{{Short description|American baseball player (1953–2024)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Larry Demery | position = Pitcher | image = Larry Demery.jpg | bats = Right | throws = Right | birth_date = {{birth date|1953|6|4}} | birth_place = Bakersfield, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|2|20|1953|6|4}} | death_place = Bakersfield, California, U.S. | debutleague = MLB | debutdate = June 2 | debutyear = 1974 | debutteam = Pittsburgh Pirates | finalleague = MLB | finaldate = September 24 | finalyear = 1977 | finalteam = Pittsburgh Pirates | statleague = MLB | stat1label = Win–loss record | stat1value = 29–23 | stat2label = Earned run average | stat2value = 3.72 | stat3label = Strikeouts | stat3value = 217 | teams = *Pittsburgh Pirates ({{mlby|1974}}–{{mlby|1977}}) }}
'''Lawrence Calvin Demery''' (June 4, 1953 – February 20, 2024) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from {{mlby|1974}} until {{mlby|1977}}, for the Pittsburgh Pirates.<ref name="majors">{{cite web |title=Larry Demery Stats |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/demerla01.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=4 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
==Early life and career== A native of Bakersfield, California, Demery was the son of fellow major leaguer Art Demery.<ref>{{cite web|author=Toni DeRosa |url=https://www.wascotrib.com/story/2020/02/27/news/remembering-a-legend-in-wasco-baseball/1182.html |title=Remembering a legend in Wasco baseball |publisher=wascotrib.com |date=February 27, 2020 |accessdate=August 28, 2021}}</ref> He played baseball at Wasco High School and later at Locke High School in Los Angeles, where he threw two no-hitters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Larry Demery |url=https://kcsportshalloffame.org/inductees/larry-demery/ |website=kcsportshalloffame.org |publisher=The Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref> Demery attended Los Angeles City College, where he played college baseball.
==Professional career== The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Demery in the seventh round of the 1972 MLB draft.<ref>{{cite web |title=7th Round of the 1972 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=1972&draft_round=7&draft_type=jansec&query_type=year_round |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> He began his professional career that year with the Gastonia Pirates and walked more batters than any other pitcher in the Western Carolinas League.<ref name="minors">{{cite web |title=Larry Demery Minor Leagues Statistics & History |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=demery001law |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1972 Western Carolinas League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?type=pitch&id=6cf50d31&sort_by=BB |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> He spent most of the following season in the Carolina League, which he led with fourteen complete games.<ref name="minors" /><ref>{{cite web |title=1973 Carolina League Pitching Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?type=pitch&id=83a0c0c6&sort_by=CG |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Demery made his major league debut on June 2, 1974, against the Cincinnati Reds.<ref name="majors" /> He entered in relief of Bruce Kison at Riverfront Stadium and struck out four of the six batters he faced without allowing a run.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds Box Score, June 2, 1974 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197406020.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=18 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref> He played for the Pirates until 1977.
==Later life and death== {{Asof|December 2008}}, Demery lived in Bakersfield, California.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Helene |title=Dock Ellis, former major league pitcher who counseled drug addicts, dies at 63 |url=https://www.courant.com/la-me-ellis21-2008dec21-story.html |access-date=4 June 2021 |work=Hartford Courant |date=December 21, 2008}}</ref> He died on February 20, 2024, at the age of 70.<ref>[https://pittsburghbaseballnow.com/former-pirates-pitcher-larry-demery-dies-at-70/ Former Pirates Pitcher Larry Demery Dies at 70]</ref>
Demery appeared in the 2014 film ''No No: A Dockumentary''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gold |first1=Daniel M. |title=A Lightning Rod in a Game With Bats |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/movies/no-no-a-dockumentary-looks-at-dock-ellis.html |access-date=4 June 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=September 4, 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=113254|br=d/demerla01|fangraphs=|brm=demery001law|retro=D/Pdemel101}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demery, Larry}} Category:1953 births Category:2024 deaths Category:African-American baseball players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players Category:Gastonia Pirates players Category:Salem Pirates players Category:Navegantes del Magallanes players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Charleston Charlies players Category:Shreveport Captains players Category:Columbus Clippers players Category:Savannah Braves players Category:Baseball players from Los Angeles Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:Locke High School alumni Category:Baseball players from Bakersfield, California Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Los Angeles City Cubs baseball players