Larry Parrish

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Parrish coaching for the Detroit Tigers during 2007 spring training.

Larry Alton Parrish (born November 10, 1953 in Winter Haven, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played with the Montreal Expos (1974-81), Texas Rangers (1982-88) and Boston Red Sox (1988).

One of the most feared hitters in the 70s and 80s, Parrish belted 20 or more home runs five times during his major league career, and won 1979 Expos Player of the Year honors after hitting .307 with 30 homers and 82 RBI. Beside this, he ranks seventh on the Rangers’ all-time home run list (149) and eighth in RBI (522).

Parrish was a career .263 hitter with 256 home runs and 992 RBI in 1891 games.

After retiring from the Majors and spending time playing for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League, Parrish became a full-time coach within the Detroit Tigers organization. In 1992, Parrish was named the manager for the Single-A Niagara Falls of the New York - Penn League, and won the League Championship in 1993. In 1995 he was named the roving hitting instructor for the Tigers minor league system. In 1996, he returned to the dugout as the manager of the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, where he won another League Championship the same year. Parrish was then served as bench coach under manager Buddy Bell for the 1997 season and part of the 1998 before Bell was fired. Parrish was promoted as the replacement, and managed the Tigers from 1998-99, compiling an 82-104 record, but was replaced by Phil Garner for the 2000 season. Parrish remained in the Tigers organization as a scout from 2000-2002, and in 2003 he returned to the dugout once again as the manager for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens in the International League.

In 2005, Parrish managed the Mud Hens to an impressive 89-55 record and the Governors' Cup title as champions of the International League. As a result, Parrish was named the 2005 Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. In 2006, Parrish led the Mud Hens to a 76-66 record and a repeat of the Governor's Cup, giving the Mud Hens their third title and making them back to back champions for the first time in team history.

Highlights

Twice All-Star (1979, 1987)
Hit three consecutive home runs in a game (July 30, 1978)
Hit three grand slams in a week (July 4, 7th, 10th, 1982), tying MLB record set by Jim Northrup (1968)
Compiled four career 3-HR game
One of eight players to hit three homers in a game in both leagues (Babe Ruth, Johnny Mize, Dave Kingman, Cory Snyder, Darnell Coles, Claudell Washington and Darryl Strawberry were the others to do it)