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Former Major League Baseball player Larry Stahl died at age 84 on Tuesday at Caseyville Nursing and Rehab in Caseyville, Illinois.
Stahl, who played 10 seasons with four different teams, was best known for ruining a perfect game.
On September 2, 1972, Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas had retired the first 26 batters he had faced and was one out away from etching his name in the history books.
Stahl, a left-handed hitter, was playing for the San Diego Padres at the time and manager Don Zimmer pinch-hit against the right-handed pitcher.
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Zoilo Versalles (2) of the Minnesota Twins attempts a double play as Larry Stahl (24) of the Kansas City Athletics slides into second base during an MLB game at Minneapolis Metropolitan Stadium in 1965. (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
Stahl worked the count to the max and, on the pay pitch, controlled his swing and controversially drew a walk, ending Pappas’ perfect game bid. Pappas retired the next batter and ended the game without a hit.
Pappas blamed the home plate umpire for making the wrong call years later.
“They were strikes or ‘so close’ to being strikes that he should have raised his right hand,” Pappas told ESPN in 2007. “I had a chance to have a perfect game and, unfortunately, Bruce Froemming didn’t help me at all.”
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Larry Stahl played 10 seasons in the big leagues. (Aaron Doster/Getty Images)
In 10 seasons, the Belleville, Illinois native had a .232 batting average with 36 home runs and 163 RBIs.
He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Kansas City Athletics, then two seasons with the New York Mets, four with the Padres and the final season of his career with the Cincinnati Reds.
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Stahl played for four teams in his MLB career. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Stahl’s best season came with the Padres in 1971, when he hit .253 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs.
The only time Stahl made the postseason was in 1973, the final year of his career, with the Reds. He played in four games and had two hits in four at-bats.
