Larry Bowa, baseball player, 1970-1985

Larry Bowa

Born: 12/6/1945 in Sacramento, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1970-04-07 | Final Game: 1985-10-06

Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 155 lbs

Full name: Lawrence Robert Bowa

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Biography

Larry Bowa, born in 1945, was a prominent figure in Major League Baseball, celebrated for his contributions as a position player from 1970 to 1985. Over the course of his career, Bowa played in 2,247 games, amassing 2,191 hits and demonstrating a keen ability to get on base with a batting average of .260. A dynamic presence on the field, he showcased his speed and agility with 318 stolen bases, while also contributing 15 home runs and 525 runs batted in. Bowa's exceptional defensive skills earned him five All-Star selections, highlighting his status as one of the premier shortstops of his era. Bowa's career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, characterized by the increasing importance of speed and defense. He was known for his tenacious playing style and leadership qualities, which helped shape the teams he played for, particularly the Philadelphia Phillies, where he spent the majority of his career. His contributions were instrumental in the Phillies' rise during the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in their 1980 World Series championship. Larry Bowa's legacy endures not only through his statistics but also through the impact he had on the game and the players who followed in his footsteps.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2247 8418 987 2191 262 99 15 525 318 474 569 0.260 0.300 0.320 0.620 -19913.1

Career AVG .260 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .300 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 7.4% below league average.

Career SLG .320 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 15.8% below league average.

Career OPS 0.620 vs. league average 0.704 across their career seasons — 11.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1970 PHI NL 145 547 50 137 17 6 0 34 24 21 48 0.250 .253 (-1%) .325 (-15%) .385 (-21%) .711 (-18%) -2122.9
1971 PHI NL 159 650 74 162 18 5 0 25 28 36 61 0.249 .249 (avg) .316 (-7%) .365 (-20%) .682 (-14%) -1783.8
1972 PHI NL 152 579 67 145 11 13 1 31 17 32 51 0.250 .243 (+3%) .310 (-6%) .353 (-10%) .664 (-8%) -1008.0
1973 PHI NL 122 446 42 94 11 3 0 23 10 24 31 0.211 .256 (-18%) .325 (-22%) .378 (-34%) .703 (-29%) -2473.7
1974 PHI NL 162 669 97 184 19 10 1 36 39 23 52 0.275 .256 (+7%) .324 (-8%) .369 (-8%) .693 (-8%) -1299.2
1975 PHI NL 136 583 79 178 18 9 2 38 24 24 32 0.305 .257 (+19%) .327 (+2%) .374 (+1%) .701 (+1%) 37.6
1976 PHI NL 156 624 71 155 15 9 0 49 30 32 31 0.248 .255 (-3%) .320 (-12%) .360 (-17%) .681 (-14%) -1852.7
1977 PHI NL 154 624 93 175 19 3 4 41 32 32 32 0.280 .264 (+6%) .329 (-5%) .401 (-15%) .730 (-11%) -1392.3
1978 PHI NL 156 654 78 192 31 5 3 43 27 24 40 0.294 .257 (+14%) .323 (-1%) .378 (-2%) .702 (-2%) -372.6
1979 PHI NL 147 539 74 130 17 11 0 31 20 61 32 0.241 .265 (-9%) .329 (-4%) .397 (-21%) .727 (-13%) -1426.0
1980 PHI NL 147 540 57 144 16 4 2 39 21 24 28 0.267 .264 (+1%) .326 (-8%) .387 (-17%) .714 (-13%) -1405.0
1981 PHI NL 103 360 34 102 14 3 0 31 16 26 17 0.283 .255 (+11%) .320 (+3%) .368 (-8%) .688 (-3%) -155.2
1982 CHC NL 142 499 50 123 15 7 0 29 8 39 38 0.246 .261 (-6%) .324 (-7%) .388 (-22%) .712 (-15%) -1431.8
1983 CHC NL 147 499 73 133 20 5 2 43 7 35 30 0.267 .260 (+2%) .324 (-4%) .389 (-13%) .714 (-9%) -905.2
1984 CHC NL 133 391 33 87 14 2 0 17 10 28 24 0.223 .259 (-14%) .322 (-15%) .384 (-30%) .707 (-23%) -1749.9
1985 CHC NL 72 195 13 48 6 4 0 13 5 11 20 0.246 .257 (-4%) .323 (-12%) .390 (-19%) .714 (-16%) -572.5
1985 NYN NL 14 19 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 0.105 — — — — -572.5

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
32 118 11 30 4 0 0 6 9 5 0.254

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1984 NLCS CHN 5 15 1 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.200
1981 NEDIV PHI 5 17 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.176
1980 NLCS PHI 5 19 2 6 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.316
1980 WS PHI 6 24 3 9 1 0 0 2 0 0 0.375
1978 NLCS PHI 4 18 2 6 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.333
1977 NLCS PHI 4 17 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.118
1976 NLCS PHI 3 8 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0.125

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 5 3 9 7 0 2
SS 2222 2181 3314 6857 211 1265

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1970 PHI 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1970 PHI SS 143 141 202 418 13 69
1971 PHI SS 157 156 272 560 11 97
1972 PHI SS 150 147 212 494 9 88
1973 PHI SS 122 118 191 361 12 87
1974 PHI SS 162 161 256 462 12 104
1975 PHI SS 135 135 227 403 25 82
1976 PHI SS 156 155 180 492 17 90
1977 PHI SS 154 154 222 518 13 94
1978 PHI SS 156 155 224 502 10 87
1979 PHI SS 146 147 229 448 6 80
1980 PHI SS 147 147 225 449 17 70
1981 PHI SS 102 100 117 309 11 50
1982 CHN SS 140 138 210 396 17 64
1983 CHN SS 145 141 230 464 11 102
1984 CHN SS 132 123 217 378 16 64
1985 CHN SS 66 60 91 197 9 34
1985 NYN 2B 4 3 9 7 0 2
1985 NYN SS 9 3 9 6 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Second Base 5
Shortstop 2222

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-06-25
1978 Gold Glove SS
1978 TSN All-Star SS
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-05-16
1975 TSN All-Star SS
1972 Gold Glove SS

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1985 NYN NL $525,000
Total Career Earnings $525,000

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Sacramento City College Sacramento CA 1964, 1965

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1978 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 189.0 336 3
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 25th 1.0 336 0
1976 Most Valuable Player NL 29th 1.0 336 0
1975 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 3.0 336 0
1970 Rookie of the Year NL 3rd 3.0 24 3