Larry Fritz
| Larry Fritz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born: February 14, 1949 East Chicago, Indiana |
|||
| Died: Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Munster, Indiana |
|||
|
|||
| MLB debut | |||
| May 30, 1975, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 30, 1975, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Games | 1 | ||
| At bats | 1 | ||
| Hits | 0 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
Lawrence Joseph Fritz [Zeb] (February 14, 1949 – July 22, 2010) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in one game during the 1975 season. Listed at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 225 lb., Fritz batted and threw left-handed. A native of East Chicago, Indiana, he attended Arizona State University.[1]
Fritz was drafted in 1969 by the New York Mets, playing in their minor league system for the Marion Mets (1969, 1971-'72), Visalia Mets (1970, 1972), Memphis Blues (1972) and Tidewater Tides (1972-'73), before joining the Phillies organization in 1974.[2]
Fritz began 1974 with Double-A Reading Phillies, for whom he hit eight home runs with 19 runs batted in in 15 games. During the midseason, he gained a promotion to Triple-A Toledo Mudhens, where he batted three homers and drove in seven runs in 16 games.[2]
In 1975, Fritz was purchased by Philadelphia from Toledo after Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa broke his hand in a game against the San Francisco Giants on May 27.[3]
Fritz made his lone Major League appearance on May 30, 1975 at Veterans Stadium against the Houston Astros. With the Phillies trailing 5 to 0, and with two-outs and Mike Anderson on first in the bottom of the ninth-inning, Fritz pinch-hit for Larry Christenson. Facing Astros pitcher Doug Konieczny, Fritz flew out to left-field to end the game.[4]
On June 6, 1975, Mud Hens first baseman Andy Kosco broke his wrist. The Phillies returned Fritz to Toledo and in his place recalled outfielder Mike Rogodzinski from Reading.[5]
In a seven-year minors career, Fritz was a .273 hitter with 117 home runs and 235 RBI in 635 games, including a .356 on-base percentage and a .498 of slugging.[2]
Following his baseball career, Fritz went on to play softball for numerous Indiana teams. He also served in the Indiana National Guard, Company C 113th Engineer Battalion, and worked as a truck driver until his retirement in 2004 from Metro Intermodal due to a disability.[6]
Fritz died in Munster, Indiana, at the age of 61.[6]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Baseball Reference – Larry Fritz major league statistics
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Philadelphia Phillies players
- Minor league baseball players
- Marion Mets players
- Memphis Blues players
- Reading Phillies players
- Tidewater Tides players
- Toledo Mud Hens players
- Visalia Mets players
- Baseball players from Indiana
- Arizona State University alumni
- 1949 births
- 2010 deaths
- Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area
- People from East Chicago, Indiana
- People from Munster, Indiana
