Daniel James Larson is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher. Larson pitched in all or parts of seven seasons from and . Larson was drafted in the first round of the

1972 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The Montreal Expos had perhaps their best draft in franc ...

by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, while at

Alhambra High School (Alhambra, California) Alhambra High School (AHS) is a public high school in Alhambra, California established in 1898. Existing in the Alhambra Unified School District, it administers one of the most extensive high school and adult education programs in California, offer ...

but never played in the majors for them. Instead, he was sent to the Houston Astros as part of a trade that brought pitcher Claude Osteen to the Cardinals. Larson made his major league debut with the Astros in 1976, and that was probably his best season. He went 5–8 in 1976, with a career-best 3.02 ERA. In , Larson spent most of the season in the majors, but his performance went down significantly, as he won just one game in eight decisions and his ERA nearly doubled to 5.81. Larson spent nearly the entire season back in the minor leagues, and that September he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher

Dan Warthen Daniel Dean Warthen (born December 1, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and current coach for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to for the Montreal Expos, Philadel ...

. He made one appearance for the Phillies, pitching one inning. Larson spent most of the next three seasons in the minor leagues, making brief appearances in the majors in each year. Over those seasons, Larson pitched in a total of 20 games, mostly as a starter. In , Larson had a respectable 3.15 ERA, but gave up many unearned runs, resulting in a record of 0–5. Larson was traded along with

Keith Moreland Bobby Keith Moreland (born May 2, 1954), nicknamed "Zonk", is a former outfielder, catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In 1989, the final year of his career, ...

and

Dickie Noles Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles between 1979 and 1990. He bat ...

from the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

to the Cubs for

Mike Krukow Michael Edward Krukow (born January 21, 1952), nicknamed "Kruk", is an American former professional baseball player and sportscaster. As a starting pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...

on December 8, 1981."Cubs Sign Jenkins, Campbell," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, December 9, 1981.
Retrieved January 18, 2023. Larson again went winless in 1982, going 0–4 with a 5.67 ERA, and never appeared in the major leagues again. He continued to play minor league baseball until before retiring.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Dan Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Cubs players Gulf Coast Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Modesto Reds players Arkansas Travelers players Columbus Astros players Iowa Oaks players Memphis Blues players Charleston Charlies players Oklahoma City 89ers players Reading Phillies players Iowa Cubs players Baseball players from California 1954 births Living people 21st-century American politicians