My First Cards

I have to say that for being a below average hitter and having never won a gold glove, it’s amazing Larry Biitner stuck around for 14 seasons.

The story of Larry Biittner is short but has some interesting quirks. It really starts after he was traded by the Rangers to the Expos just before the ’74 season. In Montreal he played with Steve Renko, and a couple years later on May 17, 1976, they were both traded to the Cubs. The Cubs must’ve thought they were gettin’ a deal ’cause in ’75, Biittner had a very good year, hitting over .300 and posting a .376 OBP. It’s also worth noting that Renko had a pair of 15 win seasons in Montreal.

In Chicago, Larry wasn’t anything special, but on July 4, 1977 he found himself in the rare spot of being one of the few position players in history to take the mound for a few outs against his old team. The Cubs were down 13-3 in the 8th inning and manager Herman Franks gave up on the game. Not wanting to waste a pitcher, he pulled Larry Biittner off the bench and stuck him on the mound in Wrigley to finish the game against a young Expos lineup.

The first batter Larry faced, was Larry. Larry Parrish. Parrish procedes to slam a 3 run HR, making it 14-3. I won’t go through all the gory details, but the final score of 19-4. It’s notable though, that he pitched to Gary Carter (single) and Andre Dawson (3 run HR). Let’s face it though, that was a tough Expos lineup for any pitcher….and Larry wasn’t a pitcher. He was a first baseman and outfielder.

A couple years later, Larry got to pinch hit in one of the highest scoring games ever. Yeah, I’m talkin’ about the infamous May 17, 1979 game between the Phillies and Cubs where the final score was 23-22 and took 10 innings. There’s that May 17 date again.

He lasted one more year in Chicago before signing as a free agent for the Reds.