currently managing the AAA Toledo Mud Hens.