Larry Parrish #15

**Coaching Career** Larry Parrish is in his first season as the Braves' hitting coach in 2011. He previously served as the manager of the Detroit Tigers' Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens from 2003 to 2010. After serving as a major league scout for the Tigers from 2000 to 2002, Parrish returned to the dugout as the manager at Toledo in 2003 and guided the Mud Hens to the International League's championship in both 2005 and 2006. He garnered league Manager of the Year honors in 2005, in addition to being named the Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. He was sidelined for the entire 2007 season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle, but returned to action in 2008 and served as a coach for the World Team at the Futures Game held prior to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game at New York's Yankee Stadium. Parrish joined the Tigers coaching staff when the roster expanded during September in both 2003 and 2004, and managed the club during Alan Trammell's two-day absence to attend his mother's funeral in 2003 (Parrish led Detroit to wins in both games over the Kansas City Royals). He originally joined the Tigers' major league coaching staff as bench coach in 1997, and served as Detroit's interim manager in September of 1998, before being hired as the Club's manager for the 1999 season. Parrish spent the first half of the 1994 and 1996 seasons, as well as all of 1995 as Detroit's minor league roving hitting instructor, interrupted by stints as manager at Toledo and Double-A Jacksonville in the second half of the 1994 and 1996 seasons, respectively. He led Jacksonville to a division title in 1996, and ultimately the Southern League championship. He joined the Tigers organization as the manager at Single-A Niagara Falls in both 1992 and 1993, leading the Rapids to the New York-Penn League championship in 1993 after earning a berth in the postseason as the wild card winner. **Playing Career** As a player, Parrish hit .263 with 256 home runs and 992 RBI over a 15-year career with Montreal, Texas and Boston. He was a National League All-Star for the Expos in 1979 and finished fourth in MVP voting after posting one of his best seasons, with a career-high .307 batting average, 30 home runs, 82 RBI and 71 extra-base hits. He earned American League All-Star honors with the Rangers in 1987, when he batted .268 with 32 homers and 100 RBI. Parrish attended Seminole Community College and signed with Montreal as an amateur free agent in May 1972. When he made his Major League debut at the age of 21 in 1974, he was the sixth youngest player in the National League. He finished third in N.L. Rookie of the year voting in 1975 (teammate Gary Carter finished second), when he hit .274 with 10 homers and 65 RBI. **Personal** Parrish has three children, Jessica, Josh and Amanda, and resides in Ft. Gaines, Ga.