Larry Eugene Cox (September 11, 1947 – February 17, 1990) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played all or parts of nine seasons in

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), ...

(MLB), from 1973 until 1982. Cox threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, standing tall, and weighing , during his playing days.

Early life

Cox, a native of

Ottawa, Ohio Ottawa is a village and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. It is located 51 miles southwest of Toledo, a major port city on the Maumee River. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census. History The region was long inhab ...

, was a 1965 graduate of Ottawa-Glandorf High School, located in Ottawa. The following year, he was signed by the

Philadelphia 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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

as an amateur free agent.

Playing career

After spending seven full seasons in minor league baseball in the club's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, Cox debuted with the Phils on April 23, 1973, appeared in one game, and was shuttled back to the minor leagues. He split the 1974–75 seasons between Philadelphia and the minors. At the end of the 1975 season, Cox was traded to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for

Sergio Ferrer Sergio Ferrer Marrero (born January 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Minnesota Twins Ferrer was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers at nineteen years old. After three seasons in their fa ...

. He then spent the entire 1976 campaign back in Triple-A for the Twins, then was purchased by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. He was traded along with

Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...

Rick Honeycutt Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954) is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season ...

Leon Roberts Leon Kauffman Roberts (born January 22, 1951) is a former corner outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1974 through 1984 for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas Ci ...

and

Mario Mendoza Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born December 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the " Mendoza Line", ...

from the Mariners to the Texas Rangers for

Richie Zisk Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austra ...

Jerry Don Gleaton Jerry Don Gleaton (born September 14, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from 1979 to 1992 for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, and Pittsburgh Pirates o ...

Rick Auerbach Frederick Steven Auerbach (born February 15, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Early years Auerbach was born in Woodland Hills, California, to Esther and Jack Auerbach. He was drafted by the California Angels in the 13th round ...

Ken Clay Kenneth Earl Clay (born April 6, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Following his brief major league career, Clay had several run ins with the law. Most recently, he was sentenced to five years in jail for grand theft fo ...

Brian Allard Brian Marshall Allard (born January 3, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Texas Rangers (-) and Seattle Mariners (). His fastball was 90-95 mph. He also threw a curveball, slider, and changeup. He lives in Wa ...

and minor-league right-handed pitcher Steve Finch in an 11-player blockbuster deal on December 18, 1980. Finally, Cox made the majors for five full seasons, playing for the Mariners (1977),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1978), the Mariners again (in 1979 and 1980) and Texas Rangers (1981). He returned to the Cubs briefly in May 1982 but spent most of that season as a coach in the minors. He played in 382 career major league games in his career with 182 hits in 825

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

(a .221

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

). He hit 12

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and had 85 RBIs.

Managerial and coaching career

He remained in the Cub organization as a minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

from 1983 to 1987, and became the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

coach on

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

's staff in 1988–89, including the Cubs' 1989 NL East champion team. But 1989 was to be his last in the game. Cox died during the offseason of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while playing

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...

Bellefontaine, Ohio Bellefontaine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States, located 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 13,370 at the 2010 Census. It is the principal city of the Bellefontaine, OH Micropo ...

, at the age of 42.

Early life

Playing career

Managerial and coaching career

References

External links