Lyn Lary

Lynford Hobart Lary
(Broadway)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
• School University of California
• High School Long Beach Poly High School, Visalia Union High School
• Debut May 11, 1929
• Final Game August 7, 1940
• Born January 28, 1906 in Armona, CA USA
• Died January 9, 1973 in Downey, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Lyn Lary was a shortstop who had a 12-year career in the majors, mostly during the 1930s. After his early years with the New York Yankees of Lou Gehrig and the aging Babe Ruth, he became a journeyman for the rest of his career.

Lary began his career with the 1925 Oakland Oaks, hitting .257. He followed that with a .253 year at age 20, then improved to .293 with 102 RBI in 1927, tied for 13th in the Pacific Coast League. In his fourth Oaks season, Lyn hit .314 and slugged .436 with 94 RBI. He was then purchased by the New York Yankees, along with Jimmie Reese, for $150,000.

Lary's best year was 1931, when he had 107 RBI, a record for a Yankee shortstop. He scored 100 runs in a year for three different teams.

He was a good basestealer, leading the 1936 AL with the St. Louis Browns, and often being in the top ten in the league, with a career success rate over 75%. He seldom got caught.

Lary never played in a World Series. The Yankee teams he played with, although they had Gehrig, Ruth, Bill Dickey, and others, usually didn't finish in first place except in 1932 when Lary appeared in 91 games in the regular season, and rookie Frankie Crosetti was beginning to take away the shortstop job from Lary.

The similarity scores method shows the most similar player as a contemporary - Billy Rogell.

When traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1937 by the St. Louis Browns, manager Rogers Hornsby of the Browns called Lyn and the other traded players (Moose Solters and Ivy Andrews) "real play boys". Perhaps so, but Hornsby had traded the top RBI man for the Browns, the leading ERA man for the Browns, and (in Lary's case) the top basestealer in the league. Hornsby, for his part, got Joe Vosmik, Oral Hildebrand, and Bill Knickerbocker.

Lary finished his career in the minors in 1941 and 1942, putting up unimpressive numbers for the Knoxville Smokies, Milwaukee Brewers and Buffalo Bisons.

Notable Achievements

• AL Stolen Bases Leader (1936)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1931)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (1931, 1936 & 1937)
• Won a World Series with the New York Yankees in 1932 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites

• Lyn Lary at the SABR Bio Project