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“Yankee Killer” Frank Lary Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size:

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  Frank Lary
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  The seven Lary brothers all played at Alabama
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  Frank Lary autographed ball
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  Frank Lary later in life
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  Frank Lary on cover of SI
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  Frank Lary
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  Frank Lary
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  Frank Lary
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  Frank Lary with manager Bucky Harris
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  Frank Lary with Tigers teammate
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  Frank Lary with the Mets
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  Frank Lary on the mound
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  Al Kaline and Frank Lary

Our “senior” readers will remember Frank Lary, the Tigers fine pitcher who was known as the “Yankee Killer.” Today Vince Jankoski returns with a deep dive into his career and tries to analyze just how the Alabama native had such success against the dreaded Yankees. I think you’ll find what Vince shares with us very interesting. -GLs

Frank Lary, the Yankee Killer From Dixie

Frank Lary was born on April 10, 1930, in the heart of Dixie – Northport, Alabama to be exact.  This son of the South would go on to pitch in the major leagues and to master one of the dominant franchises of all time.  Interestingly, that franchise was the New York Yankees.  One must wonder why a guy born in the deep South would achieve his greatest success against the team called the Yankees. Was it historic retribution?  Did Lary try harder against New York? Or was it just plain coincidence?

Lary played on average teams.  He was a member of Detroit’s starting rotation from 1955-1961.  Only in 1961 when they finished second did the Tigers contend for the pennant in those years.  During the remainder of Lary’s stay in Detroit, the Tigers were a middle-of-the-pack team.

To be sure, Lary was a respectable hurler.  He won more than 20 games twice, 1956 and 1961.  He made three All-Star teams.  He led the league in wins once and complete games three times.     In 1961, when there was only one Cy Young award given, he finished third in the balloting behind only Hall of Famers Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn.  Like any pitcher, he had his ups and downs, good years and not-so-good years.  He tended to hit a lot of batters, leading the league in hit batsmen four times in five seasons between 1956 and 1960.

However, the most notable thing about Lary’s career was his uncanny success against New York.  It seemed as though the South would rise again every time Lary squared off against the Yankees. More often than not, the Bronx Bombers would be routed.  Yankee Stadium or Briggs Stadium (wherever the location of the contest) would be metaphorically transformed into the battlefields of Manassas – North vs. South, Blue vs. Gray.  It was difficult for Yankee fans to watch.

As proof, compare Lary’s prime year stats against New York with his overall record in those seasons. Keep in mind that New York won pennants in all of those years except 1959.

                     OVERALL                                 VS. NEW YORK

Year        W/L   W/L%  ERA                     W/L   W/L%   ERA

1955          14-15   .483     3.10                       2-1     .667       2.16  

1956           21-13  .618     3.15                       5-1     .833        2.89

1957           11-16   .407    3.98                       2-2     .500      3.25

1958           16-15   .516    2.90                        7-1      .875      1.86

1959            17-10  .630   3.55                        5-1       .833       3.16

1960            15-15  .500   3.51                        2-2     .500        4.23

1961             23-9   .719   3.24                        4-2      .667       4.34

N.B:  Lary also picked up saves against New York in 1956 and 1957.

So, during this span, Lary went 27-10 (.730) against the Yankees and 88-94 (.484) against the rest of the American League.  Put in another perspective, for those years, the Tigers went 45-66 (.446) in games against the Yankees thrown by pitchers other than Lary.

Subtracting games against New York reduces the numbers in some of Lary’s best seasons.  In 1956, his second-best season, Lary was 16-12 against teams other than the Yankees; in 1958, when Lary led the league in WAR for pitchers and was twenty-third in the MVP voting, he was a miserable 9-14 against the rest of the league; in 1959, he was a pedestrian 12-9. 

Furthermore, Lary did much better versus the Yanks than he did with the league’s bottom feeders.  During the same seasons that Lary went 27-10 against New York, he attained won-loss records of 17-13 (.567) against Washington and 12-13 (.480) against Kansas City. In 1958 when Lary went 7-1 with an ERA of 1.86 against New York, he was 0-4 with an ERA of 5.81 against the woeful Athletics.  That same year he was a combined 2-6 against the teams that were seventh (the A’s) and eighth (Washington) in the American League. The previous season Lary similarly went 2-6 against the same two teams which likewise finished seventh and eighth in the standings, neither of which attained a won-loss percentage above .400.

Plus, except for 1960 and 1961 when the Yankees had a potent lineup even for them, Lary’s ERAs were consistently lower against New York than the league in general.  Lary’s dominance of the powerful Yankees kept him in the big leagues.

After leaving Detroit, Lary pitched for the Mets, Braves, and White Sox, mostly in relief and without much success.  He died at age 87 in Northport on December 14, 2017. 

Surely, Lary must have savored his victories over the Yankees more than his other wins.  His Alabama neighbors must have been proud, too.  But was that because of felt satisfaction in dominating the league’s best team or because the Alabaman was avenging some sort of historical wrong?  Whatever the reason, Lary’s mastery of the Yankees truly remains a mystery.

Vince Jankoski

We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic…please leave comments below.

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