larry hisle was not a dodger, unfortunately

acquired from the phillies for tom hutton after the 1971 season, larry hisle spent the entire 1972 season at aaa albuquerque. the dodgers had bill buckner, willie crawford, willie davis, manny mota, and frank robinson in the outfield, so there was no room for the former phillie prospect who finished 4th in the nl roy voting after the 1969 season.

with the dukes, hisle hit 23 home runs and batted .325, but didn't get called up. after the 1972 season the dodgers traded him to the cardinals who quickly flipped him to the twins. the twins wasted no time in making hisle one of their starting outfielders, and he responded by putting together 5 solid seasons for them. in his last season as a twin, 1977, he led the league in rbi, hit .302 with 28 home runs and made the all star team.

after the 1977 season he became a free agent and signed with milwaukee where he would play for the final 5 years of his career. his first year with the brewers was also his last full season, and it was a monster - 34 home runs, 115 rbi, .906 ops and a third place finish in the mvp race. early in 1979, hisle injured his shoulder and would be able to play only parts of the next 4 seasons.

by all accounts hisle was a humble, polite and well liked person. i don't know if he has been asked, but it would be great if he would return to minnesota for twinsfest or the alumni autograph party. i would love to meet this almost dodger.