Larry Darnell Herndon (born November 3, 1953), sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach.

He was a member of the 1984 Detroit Tigers team that won the American League pennant and defeated the San Diego Padres in the 1984 World Series.

[1] He was scouted for St. Louis by Buddy Lewis who described Herndon as "excellent speed, a good arm, spray hitter, an outstanding overall athlete.

[9] Herndon began the 1975 season with the Tulsa Oilers, the Cardinals Triple-A team in the American Association.

[10] Herndon spent the remainder of the 1975 season with the Phoenix Giants, San Francisco's Triple-A club in the Pacific Coast League.

He compiled a .288 batting average as a rookie (.337 on-base percentage) with 42 runs scored, 16 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases.

[1] At the end of the season, The Sporting News selected Herndon for its National League Rookie of the Year award.

The publication credited Herndon's "tremendous throwing arm, excellent speed and defensive maturity not often found in a first year man.

[1] By late August 1977, Herndon claimed he was healthy and ready to play, but the team refused to activate him.

[13][14] The San Francisco Examiner referred to him as an "AWOL outfielder" and to the incident as "The Larry Herndon Mystery".

[1] After playing exclusively in center field during his first three seasons with the Giants, Herndon lost the starting role to Bill North.

[1] In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Herndon became the Giants' regular left fielder, appearing in 83 of the team's 96 games (78 as the starter) at the position.

[1] Herndon also lifted weights to increase his strength and moved his feet closer together, shortening his stride at the plate.

[17] His batting average jumped to .288 (30 point higher than 1980) with eight triples and 15 stolen bases (a high during his major-league career).

His error total dropped by more than half from 1980, and his range factor of 2.28 in left field ranked second in the National League.

[18] On December 9, 1981, the Giants traded Herndon to the Detroit Tigers for pitchers Mike Chris and Dan Schatzeder.

His offensive production also increased in Detroit, as his batting average climbed to .292, and he had career highs with 13 triples, 23 home runs, 295 total bases, and 11 outfield assists.

Herndon credited the power surge to steady playing time and the cozy configuration of Tiger Stadium.

[1] In 1984, Herndon was the starting left fielder for the Tigers team that won the American League pennant and defeated the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

[22] His strong hitting continued into the 1984 post-season, as he compiled a .333 batting average and .533 slugging percentage in the 1984 World Series.

In Game 1 of the World Series, he hit a two-out, two-run home run to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 victory.

[23] In the decisive Game 5, Herndon caught the final out, a fly ball to left field off the bat of Padres star Tony Gwynn.

Afterward, Herndon said of Gwynn's fly ball that he "just wanted to squeeze it" and added, "This is the best feeling I've had since I've been in baseball.

"[24] Herndon's offensive production dropped off in 1985 and 1986, with batting averages of .244 and .247 and an identical .386 slugging percentage both year.

It would be the game's only run as the Tigers defeated the Blue Jays, 1–0, to win their second Division Championship in four years.

[27] During the 1988 season, an arthritic knee limited Herndon's ability to continue to play effectively in the outfield.