Larry Jansen

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Lawrence Joseph Jansen (born July 16, 1920 in Verboort, Oregon) was a righthanded pitcher and coach in American Major League Baseball.

Jansen was a key member of the New York Giants' starting rotation from 1947-53, twice winning more than 20 games. He was purchased from the San Francisco Seals of the AAA Pacific Coast League after leading that league in wins (30), earned run average (1.57) and winning percentage (.833) in 1946. In his rookie major league season, Jansen won 21 of 26 decisions, leading the 1947 National League in winning percentage (.808).

In 1951, he paced the NL champion Giants with 23 victories and helped lead their improbable August and September comeback against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jansen, however, lost his only two decisions in the 1951 World Series. Jansen also won 19 games (1950) and 18 games (1948) for the New York club.

Arm miseries kept Jansen from a major role in the Giants' 1954 world championship; indeed, he spent part of that season inactive, as a coach. His playing career ended after eight appearances with the 1956 Cincinnati Reds. During his nine-year NL career, Jansen won 123 games and lost 89 (.578) with an ERA of 3.58.

After coaching and managing in the Pacific Coast League, Jansen returned to the Giants, now in San Francisco, as pitching coach in 1961 and served in that role for 11 seasons. He then moved on to his final MLB coaching job, handling pitchers for the Chicago Cubs in 1972-73, working for his old Giants manager, Leo Durocher, and then his former teammate, Whitey Lockman.