What years did Frank Lary play?

Frank Lary played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1965.

Was Frank Lary a pitcher?

Yes. Frank Lary pitched in the major leagues, recording 128 wins and 1099 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Frank Lary hit?

Frank Lary hit 6 career home runs with 130 hits.

What teams did Frank Lary play for?

Frank Lary played for 4 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1954–1964), the New York Mets (1964–1965), the Milwaukee Braves (1964), and the Chicago White Sox (1965).

Did Frank Lary win a Cy Young Award?

No. Frank Lary did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Frank Lary win?

Frank Lary won the Gold Glove (1961). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Frank Lary's career stats?

In 350 games, Frank Lary went 128-116 with a 3.49 ERA, 1,099 strikeouts, 2,162.1 innings pitched, and 11 saves. At the plate he had 130 hits and 6 home runs.

What position did Frank Lary play?

Frank Lary played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Frank Lary and how much did he weigh?

Frank Lary was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.

What was Frank Lary's career ERA?

Frank Lary finished with a 3.49 career ERA, going 128-116 with 1,099 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Frank Lary have?

Frank Lary recorded 1,099 career strikeouts.

Is Frank Lary in the Hall of Fame?

No. Frank Lary has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Frank Lary make?

Frank Lary was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

Frank Lary

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1965)

Frank Lary was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1965 for 4 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 12 seasons. Across 350 career appearances, he went 128-116 with a 3.49 ERA and 1,099 strikeouts. He also batted .177 with 6 home runs. Frank Lary was a 2-time All-Star and a Gold Glove. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 12981.7.

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 October 15, 2026

W–L 128–116

ERA 3.49

WHIP 1.27

SO 1,099

Pitcher PIV 12981.7

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 175 lb
Born: 4/10/1930 in Northport, AL, USA
Died: 12/14/2017 in Northport, AL, USA
MLB Debut: 1954-09-14
Last Game: 1965-09-21
Awards: 2× All-Star · Gold Glove

Full name: Frank Strong Lary

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Career Pitching Statistics

Frank Lary — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
128	116	350	292	126	21	11	2162.1	2,123	838	197	616	1,099	3.49	12981.7

Career ERA 3.49 vs. league average 3.80 across their career seasons — 8.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Lary Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1954	DET	AL	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3.2	4	1	3	5	2.45	—	0.0
1955	DET	AL	14	15	36	31	16	2	1	235.0	232	81	89	98	3.10	4.00 (+22%)	4312.4
1956	DET	AL	21	13	41	38	20	3	1	294.0	289	103	116	165	3.15	3.96 (+20%)	4121.0
1957	DET	AL	11	16	40	35	12	2	3	237.2	250	105	72	107	3.98	3.83 (-4%)	-246.6
1958	DET	AL	16	15	39	34	19	3	1	260.1	249	84	68	131	2.90	3.86 (+25%)	3237.7
1959	DET	AL	17	10	32	32	11	3	0	223.0	225	88	46	137	3.55	3.90 (+9%)	2817.2
1960	DET	AL	15	15	38	36	15	2	1	274.1	262	107	62	149	3.51	3.82 (+8%)	2223.0
1961	DET	AL	23	9	36	36	22	4	0	275.1	252	99	66	146	3.24	4.03 (+20%)	4329.4
1962	DET	AL	2	6	17	14	2	1	0	80.0	98	51	21	41	5.74	3.96 (-45%)	-2673.8
1963	DET	AL	4	9	16	14	6	0	0	107.1	90	39	26	46	3.27	3.46 (+5%)	-2270.5
1964	DET	AL	0	2	6	4	0	0	0	18.0	24	14	10	6	7.00	3.58 (-96%)	-1211.0
1964	NYN	NL	2	3	13	8	3	1	1	57.1	62	29	14	27	4.55	3.58 (-27%)	-876.7
1964	ML1	NL	1	0	5	2	0	0	0	12.1	15	6	0	4	4.38	3.58 (-22%)	-799.2
1965	NYN	NL	1	3	14	7	0	0	1	57.1	48	19	16	23	2.98	3.50 (+15%)	639.5
1965	CHA	AL	1	0	14	1	0	0	2	26.2	23	12	7	14	4.05	3.50 (-16%)	-620.6
Career · 15 seasons			128	116	350	292	126	21	11	2,162.1	2,123	838	616	1,099	3.49	—	12,982

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

Frank Lary — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
362	734	68	130	12	6	6	54	0	39	211	.177	.219	.234	.453	-3,755

Career AVG .177 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 30.5% below league average.

Career OBP .219 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — 32.1% below league average.

Career SLG .234 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 39.5% below league average.

Career OPS .453 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — 36.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Lary Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1954	DET	AL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1955	DET	AL	36	82	4	16	2	0	0	2	4	29	.195	.258 (-25%)	.332 (-30%)	.393 (-44%)	.726 (-38%)	-493.8
1956	DET	AL	41	103	14	19	2	0	1	12	8	25	.184	.258 (-29%)	.331 (-28%)	.397 (-41%)	.728 (-35%)	-599.0
1957	DET	AL	40	73	4	9	0	1	0	4	2	22	.123	.257 (-52%)	.323 (-55%)	.391 (-61%)	.715 (-58%)	-677.1
1958	DET	AL	39	88	6	15	1	1	1	6	3	20	.170	.257 (-34%)	.324 (-39%)	.394 (-39%)	.719 (-39%)	-558.8
1959	DET	AL	32	80	7	10	1	1	1	2	4	26	.125	.256 (-51%)	.323 (-49%)	.392 (-49%)	.715 (-49%)	-629.3
1960	DET	AL	39	93	11	17	4	1	2	13	7	32	.183	.255 (-28%)	.323 (-26%)	.387 (-20%)	.711 (-22%)	-346.8
1961	DET	AL	42	108	13	25	2	0	1	5	3	27	.231	.258 (-10%)	.328 (-21%)	.399 (-30%)	.727 (-26%)	-450.0
1962	DET	AL	22	24	3	4	0	1	0	1	2	9	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	DET	AL	16	35	2	8	0	1	0	6	1	10	.229	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	DET	AL	6	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	NYN	NL	13	17	1	2	0	0	0	1	4	5	.118	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	ML1	NL	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	NYN	NL	14	19	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.211	—	—	—	—	0.0
1965	CHA	AL	14	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			362	734	68	130	12	6	6	54	39	211	.177	—	—	—	—	-3,755

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (712 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Frank Lary — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	191	372	40	77	2	32	.207
Away	171	362	28	53	4	22	.146

Pitching — Home / Away

Frank Lary — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	184	1178.0	1119	426	299	590	3.25
Away	166	984.1	1004	412	317	508	3.77

Last 10 Games — Batting

Frank Lary — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	RBI
1965-09-21	CHW	DET	L	0	0	0
1965-09-17	CHW	CLE	W	0	0	0
1965-09-11	CHW	NYY	L	0	0	0
1965-09-07	CHW	CLE	L	0	0	0
1965-08-31	CHW	BAL	L	0	0	0
1965-08-26	CHW	BAL	L	0	0	0
1965-08-21	CHW	KC1	W	0	0	0
1965-08-08	CHW	CLE	L	0	0	0
1965-08-04	CHW	NYY	L	0	0	0
1965-07-31	CHW	DET	W	1	1	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Frank Lary — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1965-09-21	CHW	DET	—	2.0	2	1	1	0	2	0
1965-09-17	CHW	CLE	SV	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1965-09-11	CHW	NYY	—	2.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1965-09-07	CHW	CLE	—	3.0	1	0	0	0	1	0
1965-08-31	CHW	BAL	—	2.0	2	1	1	1	3	1
1965-08-26	CHW	BAL	—	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	1
1965-08-21	CHW	KC1	SV	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1965-08-08	CHW	CLE	—	0.2	3	3	3	1	1	0
1965-08-04	CHW	NYY	—	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1965-07-31	CHW	DET	W	5.0	7	3	3	1	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Frank Lary — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	350	292	174	351	21	23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Frank Lary — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1954	DET	P	3	0	0	0	0	0
1955	DET	P	36	31	14	46	3	4
1956	DET	P	41	38	15	45	3	3
1957	DET	P	40	35	14	43	1	4
1958	DET	P	39	34	20	39	1	1
1959	DET	P	32	32	15	34	3	1
1960	DET	P	38	36	14	37	4	2
1961	DET	P	36	36	32	55	1	5
1962	DET	P	17	14	7	8	3	0
1963	DET	P	16	14	26	14	0	1
1964	DET	P	6	4	0	1	0	0
1964	NYN	P	13	8	7	7	0	1
1964	ML1	P	5	2	4	5	1	0
1965	NYN	P	14	7	6	11	1	1
1965	CHA	P	14	1	0	6	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Frank Lary Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	350

Awards & Honors

Frank Lary — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1961	Gold Glove	P
1961	TSN All-Star	P

College History

Frank Lary — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	AL	1949, 1950

Award Voting History

Frank Lary — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1961	Cy Young Award	ML	3rd	2.0	18	2
1961	Most Valuable Player	AL	7th	53.0	280	0
1958	Most Valuable Player	AL	23th	3.0	336	0
1956	Most Valuable Player	AL	17th	24.0	336	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Frank Lary (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frank Lary: the record in brief

The profile opens with Frank Lary's first major league game on September 14, 1954; the last one listed came on September 21, 1965. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1954 through 1964), the New York Mets (1964 to 1965), the Milwaukee Braves (1964), and the Chicago White Sox (1965). Lary played primarily as a pitcher and threw and hit right-handed. Born on April 10, 1930, in Northport, AL, USA, Lary was listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and 175 pounds. Lary's death is recorded on December 14, 2017, in Northport, AL, USA. Lary's full given name, per the bio, is Frank Strong Lary.

Lary pitched in 350 games, starting 292, and finished with a 128-116 record and 3.49 ERA. The same table counts 1,099 strikeouts, 126 complete games, 21 shutouts, and 11 saves. The leagues Lary pitched in allowed 3.80 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 8.2% better than average. No season topped the 23 wins of 1961.

Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Lary

What years did Frank Lary play?: Frank Lary played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1965.
Was Frank Lary a pitcher?: Yes. Frank Lary pitched in the major leagues, recording 128 wins and 1099 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Frank Lary hit?: Frank Lary hit 6 career home runs with 130 hits.
What teams did Frank Lary play for?: Frank Lary played for 4 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1954–1964), the New York Mets (1964–1965), the Milwaukee Braves (1964), and the Chicago White Sox (1965).
Did Frank Lary win a Cy Young Award?: No. Frank Lary did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Frank Lary win?: Frank Lary won the Gold Glove (1961). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Frank Lary's career stats?: In 350 games, Frank Lary went 128-116 with a 3.49 ERA, 1,099 strikeouts, 2,162.1 innings pitched, and 11 saves. At the plate he had 130 hits and 6 home runs.
What position did Frank Lary play?: Frank Lary played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Frank Lary and how much did he weigh?: Frank Lary was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
What was Frank Lary's career ERA?: Frank Lary finished with a 3.49 career ERA, going 128-116 with 1,099 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Frank Lary have?: Frank Lary recorded 1,099 career strikeouts.
Is Frank Lary in the Hall of Fame?: No. Frank Lary has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Frank Lary make?: Frank Lary was selected to 2 All-Star Games.