{{Short description|American baseball player (1941–2026)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Larry Stahl |position=Outfielder |birth_date={{Birth date|1941|6|29}} |birth_place=Belleville, Illinois, U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|2026|3|17|1941|6|29}} |death_place=Caseyville, Illinois, U.S. |bats=Left |throws=Left |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 11 |debutyear=1964 |debutteam=Kansas City Athletics |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=October 10 <!-- Some sources cite September 30 as his last game which was his last regular season game; he played in the playoffs which extended into October. --> |finalyear=1973 |finalteam=Cincinnati Reds |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.232 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=36 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=163 |teams= * Kansas City Athletics ({{mlby|1964}}–{{mlby|1966}}) * New York Mets ({{mlby|1967}}–{{mlby|1968}}) * San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1969}}–{{mlby|1972}}) * Cincinnati Reds ({{mlby|1973}}) }}
'''Larry Floyd Stahl''' (June 29, 1941 – March 17, 2026) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1973 for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds.
==Professional Career== Stahl was signed by the Athletics in 1960 as an amateur free agent.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nyfuturestars.com/players/larry-stahl/ |title=Larry Stahl |first1=Ed |last1=Tsunoda |date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=2013-07-17 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061226/http://www.nyfuturestars.com/players/larry-stahl/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He broke into the big leagues on September 11, 1964, going 0-1 as a pinch-hitter against Wally Bunker in a 5-2 Kansas City loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Memorial Stadium.<ref name="b-r">{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stahlla01.shtml |title=Larry Stahl Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |website=baseball-reference.com |publisher=sports-reference.com |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL196409111.shtml |title=Kansas City Athletics at Baltimore Orioles Box Score, September 11, 1964 |website=baseball-reference.com |publisher=sports-reference.com |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref> After brief appearances in several more games, he notched his first career hit on September 19 at Yankee Stadium in an 8–3 loss to the New York Yankees. Pinch-hitting for pitcher Orlando Peña in the sixth inning, he hit a ground-rule double off Ralph Terry.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196409190.shtml |title=Kansas City Athletics at New York Yankees Box Score, September 19, 1964 |website=baseball-reference.com |publisher=sports-reference.com |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref>
During the 1966 season with Kansas City, Stahl slugged an estimated 503-foot home run, the longest diner in the history of Municipal Stadium. Stahl was waived by the Athletics after the 1967 and claimed by the New York Mets. Following a season in New York, Stahl was selected by the Padres in the 1968 expansion draft.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gazdziak |first=~ Sam |date=2026-04-16 |title=Obituary: Larry Stahl (1941-2026) |url=https://ripbaseball.com/2026/04/16/obituary-larry-stahl-1941-2026/ |access-date=2026-04-18 |website=RIP Baseball |language=en-US}}</ref>
Primarily a pinch hitter and outfielder with San Diego, Stahl had his best year in 1971 when in 114 games for the Padres, he hit .253 with eight home runs and 36 runs batted in.
Stahl's most infamous at-bat came with Padres on September 2, 1972, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, when he drew one of the most questionable bases on balls in baseball history — if only because of the circumstances surrounding it. Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas had retired the first 26 Padres hitters and was one strike away from a perfect game with a 2-2 count against pinch-hitter Stahl. However, home plate umpire Bruce Froemming called the next two pitches, both of which were close, balls. To date, the perfect game bid is the only one in Major League history to be broken up by a walk to the 27th batter. Pappas secured his no-hitter by retiring Garry Jestadt one batter later.
Stahl's contract was purchased by the Reds on December 1, 1972.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/02/archives/as-send-epstein-to-rangers-scheinblum-nelson-to-reds-orioles-obtain.html |last1=Durso |first1=Joseph |title=A's Send Epstein to Rangers; Scheinblum, Nelson to Reds |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 2, 1972 |page=43 |access-date=April 13, 2020}}</ref> Stahl spent the season as the Reds top pinch hitter, as Cincinnati won the National League West. In the 1973 National League Championship Series, pinch hit four times, collecting two hits, including a ninth-inning single off Mets' ace Tom Seaver in Game 5.<ref name="b-r" /> It would prove to be his last Major League hit.<ref name=":0" />
Stahl spent the 1974 season playing for the San Francisco Giants' Triple A affiliate and then retired from professional baseball.<ref name=":0" />
== Personal Life and death == Following baseball, Stahl worked as an operator the Columbia Quarry, a coal mining company, and owned the Centerfield Tavern in his hometown of Belleville, Illinois. He also served on the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Board.<ref name=":0" />
Stahl died at Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Caseyville, Illinois, on March 17, 2026, at the age of 84.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rennerfh.secure.tributecenteronline.com/obituaries/Larry-Stahl?obId=47761277 |title=Larry Stahl |publisher=Renner Funeral Homes |access-date=March 24, 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{baseballstats |mlb=122640 |espn= |br=s/stahlla01 |fangraphs=1012383 |brm=stahl-001lar |retro=S/Pstahl101 |almanac=stahlla01}} * {{IMDb name|4912009}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stahl, Larry}} Category:1941 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Albuquerque Dukes players Category:Birmingham Barons players Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Jacksonville Suns players Category:Kansas City Athletics players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Lewiston Broncs players Category:Major League Baseball outfielders Category:Minot Mallards players Category:New York Mets players Category:Salt Lake City Bees players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:Baseball players from Belleville, Illinois Category:Tidewater Tides players Category:Vancouver Mounties players Category:Visalia A's players Category:People from New Athens, Illinois Category:Phoenix Giants players