Larry French

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

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

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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.

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 1 274.7 325 133 89 90 4.36 4.80 (+9%) -935.4
1931 PIT NL 15 13 39 33 20 1 1 275.7 301 100 70 73 3.26 4.10 (+20%) 2142.5
1932 PIT NL 18 16 47 33 19 3 4 274.3 301 92 62 72 3.02 4.13 (+27%) 217.9
1933 PIT NL 18 13 47 35 21 5 1 291.3 290 88 55 88 2.72 3.86 (+30%) 4100.6
1934 PIT NL 12 18 49 35 16 3 1 263.7 299 105 59 103 3.58 4.29 (+16%) 5241.8
1935 CHN NL 17 10 42 30 16 4 2 246.3 279 81 44 90 2.96 4.35 (+32%) 5186.6
1936 CHN NL 18 9 43 28 16 4 3 252.3 262 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 0 201.3 210 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 15.7 16 6 4 8 3.45 3.94 (+12%) 143.6
1942 BRO NL 15 4 38 14 8 4 0 147.7 127 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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 3.3 1 1 1 2 2.70
1935 WS CHN 0 2 2 1 0 10.7 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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2804664692141.197
Away29059337108042.182

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2801546.216865804035913.38
Away2901603.216896254195953.51

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

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

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 570 0 124 628 39 40

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.

Position Games
Pitcher 570

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1936 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

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.

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vs Gabby Hartnett
vs Stan Hack
vs Augie Galan

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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 runs with 199 hits.