Lawrence Calvin Demery (June 4, 1953 – February 20, 2024) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from until , for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Early life and career

A native of

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

, Demery was the son of fellow major leaguer Art Demery. He played baseball at

Wasco High School Wasco Union High School (WUHS) is a public American senior high school in Wasco, California. The school is part of the Wasco Union High School District and takes in incoming freshmen from the Wasco Union School District, Maple School District, ...

and later at

Locke High School Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy (formerly Locke High School) is a Title 1 co-educational charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District/Green Dot Public ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he threw two

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

s. Demery attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus of the U ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Professional career

The

selected Demery in the seventh round of the 1972 MLB draft. He began his professional career that year with the Gastonia Pirates and walked more batters than any other pitcher in the

Western Carolinas League The Western Carolinas League was a Class D level (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A level (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The Western Carolinas League changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been ...

. He spent most of the following season in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, which he led with fourteen

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. Demery made his major league debut on June 2, 1974, against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. He entered in relief of

Bruce Kison Bruce Eugene Kison (February 18, 1950 – June 2, 2018) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–79), California Angels (1980–84) and Boston Red Sox (1985). Kn ...

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 Cincinnati Reds season, 1970 through 2002 Cincinna ...

and struck out four of the six batters he faced without allowing a run. He played for the Pirates until 1977.

Later life and death

, Demery lived in

. He died on February 20, 2024, at the age of 70. Demery appeared in the 2014 film '' No No: A Dockumentary''.

References

External links

1953 births 2024 deaths African-American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Gastonia Pirates players Salem Pirates players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Charleston Charlies players Shreveport Captains players Columbus Clippers players Savannah Braves players Baseball players from Los Angeles 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Locke High School alumni Baseball players from Bakersfield, California 20th-century American sportsmen Los Angeles City Cubs baseball players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub