Lawrence Edward Dierker was born on September 22,1946 and is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, manager, and broadcaster.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,001 |
17 Facts About Larry Dierker
2.
Larry Dierker was the first Astro manager to lead the team to three consecutive playoff seasons, and in total he led the Astros to four division titles in five years until he stepped down in 2001.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,002 |
3.
Larry Dierker honed his baseball in the West Valley Little League before playing on the varsity team of William Howard Taft Charter High School.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,003 |
4.
Larry Dierker had a good arm in high school, although he had a losing record as a pitcher.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,004 |
5.
Larry Dierker pitched in two other games that season, both being the last pitcher for the team, although they were both in losses.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,005 |
7.
Larry Dierker was elected to the National League All-Star team that season.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,007 |
8.
From 1979 to 1996, Larry Dierker served as a color commentator on the Astros' radio and television broadcasts, a position he returned to in 2004 and 2005.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,008 |
9.
On October 4,1996, Larry Dierker was hired as the twelfth manager of the Houston Astros, replacing Terry Collins.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,009 |
10.
Doubts were raised over the potential for a first-year manager replacing a fiery predecessor, but Larry Dierker won the trust of his players as being just one of them.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,010 |
11.
Collins was reportedly dismissed due to disagreements with the two star players in Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio When Larry Dierker was asked about how he would approach them, he stated that they would not be a problem under his watch; he has stated his belief that they would not be a problem under his watch.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,011 |
13.
In 1999, Larry Dierker had a medical scare during a game against the San Diego Padres.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,013 |
14.
Larry Dierker required emergency brain surgery for a cavernous angioma caused by a tangle of blood vessels in his brain.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,014 |
15.
Larry Dierker cited a variety of issues that saw the Astros win two postseason games in his tenure, ranging from pitching to media exposure while believing it to be just a stroke of bad luck.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,015 |
16.
Larry Dierker penned a book entitled This Ain't Brain Surgery, which detailed his baseball career as a pitcher and a manager.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,016 |
17.
Larry Dierker later wrote My Team, in which he ruminated on the greatest players he had been witness to in his years of baseball.
| FactSnippet No. 2,124,017 |