Larry Andersen

Lore & Background

Andersen possessed an average fastball and outstanding slider. He was drafted out of high school in the seventh round of the 1971 MLB draft by the Cleveland Indians. He made his major league debut on September 5, 1975, for Cleveland. He is the only member of the Phillies to play in both the 1983 World Series and the 1993 World Series. In a 17-season career, he posted a 40–39 record with 49 saves and a 3.15 ERA in 699 games pitched.

In Their Own Story

The August night was humid, the kind of Kansas City summer where the air above the outfield wall feels like breathing through a wet towel. Andersen crouched in the dirt, the catcher's mask heavy on his face, and watched the runner on third stretch his head back, eyes locked on the pitcher's mound. The pitch came in high and outside. The batter swung and missed. Andersen was already on his feet, the ball snapping into his mitt before the dust from his slide had settled. He turned, one fluid motion, and the ball was gone—a laser to third base that arrived before the runner's lead foot cleared the bag. The umpire's call was a single gesture: two fingers, sharp, final. Andersen didn't celebrate. He just nodded, spat in the dirt, and set back into his stance for the next pitch. The crowd at Royals Stadium roared, but he barely heard it over the thumping in his own chest. Another out. Another night the Royals held the line.

Reader's Guide

Andersen joined the Phillies' broadcast team as a color commentator prior to the 1998 season. He worked on both television and radio from 1998 to 2006 before moving exclusively to radio in 2007. In 2012, he was ranked No. 12 on the MLB Network Countdown of the Top 25 personalities in Major League Baseball history.

Did You Know?

• Andersen was traded to the Boston Red Sox for minor league prospect Jeff Bagwell on August 30, 1990, a trade often regarded as one of the most lopsided in baseball history.
• On June 23, 1986, Andersen was the winning pitcher in a game in which he did not throw a strike to a single batter.
• Andersen pulled a prank on Mariners manager Rene Lachemann in 1982, known as the 'Mr. Jello' caper, involving moving furniture, filling toilets with jello, and removing the phone mouthpiece.