1977 Topps Baseball #397 - Larry Herndon

• Larry Herndon was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. Larry played in the minors from 1971-1974. Herndon was called up in September 1974 and was used a lot as a pinch runner. He was 1 for 1 with 3 runs scored in 12 games.
• Herndon was in the minors again in 1975. On May 9 Larry was traded (with a minor leaguer) to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Ron Bryant. Herndon finished the 1975 season in AAA Phoenix.
• In 1976 Larry started in Phoenix. He was called up in late April and had a good rookie season for the Giants, batting .288 in 115 games. It was a good enough season for Larry to get a Topps trophy on this card.
• Larry hgd a tough year in 1977. He struggled at the plate and lost his starting center fielder job. Herndon didn't play after June 18. The only thing I could find was a reference to him coming off of the disqualified list after the 1977 season. Herndon ended up batting .239 in 49 games in 1977.
• Herndon reclaimed his starting center field job in 1978. He batted .259 in 151 games. During his time with the Giants Larry had some speed, but his power and on base percentage numbers were low.
• In 1979 Herndon spent most of his time in center field but made some appearances in left and right field. Larry batted .257 in 132 games.
• Larry's 1980 season was very similar to his 1979 stats. He batted .258 in 139 games.
• Herndon's last season with the Giants was in 1981. Larry moved to left field and improved his batting average to .288. After the 1981 season Herndon was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Dan Schatzaeder and Mike Chris.
• Larry showed a lot more power during his years with the Tigers. In 1982 Herndon batted .292 with 23 home runs, 88 RBI, and 92 runs scored. Larry batted .302 with 20 HR and 92 RBI in 1983.
• Herndon was the starting left fielder for that great Detroit club of 1984 and batted .280 in 125 games. His power dropped off -- Larry hit only seven home runs. In the ALCS Herndon went 1 for 5 in two games, but his one hit was a home run. In the World Series Larry batted .333 (5 for 15) with a 3-run home run.
• Larry started to slow down in 1985. It was his final season as the starting left fielder. Herndon batted .244 with 12 HR and 37 RBI in 137 games.
• In 1986 Herndon batted .247 in 106 games. He started 71 games in LF.
• Herndon split time between the outfield and DH in 1987. He batted .324 with 9 HR and 47 RBI in part-time duty. Herndon hit a solo home run in the last game of the season that was the only run scored in Detroit's AL East clinching victory. Larry batted .333 (3 for 9) in three games in the ALCS.
• The 1988 season was Herndon's final season. He batted .224 in 76 games and was released after the season.
• After his playing career Larry was a hitting  coach and he now coaches for Detroit's Class A Lakeland club.
• 1977 Stats: .239 in 49 games
• 1977 Highlights:
• May 27 - Was hit by a pitch in the 10th inning and scored the winning run on Tim Foli's triple. The Giants beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3.
• June 17 - Tripled and scored the eventual winning run in the 7th inning of the Giants' 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Other card blogs: 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988