Monday, June 6, 2011

Final Card: Larry Bearnarth

This is the 4th and final Topps card for Larry Bearnarth (#464).

Larry was signed by the Mets in 1962, and after only one season at triple-A Syracuse (where he fashioned a 2-13 record as a starting pitcher), he made his major-league debut with the Mets on April 16, 1963. During his rookie season, he was one of the Mets' top 3 workhorses in the bullpen (along with Galen Cisco and Jay Hook), pitching 126 innings in 58 games.

In 1964 Larry was the #2 man in the 'pen behind one-year wonder Bill Wakefield. Over the next 2 seasons, Bearnarth again was a member of the Mets' relief corps, but his playing time decreased somewhat, and he spent a portion of both '65 and '66 in the minors.



Larry's last game for the Mets was a 1-inning appearance on August 7th, 1966 against the Cardinals. He would spend the next 4 seasons pitching for the Mets' triple-A teams in Jacksonville (1967-68) and Tidewater (1969-70) as a starter and reliever.

Although Larry's last card appeared in 1966, he did resurface in the majors in 1971 with the Brewers for 2 games. His 18.00 ERA brought a quick return to Milwaukee's triple-A team for the remainder of the season. He also pitched 3 games in 1972 for the Expos' triple-A team before retiring.

Bearnarth later became a pitching coach - I think for the Expos.

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