Norm Sherry
Encyclopedia
Norman Burt Sherry is an American former catcher
, manager
, and coach
in Major League Baseball
. He is best known as the man who, while still an active player as the second-string catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers
, helped the great lefthanded pitcher
Sandy Koufax
harness his talent and transform himself from a wild "thrower" into one of the most dominant hurlers of all time – and (ultimately) a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
in Los Angeles
, and signed with the Dodgers while they were still in their original home of Brooklyn in . His brothers, George and Larry Sherry
, were pitchers in professional baseball. Larry had a successful MLB career as a relief pitcher
and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series
; he was Norm's teammate from 1959 through 1962.
A right-handed hitter, Norm Sherry spent seven years working his way through the Dodger farm system, and another two in military service. By the time Norm reached the Dodgers, in 1959 for a two-game "cup of coffee
," he was 28 years of age and the team was based in Los Angeles
.
Sherry made the team as second-string backstop (behind John Roseboro) from through . Early in that tenure, Sherry took aside the prodigal Koufax – who was struggling to become a consistent winner in the majors despite a blazing fastball
and one of the best curveball
s of all time – and convinced him to take something off his fastball
to get better control. The results were astounding: despite finger and arm miseries, Koufax dominated the National League
from 1962 through his swan song, winning three Cy Young Awards and leading the Dodgers to three NL championships and world titles in 1963
and 1965
.
As for Sherry, he batted
.283 with 8 home run
s in a part-time role in 1960, but his statistics suffered as he sat on the bench, or in the bullpen, in 1961–62.
His average plummeted to .256 , and then to .182 (1962).
The Dodgers sold his contract to the lowly New York Mets
on October 11, 1962, to afford Sherry more playing time, but he batted only .136 in a career-high 63 games played (and 147 at-bats) in New York in , and his major league playing career ended.
All told, in 194 games over all or part of 5 seasons, Sherry batted .215 with 18 home runs, and .288 with runners in scoring position.
system in .
He coached for the Angels in and , and returned to the minor leagues
to manage their AA and AAA affiliates from through before rejoining the California coaching staff for under Dick Williams
.
Williams had been extremely successful in his previous terms with the Boston Red Sox
and Oakland Athletics
, but his cold and hard-edged demeanor did not go over well with a losing Angels club. The Halos were 18 games under the .500 mark on July 23, 1976, and in the midst of a player revolt when Williams was given his walking papers.
Sherry, named his replacement, salvaged the season somewhat with a 37–29 record as skipper. That winter, the Angels signed high profile free agents such as Bobby Grich
and Joe Rudi
and expected to contend in the American League West
in . But the team struggled and was only 39–42 and in 5th place on July 11 when Sherry was released in favor of his third-base coach, Dave Garcia
. The firing marked the end of his major league managing career, with a career ledger of 76 wins and 71 defeats (.517).
However, Sherry returned to the coaching ranks, ultimately as an "official" pitching coach, working with Williams with the Montreal Expos
and San Diego Padres
, and with another ex-Dodger, Roger Craig
, with the San Francisco Giants
.
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
, and coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. He is best known as the man who, while still an active player as the second-string catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, helped the great lefthanded pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
harness his talent and transform himself from a wild "thrower" into one of the most dominant hurlers of all time – and (ultimately) a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Baseball career
Sherry attended Fairfax High SchoolFairfax High School (Los Angeles)
Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, USA, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and signed with the Dodgers while they were still in their original home of Brooklyn in . His brothers, George and Larry Sherry
Larry Sherry
Lawrence Sherry was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers...
, were pitchers in professional baseball. Larry had a successful MLB career as a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series
1959 World Series
The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
; he was Norm's teammate from 1959 through 1962.
A right-handed hitter, Norm Sherry spent seven years working his way through the Dodger farm system, and another two in military service. By the time Norm reached the Dodgers, in 1959 for a two-game "cup of coffee
Cup of coffee
A "cup of coffee" is North American sports terminology for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before being returned to the minors, or simply to describe a...
," he was 28 years of age and the team was based in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Sherry made the team as second-string backstop (behind John Roseboro) from through . Early in that tenure, Sherry took aside the prodigal Koufax – who was struggling to become a consistent winner in the majors despite a blazing fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
and one of the best curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
s of all time – and convinced him to take something off his fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
to get better control. The results were astounding: despite finger and arm miseries, Koufax dominated the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
from 1962 through his swan song, winning three Cy Young Awards and leading the Dodgers to three NL championships and world titles in 1963
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
and 1965
1965 World Series
The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
.
As for Sherry, he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.283 with 8 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in a part-time role in 1960, but his statistics suffered as he sat on the bench, or in the bullpen, in 1961–62.
His average plummeted to .256 , and then to .182 (1962).
The Dodgers sold his contract to the lowly New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
on October 11, 1962, to afford Sherry more playing time, but he batted only .136 in a career-high 63 games played (and 147 at-bats) in New York in , and his major league playing career ended.
All told, in 194 games over all or part of 5 seasons, Sherry batted .215 with 18 home runs, and .288 with runners in scoring position.
Manager & coach
In 1965, Sherry began his managerial career in the Dodger organization, and switched to the California AngelsLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
system in .
He coached for the Angels in and , and returned to the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
to manage their AA and AAA affiliates from through before rejoining the California coaching staff for under Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
.
Williams had been extremely successful in his previous terms with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, but his cold and hard-edged demeanor did not go over well with a losing Angels club. The Halos were 18 games under the .500 mark on July 23, 1976, and in the midst of a player revolt when Williams was given his walking papers.
Sherry, named his replacement, salvaged the season somewhat with a 37–29 record as skipper. That winter, the Angels signed high profile free agents such as Bobby Grich
Bobby Grich
Robert Anthony "Bobby" Grich is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels of Major League Baseball...
and Joe Rudi
Joe Rudi
Joseph Oden Rudi is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City & Oakland Athletics , California Angels and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...
and expected to contend in the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
in . But the team struggled and was only 39–42 and in 5th place on July 11 when Sherry was released in favor of his third-base coach, Dave Garcia
Dave Garcia
David Garcia is an American retired coach, scout and manager in Major League Baseball who spent over 65 years in the game...
. The firing marked the end of his major league managing career, with a career ledger of 76 wins and 71 defeats (.517).
However, Sherry returned to the coaching ranks, ultimately as an "official" pitching coach, working with Williams with the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
and San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, and with another ex-Dodger, Roger Craig
Roger Craig (baseball)
Roger Craig may refer to:*Roger Craig , former NFL running back*Roger Craig , former pitcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball...
, with the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.