Larry Brown (infielder)

Larry Leslie Brown (born March 1, 1940 in Shinnston, West Virginia, United States) is the brother of Dick Brown and a former Major League Baseball infielder who played from 1963 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. A right-hander, he was 5'11" and he weighed 165 pounds.

He was originally signed by the Indians in 1958, and on July 6, 1963, against the New York Yankees, he made his big league debut at the age of 23. Pinch-hitting for Tito Francona, he struck out in his first at-bat, but he collected a single in his second plate appearance.

As a starter for Cleveland between 1964 and 1969, his batting averages were consistently low – his highest batting average during that span was .253, while his lowest was .227.

On May 4, 1966, Brown was seriously injured after running into Indian's teammate Leon Wagner while playing the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. Brown suffered a skull fracture and facial injuries and was admitted to the Lenox Hill Hospital.

In 1970, he lost his starting job to a young Jack Heidemann, and by April 24, 1971, he was with a new team – the Athletics. He'd end up hitting below .200 during his time with the Athletics, and in 1973 he was signed by the Orioles. He played only 17 games with them that season, batting .250. He finished his career with the Rangers in 1974. He played his final game on September 29 of that year.

Overall, he hit .233 with 47 career home runs and 254 RBI. Brown ranked in the top 5 in sacrifice hits (1965 and 1967). He also ranked in the top ten in intentional walks in 1968, and because of his good eye at the plate, he ranked in the top ten for best at-bats per strikeout ratio twice (1968 and 1969). His fielding percentage stood at .966.

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube A summary of Brown's long career with the Indians is highlighted in the book "Portrait of a Franchise: An Intimate Look at Cleveland Indians Baseball During the Rockin' Sixties" by Doug Kurkul.