Larry Gura
Born: 11/26/1947 in Joliet, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1970-04-30 | Final Game: 1985-07-27
Bats: B | Throws: L | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 170 lbs
Full name: Lawrence Cyril Gura
Biography
Larry Gura was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1947, whose career spanned from 1970 to July 27, 1985. Gura established himself as a reliable starter and a valuable asset to the teams he played for, including the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals. Over his 15-year career, he compiled a record of 126 wins and 97 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.76. Known for his effective left-handed pitching and ability to navigate tough lineups, Gura struck out a total of 801 batters and recorded 14 saves, showcasing his versatility as both a starter and a reliever.
Gura's most notable achievement came in 1981 when he was selected for the All-Star Game, recognizing his standout performance during the season. He played during an era characterized by significant changes in the game, including the emergence of free agency and the introduction of the designated hitter in the American League. Gura's contributions to his teams and his consistent pitching style made him a respected figure in the league, and he remains remembered for his impact on the mound, particularly during the competitive years of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | 97 | 403 | 261 | 71 | 16 | 14 | 2047.0 | 2020 | 855 | 204 | 600 | 801 | 3.76 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | CHC | NL | 1 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38.0 | 35 | 16 | 23 | 21 | 3.79 | - |
| 1971 | CHC | NL | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6.00 | - |
| 1972 | CHC | NL | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.3 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 3.65 | - |
| 1973 | CHC | NL | 2 | 4 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64.7 | 79 | 35 | 11 | 43 | 4.87 | - |
| 1974 | NYY | AL | 5 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 56.0 | 54 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 2.41 | - |
| 1975 | NYY | AL | 7 | 8 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 151.3 | 173 | 59 | 41 | 65 | 3.51 | - |
| 1976 | KCR | AL | 4 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 62.7 | 47 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 2.30 | - |
| 1977 | KCR | AL | 8 | 5 | 52 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 106.3 | 108 | 37 | 28 | 46 | 3.13 | - |
| 1978 | KCR | AL | 16 | 4 | 35 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 221.7 | 183 | 67 | 60 | 81 | 2.72 | - |
| 1979 | KCR | AL | 13 | 12 | 39 | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 233.7 | 226 | 116 | 73 | 85 | 4.47 | - |
| 1980 | KCR | AL | 18 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 283.3 | 272 | 93 | 76 | 113 | 2.95 | - |
| 1981 | KCR | AL | 11 | 8 | 23 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 172.3 | 139 | 52 | 35 | 61 | 2.72 | - |
| 1982 | KCR | AL | 18 | 12 | 37 | 37 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 248.0 | 251 | 111 | 64 | 98 | 4.03 | - |
| 1983 | KCR | AL | 11 | 18 | 34 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 200.3 | 220 | 109 | 76 | 57 | 4.90 | - |
| 1984 | KCR | AL | 12 | 9 | 31 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 168.7 | 175 | 97 | 67 | 68 | 5.18 | - |
| 1985 | CHC | NL | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.3 | 34 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 8.41 | - |
| 1985 | KCR | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.3 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12.46 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 405 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.091 | 0.143 | 0.091 | 0.234 | 0.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | CHC | NL | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1971 | CHC | NL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1972 | CHC | NL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1973 | CHC | NL | 22 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1974 | NYY | AL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | NYY | AL | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | KCR | AL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | KCR | AL | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | KCR | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | KCR | AL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | KCR | AL | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | KCR | AL | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | KCR | AL | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | KCR | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1984 | KCR | AL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | CHC | NL | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1985 | KCR | AL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | AWDIV | KCA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1980 | WS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1980 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1978 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1977 | ALCS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1976 | ALCS | KCA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 44.0 | 58 | 19 | 11 | 19 | 3.89 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | AWDIV | KCA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7.36 |
| 1980 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2.00 |
| 1980 | WS | KCA | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12.3 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2.19 |
| 1978 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.84 |
| 1977 | ALCS | KCA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 18.00 |
| 1976 | ALCS | KCA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.7 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4.22 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 403 | 261 | 107 | 369 | 7 | 32 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | CHN | P | 20 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1971 | CHN | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | CHN | P | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | CHN | P | 21 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | NYA | P | 8 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | NYA | P | 26 | 20 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 2 |
| 1976 | KCA | P | 20 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 1977 | KCA | P | 52 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| 1978 | KCA | P | 35 | 26 | 13 | 44 | 1 | 2 |
| 1979 | KCA | P | 39 | 33 | 15 | 38 | 2 | 5 |
| 1980 | KCA | P | 36 | 36 | 9 | 50 | 0 | 3 |
| 1981 | KCA | P | 23 | 23 | 9 | 30 | 0 | 4 |
| 1982 | KCA | P | 37 | 37 | 7 | 50 | 2 | 6 |
| 1983 | KCA | P | 34 | 31 | 12 | 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 1984 | KCA | P | 31 | 25 | 6 | 30 | 0 | 1 |
| 1985 | CHN | P | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | KCA | P | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 403 |
| Designated Hitter | 1 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
| 1980 | Pitcher of the Month | July |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University | Tempe | AZ | 1967, 1968, 1969 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Cy Young Award | AL | 9th | 1.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1980 | Cy Young Award | AL | 6th | 1.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1978 | Cy Young Award | AL | 7th | 1.0 | 140 | 0 |
| 1978 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 8.0 | 392 | 0 |