Cardinals pitcher Larry Jaster went on a run in 1966, against one team: The world champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
He shut out the Dodgers not once, but five consecutive times.
"You've got to be kind of lucky to do this," Jaster told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I don't feel I throw any differently against the Dodgers - just up and down, in and out, 90 percent fast balls. I just try not to walk anybody and keep the leadoff man off base."
Jaster went on to see time in seven total major league seasons. He then eventually turned coach, working to get younger players on to the majors during a long career as a minor league pitching coach.
Jaster's career in baseball began in 1962, signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Midland High School in Michigan.
Jaster started with the Cardinals at Class C Winnipeg. He first made AAA Jacksonville in 1964 and then St. Louis in 1965.
He saw four games his first year, then saw 26 games, 21 starts in 1966. He went 11-5 that year, with a 3.26 ERA, and five shutouts, all against the Dodgers.
Jaster returned for 34 more outings, 23 starts in 1967 and 31 outings, 21 starts in 1968. In late-May, he took a perfect game into the eighth inning, ultimately throwing a two-hitter, his second in three starts.
"I was aware of the perfect game after getting through the line-up the second time," Jaster told The Associated Press afterward. "The pressure started building from the seventh inning."
Jaster moved to the Expos for 1969, then to the Braves for 1970. He last saw five outings with the Braves in 1972, then spent two final seasons exclusively at AAA.
He's then credited as starting his minor league coaching career by 1986, when he served as pitching coach with single-A Durham.
In 1988, as pitching coach at single-A Sumter, Jaster spoke to The Sumter Item about working with a young staff.
"Right now, we're last in the league in the standings and in the pitching statistics, but we knew we were going to be young and inexperienced," Jaster told The Item. "All we can do is keep working and try to be patient."
Jaster went on to coach at single-A Macon with the Braves and Delmarva with the Orioles, high-A Frederick, rookie Bluefield and in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He's most recently credited as coaching in the GCL in 2012.
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 29, 1966: Jaster's Blank Look Waylays L.A.
- Alton Evening Telegram, June 1, 1968: Jaster Hopes Win Will Net Starting Role
- Sumter Item, May 19, 1988: Braves' Jaster earning his pay
Made the Majors:1,375-33.0%
Never Made Majors:2,790-67.0%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:558
10+ Seasons in the Minors:340
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