Former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Norm Sherry passed away on Monday at the age of 89. He was the older brother of 1959 World Series MVP Larry Sherry and played a significant role in the development of Sandy Koufax.
Sherry was born in New York but moved to Southern California as a young child, where he began his baseball career. He received a full scholarship to play at USC in 1950 but passed on the opportunity to sign a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers instead.
Sherry spent most of that decade in the Dodgers’ Minor League system. His playing career was briefly paused in 1952-53 when he served a stint in the United States Army.
Sherry would make his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 1959 but only appeared in two games. He did not play in the World Series that year but traveled with the team to keep pitchers sharp before games.
Sherry most notably helped Koufax during Spring Training in 1961, suggesting he let the Minnesota Twins hit the ball during an outing in which he walked his first three batters faced.
Koufax took that advice, eased up and proceeded to strike out the side. The 1961 season marked a turning point in the Hall of Famer’s career as he posted career-bests across the board and was selected to his first All-Star Game.
In parts of four seasons with the Dodgers, Sherry hit .249/.311/.414 with eight doubles, 16 home runs and 58 RBI over 385 plate appearances (131 games).
The New York Mets purchased Sherry from the Dodgers at the end of the 1962 season. He spent the final year of his big league career with the Mets in 1963, batting .136/.205/.184 with two home runs and 11 RBI across 161 trips to the plate (61 games).
Sherry enjoyed long coaching career
After retiring as a player, Sherry went on to hold various coaching roles for multiple organizations. He began his managerial career with the Dodgers in the Minors, scouted for the New York Yankees and landed his first big league coaching job with the California Angels in 1970.
Sherry managed the Angels from 1976-77. He also served as a coach for the Montreal Expos (1978-81), San Diego Padres (1982-84) and San Francisco Giants (1986-91).
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