Larry French

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1929-1942)

Larry French was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1942 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 14 seasons. Across 570 career appearances, he went 197-171 with a 3.44 ERA and 1,187 strikeouts. He also batted .188 with 1 home runs. Larry French was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 31032.1.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 197–171
ERA 3.44
WHIP 1.33
SO 1,187
Pitcher PIV 31032.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 195 lb
Born
11/1/1907 in Visalia, CA, USA
Died
2/9/1987 in San Diego, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1929-04-18
Last Game
1942-09-26
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Lawrence Herbert French

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Pitching Statistics

Larry French — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
197 171 570 384 198 40 17 3152.0 3,375 1,206 164 819 1,187 3.44 31032.1

Career ERA 3.44 vs. league average 4.25 across their career seasons — 18.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Larry French Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1929 PIT NL 7 5 30 13 6 0 1 123.0 130 67 62 49 4.90 4.60 (-7%) -1812.5
1930 PIT NL 17 18 42 35 21 3 1 274.2 325 133 89 90 4.36 4.80 (+9%) -935.4
1931 PIT NL 15 13 39 33 20 1 1 275.2 301 100 70 73 3.26 4.10 (+20%) 2142.5
1932 PIT NL 18 16 47 33 19 3 4 274.1 301 92 62 72 3.02 4.13 (+27%) 217.9
1933 PIT NL 18 13 47 35 21 5 1 291.1 290 88 55 88 2.72 3.86 (+30%) 4100.6
1934 PIT NL 12 18 49 35 16 3 1 263.2 299 105 59 103 3.58 4.29 (+16%) 5241.8
1935 CHN NL 17 10 42 30 16 4 2 246.1 279 81 44 90 2.96 4.35 (+32%) 5186.6
1936 CHN NL 18 9 43 28 16 4 3 252.1 262 95 54 104 3.39 4.59 (+26%) 3431.4
1937 CHN NL 16 10 42 28 11 4 0 208.0 229 92 65 100 3.98 4.34 (+8%) 451.1
1938 CHN NL 10 19 43 27 10 3 0 201.1 210 85 62 83 3.80 4.35 (+13%) 224.5
1939 CHN NL 15 8 36 21 10 2 1 194.0 205 71 50 98 3.29 4.28 (+23%) 4892.8
1940 CHN NL 14 14 40 33 18 3 2 246.0 240 90 64 107 3.29 4.21 (+22%) 3992.8
1941 CHN NL 5 14 26 18 6 1 0 138.0 161 71 43 60 4.63 3.94 (-18%) 286.8
1941 BRO NL 0 0 6 1 0 0 0 15.2 16 6 4 8 3.45 3.94 (+12%) 143.6
1942 BRO NL 15 4 38 14 8 4 0 147.2 127 30 36 62 1.83 3.57 (+49%) 3467.7
Career · 15 seasons 197 171 570 384 198 40 17 3,152.0 3,375 1,206 819 1,187 3.44 — 31,032

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Larry French — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
570 1,057 83 199 27 5 1 84 3 48 210 .188 .226 .226 .452 -6,348

Career AVG .188 vs. league average .275 across their career seasons — 31.7% below league average.

Career OBP .226 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 33.5% below league average.

Career SLG .226 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 42.5% below league average.

Career OPS .452 vs. league average .733 across their career seasons — 38.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Larry French Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1929 PIT NL 30 42 4 8 1 0 0 8 1 2 12 .190 — — — — 0.0
1930 PIT NL 42 91 11 22 3 1 0 13 0 3 17 .242 .293 (-18%) .354 (-25%) .429 (-31%) .784 (-28%) -446.8
1931 PIT NL 39 95 8 17 1 0 0 2 1 5 15 .179 .276 (-35%) .338 (-33%) .388 (-51%) .726 (-43%) -637.7
1932 PIT NL 47 92 7 19 3 1 0 4 1 1 16 .207 .275 (-25%) .335 (-36%) .391 (-33%) .726 (-35%) -524.4
1933 PIT NL 47 101 7 15 0 2 0 8 0 5 17 .149 .270 (-45%) .329 (-43%) .377 (-50%) .707 (-47%) -749.0
1934 PIT NL 49 84 8 16 3 0 0 6 0 4 16 .190 .278 (-31%) .340 (-33%) .392 (-42%) .733 (-38%) -521.9
1935 CHN NL 42 85 4 12 1 0 0 5 0 1 14 .141 .279 (-50%) .342 (-53%) .399 (-62%) .742 (-58%) -800.4
1936 CHN NL 43 85 5 18 2 0 0 5 0 4 12 .212 .283 (-25%) .349 (-29%) .404 (-42%) .753 (-36%) -507.0
1937 CHN NL 42 71 1 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 .127 .276 (-54%) .342 (-63%) .398 (-65%) .740 (-64%) -740.7
1938 CHN NL 43 62 7 13 3 1 0 7 0 5 9 .210 .272 (-23%) .341 (-21%) .392 (-26%) .734 (-24%) -250.4
1939 CHN NL 36 73 6 14 2 0 1 7 0 4 26 .192 .274 (-30%) .342 (-29%) .393 (-34%) .735 (-31%) -375.7
1940 CHN NL 40 85 5 14 3 0 0 9 0 7 20 .165 .267 (-38%) .335 (-29%) .387 (-48%) .722 (-40%) -532.8
1941 CHN NL 26 47 5 9 0 0 0 3 0 4 15 .191 — — — — -261.6
1941 BRO NL 6 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .250 — — — — -261.6
1942 BRO NL 38 40 5 12 3 0 0 6 0 3 8 .300 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 570 1,057 83 199 27 5 1 84 3 48 210 .188 — — — — -6,610

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Larry French — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Larry French — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1941 WS BRO 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1938 WS CHN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1935 WS CHN 2 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250

Playoff Career Pitching

Larry French — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 7 1 0 15.0 16 5 3 10 3.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Larry French — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1941 WS BRO 0 0 2 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1938 WS CHN 0 0 3 0 0 3.1 1 1 1 2 2.70
1935 WS CHN 0 2 2 1 0 10.2 15 4 2 8 3.38

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1140 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Larry French — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2804664692141.197
Away29059337108042.182

Pitching — Home / Away

Larry French — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2801546.216865804035913.38
Away2901603.216896254195953.51

Last 10 Games — Batting

Larry French — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1942-09-26 BROPHIW 201000000
1942-09-25 BROBSNW 000000000
1942-09-23 BROPHIW 211000111
1942-09-22 BRONY1W 000000000
1942-09-20 BROPHIL 000000000
1942-09-11 BROSTLL 000000000
1942-09-10 BROCHCL 201000000
1942-09-07 BROBSNL 000000000
1942-09-05 BRONY1L 000000000
1942-08-31 BROPITW 200000001

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Larry French — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1942-09-26 BROPHI W 2.0711020
1942-09-25 BROBSN — 1.0100000
1942-09-23 BROPHI W 9.0100060
1942-09-22 BRONY1 — 0.1111000
1942-09-20 BROPHI — 1.0000110
1942-09-11 BROSTL — 1.0100000
1942-09-10 BROCHC — 6.2533041
1942-09-07 BROBSN — 1.2100200
1942-09-05 BRONY1 — 0.2200210
1942-08-31 BROPIT — 2.2110020

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Larry French — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 570 0 124 628 39 40

Season-by-Season Fielding

Larry French — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1929 PIT P 30 0 3 35 2 1
1930 PIT P 42 0 5 53 3 3
1931 PIT P 39 0 7 56 3 6
1932 PIT P 47 0 8 45 7 3
1933 PIT P 47 0 12 45 3 4
1934 PIT P 49 0 10 40 3 4
1935 CHN P 42 0 16 55 2 5
1936 CHN P 43 0 14 37 3 3
1937 CHN P 42 0 10 55 4 4
1938 CHN P 43 0 19 41 1 1
1939 CHN P 36 0 5 47 2 3
1940 CHN P 40 0 7 63 2 2
1941 CHN P 26 0 1 26 2 0
1941 BRO P 6 0 0 3 0 0
1942 BRO P 38 0 7 27 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Larry French Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 570

Awards & Honors

Larry French — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1936 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Larry French — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 7.0 336 0
1933 Most Valuable Player NL 15th 10.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Larry French (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jesse Haines HOF
    210-158, 3.64 ERA
  2. 92
    Freddie Fitzsimmons
    217-146, 3.51 ERA
  3. 91
    Bill Lee
    169-157, 3.54 ERA
  4. 88
    Lee Meadows
    188-180, 3.37 ERA
  5. 88
    Dolf Luque
    194-179, 3.24 ERA
  6. 87
    Claude Passeau
    162-150, 3.32 ERA

Compare Larry French

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against French's closest peers by position and era.

vs Paul Waner
vs Gabby Hartnett
vs Stan Hack
vs Augie Galan

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Larry French: the record in brief

April 18, 1929 and September 26, 1942 bracket Larry French's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, French's seasons break down as the Pittsburgh Pirates (1929 to 1934), the Chicago Cubs (1935 through 1941), and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941 to 1942). French, a pitcher by primary position, hit right-handed while throwing left-handed. Height and weight on file: 6'1" and 195 pounds. The birth record reads November 1, 1907, in Visalia, CA, USA. French died on February 9, 1987, in San Diego, CA, USA. On the record, Larry French was born Lawrence Herbert French.

French's career pitching line is 197 wins, 171 losses and a 3.44 ERA over 570 appearances. The same table counts 1,187 strikeouts, 198 complete games, 40 shutouts, and 17 saves. The leagues French pitched in allowed 4.25 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 18.9% better than average. 1932 brought French a season-high 18 wins. French struck out 107 batters in 1940, a career high.

Frequently Asked Questions about Larry French

What years did Larry French play?
Larry French played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1942.
Was Larry French a pitcher?
Yes. Larry French pitched in the major leagues, recording 197 wins and 1187 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Larry French hit?
Larry French hit 1 career home run with 199 hits.
What teams did Larry French play for?
Larry French played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1929–1934), the Chicago Cubs (1935–1941), and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941–1942).
What awards did Larry French win?
Larry French was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Larry French's career stats?
In 570 games, Larry French went 197-171 with a 3.44 ERA, 1,187 strikeouts, 3,152.0 innings pitched, and 17 saves. At the plate he had 199 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Larry French play?
Larry French played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Larry French and how much did he weigh?
Larry French was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds.
What was Larry French's career ERA?
Larry French finished with a 3.44 career ERA, going 197-171 with 1,187 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Larry French have?
Larry French recorded 1,187 career strikeouts.
Is Larry French in the Hall of Fame?
No. Larry French has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Larry French make?
Larry French was selected to 1 All-Star Game.