Larry Hisle

[Michael Trzinski]

When Milwaukee signed Larry Hisle as a free agent just before Thanksgiving in 1977, Brewers fans were excited. One of the first big-name free agents to play for Milwaukee, Hisle was seen as a power hitting outfielder that would lead the Brew Crew into the 1980s. Unfortunately, 1978 was the one and only great season for Hisle as a Brewer. He suffered a rotator cuff injury the following season and only played 79 games over the next four years before retiring in 1982.

Larry Eugene Hisle was drafted out of Portsmouth (Ohio) High School in the second round of the very first MLB draft in 1965 by the Philadelphia Phillies, two picks behind Johnny Bench and one pick in front of long-time Minnesota Twins infielder Danny Thompson. He chose baseball over basketball even though he had over 100 colleges talking with him, along with basketball star Oscar Robertson, who tried to get Hisle to play at Big O’s alma mater, University of Cincinnati.

After just two years in the minors, Hisle broke camp with the Phillies in 1968. The right-handed Hisle singled off Claude Osteen of Los Angeles in his first major league at-bat and started off his year batting .400 (4-for-10) in his first three games. But after sitting on the bench for a week or so, the Phillies optioned Hisle to Triple A San Diego to get him regular playing time. He finished the season with San Diego, slashing .303/.365/.446 with six home runs and 17 stolen bases across 267 at-bats. His season ended in early July when he was diagnosed with hepatitis.

Hisle starred in his ‘rookie’ season in 1969, hitting .266/.338/.459 with 20 homers, 18 stolen bases, and an OPS+ of 124 over 482 at-bats. He finished tied for fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year race, finishing behind winner Ted Sizemore, Coco Laboy, and Al Oliver.

In 1970, Hisle dropped off, hitting only .205/.299/.353 with 10 homers. The following season, Hisle started the season with Philadelphia but after getting only 42 at-bats in the first two months, was sent down to Triple A Eugene. He tore it up in Oregon, slashing .328/.400/.597 with 29 extra-base hits in 186 at-bats. For his reward, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season. He spent all of 1972 at Triple A Albuquerque and was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team after batting .325/.410/.561 with 23 homers and 20 stolen bases.

After the season, Hisle was traded…twice. First, on October 26 he was traded to St. Louis and then on November 29, he was traded to Minnesota. Over the next five years, Hisle played 140 games or more four times and was named to the AL All-Star team in 1977. In that same season, Hisle batted .302/.369/.533 with 28 homers and a league-leading 119 RBI, along with an OPS+ of 144. That off-season, Hisle signed a six-year, $3.155 million free agent contract with Milwaukee.

The 1978 season was arguably Hisle’s finest season. He batted .290/.374/.533 with a career-high 34 homers, 115 RBI, and had an OPS+ of 153. He was once again named to the AL All-Star team and was third in AL MVP voting, trailing only winner Jim Rice and pitcher Ron Guidry.

Hisle began the 1979 season and was batting .313/.353/.625 on April 20 when he hurt his right shoulder making a throw from left field. He played exclusively at DH the next two weeks but went on the disabled list when the pain became too great. He returned for two games but was shut down for the season in mid-September. In the off-season, Hisle was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff. He rehabbed in 1980, had shoulder surgery in 1981, and after another disabled list stint in 1982, retired after the season.

Hisle coached in the minor leagues for a few different organizations and in the bigs as a hitting coach for Toronto from 1992-1995.

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[Jim French Stepstool]

A very, very nice man that I was fortunate enough to meet & have a short conversation with a number of years ago. Had he stayed healthy, the thought of him in his mid-30s DHing in addition to the rest of the lineup in the early 80s is quite scary.