Norm Sherry, R.I.P.

Former big league player, coach and manager Norm Sherry passed away on Monday. No cause of death was released. He was 89.

The older brother of relief pitcher Larry Sherry (who died in 2006), the younger Sherry was a catcher by trade who signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers out of high school in 1950. Sherry would not reach the majors until 1959. By this time, the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles.

However, Sherry was teammates with his brother and in 1960 they became the first brothers to work as a pitcher-catcher battery in MLB history. Sherry remained with the Dodgers through the 1962 season before spending 1963 with the New York Mets. In four big league seasons, Sherry was right at the Mendoza Line hitting .215 in 194 big league games.

Despite his modest statistics, Sherry had one enduring legacy. During spring training in 1961, Sherry told Sandy Koufax to take something off the ball. For the next six seasons, Koufax went 129-47, threw three no-hitters (including a perfect game), won three Cy Young Awards, a NL MVP and two World Series rings. 

Some advice.

After Sherry's playing career, he scouted for the New York Yankees, managed in the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels minor league organizations and served as a pitching coach with the Angels. Then during the middle of the 1976 season, Sherry replaced Dick Williams as the team's manager. At the time, Sherry was one of the few Jewish managers in MLB history. However, his tenure as Angels' skipper would be short-lived as he was dismissed during the middle of the 1977 season and replaced by Dave Garcia.

Sherry would reunite with Williams as his pitching coach with both the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres including the NL pennant winning team in 1984. He would also serve in this capacity under Roger Craig with the San Francisco Giants until retiring after the 1991 season. 

I leave you with an interview Sherry did with the Jewish Baseball Museum in 2016 in which he discussed his brother, Koufax, his work with another Hall of Famer - Gary Carter and briefly managing actor Kurt Russell in the minor leagues. R.I.P.