Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 84

Larry Hisle was an outfielder with the Phillies from 1968-1971. Hisle was a solid athlete who played a season of college basketball at Ohio State before signing with the Phillies and playing professional baseball.

Hisle made his debut as a late season call up in 1968 at the age of 21, after batting .303 in the minors that year. The following year, in his first full season in the Major Leagues, Hisle slugged 20 homeruns and drove in 56 runs to finish fourth in National League rookie of the year voting. Hisle's HR total was good enough for second on the team that year and helped to get him named a Rookie All-star by Topps that season.

In 1970, Hisle struggled and lost confidence, posting a low .205 batting average and only 10 homeruns. After a period of offensive strife, Hisle found himself back in the minors by the middle of the 1971 season. Following the season, Hisle was traded to the Dodgers for utility man Tom Hutton.

Hisle spent a year in the Dodgers' system without playing a game at the Major League level. The following off-season Hisle was swapped twice, first going to the Cardinals for Greg Millikan and Rudy Arroyo, then heading to Minnesota, roughly a month later, with John Cumberland for Wayne Granger.

As a member of the Twins, Hisle would excel and live up to his potential. During his time in Minnesota, Hisle posted a 31-steal season, made an All-star team and led the American League in RBI in 1977, when he drove in 119.

However, following his outstanding 1977 season, in which he slugged 28 homers, batted .302, finished third in Most Valuable Player voting in the American League, Hisle and the Twins could not agree on a new contract and he signed with Milwaukee as a free agent.

Hisle made an exceptional addition for the Brewers in his first season with the club, when he posted a .290 average, mashed 34 homeruns and drove in 115 runs. But after 1978, Hisle was no longer an impact player after shoulder injuries prevented him from playing very much. He was active in no more than 27 games in any of the next four seasons and was out of the Majors following the 1982 season.

These days, Hisle continues to be a fixture in the Brewers' organization and the Milwaukee community. He is currently employed with the Brewers as their Youth Outreach Manager, a position he has held since 2003, and works a great deal in mentoring roles with multiple youth groups. Hisle also served as the 2010 Christmas Seals Campaign Chairperson for the American Lung Association.

_________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Connect with PhoulBallz.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...