About Larry Dierker
Lawrence Edward Dierker is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager, and broadcaster. During a 14-year baseball career as a pitcher, he pitched from 1964 to 1977 for the Houston Colt.45s/Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1965, he appeared in 26 games while garnering a 7–8 record, a 3.50 ERA, and 109 strikeouts in 146.2 innings. Dierker had a good arm in high school, although he had a losing record as a pitcher. Dierker made his major-league pitching debut on his 18th birthday – and struck out Willie Mays in the first inning. In 1969, he became the Astros' first 20-game winner, while compiling a 2.33 earned run average, 20 complete games and 232 strikeouts over 305 innings.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.