Lavern Jack Pierce (June 2, 1949 – September 13, 2012) was a professional baseball player. Pierce played in parts of three seasons in the majors from until with the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers. He also played with the Nankai Hawks in Japan in 1977. However, Pierce is better known for his exploits in minor league baseball. As of 1998, he ranked ninth all-time in minor league home runs with 395. Early years Pierce was born in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1948. He attended San Jose High School in San Jose, California, and San Jose City College. Professional baseball Minor leagues Pierce was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 1969 Major League January Draft-Secondary Phase. He began his professional baseball career in 1970 with the Braves' rookie league team in Mission Valley, Idaho, the Magic Valley Cowboys, where he hit 16 doubles and nine home runs in 281 at bats. In 1971, Pierce next played with the Single A Kinston Eagles of the Carolina League, where he compiled a .292 batting average, tied for the Carolina League lead with 29 doubles and ranked second with 20 home runs. In 1972, he played with the Double A Savannah Braves of the Southern League where he hit .292 with 29 doubles, 23 home runs, and 103 RBIs. Atlanta Braves Pierce began the 1973 season with the Triple A Richmond Braves of the International League. After 11 games, he was batting .343 with two home runs and 11 RBIs when he was called up by the Atlanta Braves. Pierce made his major league debut on April 27 and tallied only one hit for a .050 batting average in his brief 11 game call-up before being sent back to Richmond. In 1974, Pierce told the Braves he did not want to return to Richmond and was sent instead to the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican Pacific League. He compiled a .306 batting average and ranked second in the Mexican League with 28 home runs, earning himself another call-up to Atlanta, where he again managed only a single hit in nine at bats for a .111 batting average. Detroit Tigers In early 1975, Pierce asked the Braves to trade him. He was traded in March to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Reggie Sanders. Pierce began the 1975 season with Detroit's Double A Evansville Triplets of the American Association, where