Larry Edward Jaster (born January 13, 1944) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He played in

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 ...

as a left-handed

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, ...

between 1965 and 1972 for the

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

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. After his playing career, Jaster served as a major league coach and then as a pitching coordinator for the Braves.

Career

Before Jaster was signed as an undrafted free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals on January 1, 1962, he attended

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood Universit ...

. Jaster made his major league debut on September 17, 1965 versus the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

at the age of 21. He finished the year with a record of 3–0 and an ERA of 1.61. All three of Jaster's starts were complete game victories. Jaster spent most of 1966 in the big leagues where he finished with a record of 11–5 with an ERA of 3.26 which earned him a tie for 4th in the Rookie of the Year balloting for that season. The main highlight of Jaster's 1966 season, were his league leading five shutouts, all of which were against the NL pennant winning

. Because of his success against Los Angeles, some people nicknamed Jaster 'The Dodger Killer'. Others gave him the nickname, 'The Creeper'. Over Jaster's seven-year MLB playing career, he batted .170. Of his twenty-nine career hits, only three were for extra bases, two of which were home runs. Jaster pitched two more years for St. Louis but never won more than nine games in a season. On May 31, 1968, Jaster pitched no-hit baseball for 7.2 innings against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. After retiring the first twenty-three batters he faced, Jaster gave up a single to Greg Goossen. Larry Jaster made appearances in both the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Lea ...

. It was during Game 6 of the 1968 series that he surrendered a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

to Jim Northrup. Detroit went on to win the game 13–1, and the series four games to three after being down three games to one. After the World Series, Jaster was drafted 47th overall by the Montreal Expos in the

1968 MLB expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expa ...

. He made history on April 14, 1969 by throwing the first pitch in a Major League regular season game in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Expos defeated Jaster's former team, the Cardinals, 8–7 at

Jarry Park Jarry Park is an urban park in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jarry Park has total area of 36 hectares. It is considered by the City of Montreal as one of its large parks. From 1969 to 1976 ...

that day. Jaster, who gave up seven runs (only two of which were earned) in 3.2 innings of pitching, did not get the decision. Jaster made six of his eight career errors while playing for Montreal. He finished the 1969 season with a .684

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. After the 1969 season was over, Jaster was sent to the

in exchange for pitcher Jim Britton and minor league

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Don Johnson. Jaster was only twenty-eight years old when he played his last MLB game on October 4, 1972. After that he played two more years of professional baseball with the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

. After his playing days were over, Jaster has worked as a minor league

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

or pitching coordinator in the Atlanta Braves and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organizations. At present he lives in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaster, Larry 1944 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Bay County, Michigan Georgia State University alumni Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan State University alumni Midland High School (Midland, Michigan) alumni Montreal Expos players University of New Mexico alumni Northwood University alumni Richmond Braves players Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Sportspeople from Midland, Michigan St. Louis Cardinals players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 20th-century American sportsmen New Mexico Lobos baseball coaches