Larry Hardy

Who is Larry Hardy?

Howard Lawrence Hardy is an American former pitcher, coach and manager in professional baseball. Hardy threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 180 pounds in his playing days.

Hardy graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in business administration. Selected in the 23rd round of the 1970 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres, he reached Major League Baseball with the 1974 Padres, appearing in 76 games as a rookie, all but one of them as a relief pitcher, winning nine games, saving two, and losing four. He would appear in only 18 more MLB games in 1975–1976, with the Padres and Houston Astros, and spend the rest of his playing career at the Triple-A level of minor league baseball. In his MLB career, he posted a career earned run average of 5.29 in 94 games to accompany his 9–4 record.

Hardy's coaching career began in 1978 as the pitching coach of the Charleston Charlies of the Triple-A International League, then Houston's top farm club. He switched to the Toronto Blue Jays' system in 1980 and served as a manager at the Double-A level as well as a minor league instructor.