Player Profile: Larry Blackwell

I have one card of Larry Blackwell, from 1989 Best.

Playing career: Outfielder Larry Blackwell played six years in the Twins organization, reaching as high as AA. Blackwell claims that Twins manager Tom Kelly promised him that he would put Blackwell in center field and move Kirby Puckett, but he then got hurt. He also claims that after he was released the Twins blackballed him so that he could not catch on with another team. However, considering that he never played above AA ball, and when he did, he put up decidedly mediocre numbers (.232, 6 HR and 52 RBI in 158 games) it seems more likely that Blackwell’s opinion of himself was a lot higher than anyone else’s. I’m guessing that the conversation with Tom Kelly was probably greatly misunderstood by Blackwell. You can read more about him on the Signed DC blog.

Where he is now: He worked as a corrections officer and a youth prison supervisor before getting his college degree and becoming a social worker.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is eighth when you type Larry Blac, between Larry Blackmon NYC Parks, referring to the Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach, and Larry Black Centore, a Florida gangster arrested in the 1980s. There are no references to the ballplayer on the first page of Google results; the first is for the founder of Datastream.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Tim Blackwell.