Born in Sacramento, Calif. in 1945, Larry Bowa was a master with the glove and a proficient baserunner. He spent 12 of his 16 MLB seasons in Philadelphia and has gone down as one of the best shortstops in Phillies history.
After spending several seasons in the minors, Bowa made his major league debut in April 1970 with the Phillies. He started his rookie season with a major slump and was batting .152 at the beginning of May. People were calling for his demotion back to the minors, but Phillies coach Frank Lucchesi stuck with his shortstop and kept him working on his hitting.
By the end of the season, Bowa was able to make a decent improvement and brought his season batting average up to .250 in 145 games played while striking out just 48 times.
On April 10, 1971, the Phillies were playing their first ever game at the brand new Veterans Stadium. Bowa singled to right in the bottom of the first inning which was good for the first ever hit in the new stadium.
Bowa continued to put up league average numbers at the plate for a few more seasons but his defense was what made him stand out. The first of his gold glove awards came in 1972, and the second in 1978. He also made each All-Star Game from 1974 to 1979 with the exception of the 1977 season.
Let’s take a look at some of Bowa’s greatest career achievements:
- Phillies Wall of Fame
- 2x Gold Glove winner
- 5x All-Star
- 1980 World Series Champion
- 2,000 hit club (2,191)
- 99 career triples
- 1,265 doubles plays as shortstop (11th all time)
- 6,857 assists at shortstop (9th all time)
In his time with the Phillies, Bowa slashed .264/.301/.324 with a .624 OPS. He scored 816 runs, collected 1,798 hits, and stole 288 bases with the team.
In 1980, Larry Bowa and the Phillies were heading to the World Series. Bowa batted only .267 that season, but in six World Series games, he hit .375 with nine hits and three stolen bases. He helped lead his team to victory as the Phillies won their first ever World Series Championship.
The 1981 season would be Bowa's last in Philadelphia as contract disputes led to him being traded to the Chicago Cubs. He spent a few seasons in Chicago before being sent to the Mets in the middle of the 1985 season, where he would play 14 games and call it a career.
After retirement, Bowa spent several years coaching minor League and major league teams. He even spent a few seasons as the Phillies manager from 2001 to 2004, and won the National League Manager of the Year Award in 2001.
In 1991, Bowa was honored with his induction onto the Phillies Wall of Fame, and was even named onto the Phillies all-Veterans Stadium team in 2003. Bowa is part of Phillies history in more ways than one, and his contributions to the organization should never be forgotten. He may not have been the flashiest hitter of the bunch, but he could always make up for that with his raw speed and defensive prowess.
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