Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Williamston, North Carolina, U.S. | September 15, 1938|
Died: December 1, 2022 Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S. | (aged 84)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 14, 1962, for the San Francisco Giants | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 21, 1983, for the Kansas City Royals | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 314–265 |
Earned run average | 3.11 |
Strikeouts | 3,534 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1991 |
Vote | 77.2% (third ballot) |
Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American right-handed
Perry gained notoriety for
During a 22-year career, with most of its second half spent with losing teams, Perry compiled 314 wins; upon his retirement, he ranked third in major league history with 3,534 strikeouts and his 690 games started placing him behind only Cy Young's 815. His 5,350 innings pitched ranked fourth; he had been the first right-handed pitcher since the 1920s to surpass 5,000 innings. He was the last pitcher to throw 300 complete games, and was then the eighth-oldest pitcher ever to start a major league game. Perry was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 in his third year of eligibility, a delay widely regarded as resulting from his career-long controversies.
Early life
Perry was born in Williamston, North Carolina, and named after a close friend of his father's, who had died while having his teeth pulled.[2]
Gaylord was the son of Evan and Ruby Perry, who were farmers. Evan Perry had been a noted athlete. Gaylord grew up with his older brother Jim and younger sister Carolyn in Williamston and the small area of Farmlife, a populated place located within the Township of Griffins, a minor division of Martin County. Gaylord assisted his father with farming on their family's land in this area. Jim and Gaylord both began playing baseball with their father during their lunch break on the farm as youths.[3]
Gaylord attended Williamston High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was All-State as an offensive and defensive end as a sophomore and junior, before giving up football. In basketball, Gaylord and Jim helped Williamston to reach the state finals in Gaylord's first year. In his career at Williamston, Gaylord averaged nearly 30 points and 20 rebounds per game, as Williamston had a 94–8 record. He would turn down dozens of college basketball scholarship offers.[3]
In baseball, Perry initially was a third baseman as a freshman, and Jim was the pitcher for Williamston. However, near the end of Gaylord's first year, he began sharing pitching duties with Jim. In 1955 Williamston High won the North Carolina Class A state tournament, as the Perry brothers threw back-to-back shutouts to sweep the best-of-three finals. Gaylord had a 33–5 win–loss record in his high school career.[3][4]
As a teenager, Perry played semi-professional baseball for the Alpine Cowboys in Alpine, Texas at Kokernot Field.[5] Perry and his brother both attended Campbell University, where they played college baseball.[6]
Pitching style
Perry claims he was taught the spitball in 1964 by pitcher
Perry reportedly approached the makers of Vaseline about endorsing the product and was allegedly rebuffed with a one-line postcard reading, "We soothe babies' backsides, not baseballs." Former manager Gene Mauch famously quipped "He should be in the Hall of Fame with a tube of K-Y Jelly attached to his plaque."[10]
Gene Tenace, who caught Gaylord Perry when they played for the San Diego Padres, said: "I can remember a couple of occasions when I couldn't throw the ball back to him because it was so greasy that it slipped out of my hands. I just walked out to the mound and flipped the ball back to him."[11]
Perry used his reputation to psych out the hitters too. As he looked in to his catcher for the pitch selection, Perry would touch various parts of his head, such as his eyebrows and his cap. In this manner, he may or may not have been applying a foreign substance to the ball on any particular pitch. Reggie Jackson was so upset after striking out against Perry in a 1982 game that Jackson was ejected from the game. Jackson returned from the dugout with a container of Gatorade, splashing Gatorade onto the field while yelling at the umpire that Perry should be allowed to use the Gatorade on the baseball.[12]
The spitball was not his only method for upsetting batters. Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski wrote of Perry, "My favorite trick pitch of his was the old Puffball, where he would load up on rosin so that a puff of white smoke would release while he threw his pitches. This was made illegal somewhere along the way (because of Perry, of course), but it's so awesome—it's like the sort of thing one of the villains on the old Batman TV show would do."[13]
Professional career
Minor leagues
The
In 1959, the Giants promoted Perry to the Double-A
San Francisco Giants (1962–1971)
Perry made his major league debut with the Giants on April 14, 1962, against the Cincinnati Reds. In the game, he allowed four earned runs on five hits in 2+2⁄3 innings, picking up a no-decision.[16] He appeared in 13 games (seven starts) for the Giants, but had a 3–1 record and a 5.23 ERA and was sent back down to Tacoma in June,[14][17][18] where he went on to lead the PCL with a 2.44 ERA.[19] Perry was promoted back to the Giants in September,[20] but was not on the roster for the team's World Series appearance; it would be the only time in his career that he pitched for a pennant winner.
After his brief call-up in 1962, Perry joined the Giants in 1963 to work mostly as a relief pitcher, going 1–6 with a 4.03 ERA in 31 appearances (four starts).[17] Nevertheless, he was given the opportunity to join the starting rotation in 1964. In 44 games (19 starts), Perry finished with a 2.75 ERA and a 12–11 record, both second-best for the Giants that year behind Juan Marichal.[17] In 1965, his record was 8–12, and with two full seasons as a starter, his 24–30 record attracted little national attention.[14][17]
Perry's breakout season came in 1966 with a tremendous start, going 20–2 into August. Perry and Marichal became known as a "1–2 punch" to rival the famous Koufax/Drysdale combination of the Los Angeles Dodgers. While Marichal was NL Player of the Month in May, Perry was so named in June (5–0, 0.90 ERA, 31 strikeouts). He played in his first All-Star game, but after August, he slumped the rest of the season, finishing 21–8, and the Giants finished second to the Dodgers. Marichal missed much of the 1967 season with a leg injury, and Perry was thrust into the role of team ace. While he finished the season with a disappointing 15–17 record, he posted a 2.61 ERA and allowed only 7.1 hits per nine innings pitched in 39 games (37 starts).[17][21]
Perry had similar numbers in 1968: he posted a 16–15 record, but with a then-career-best 2.45 ERA in 39 games (38 starts),[17] helping the Giants to a second-place finish behind the St. Louis Cardinals.[22] On September 17 of that year, two days after his 30th birthday, Perry threw a 1–0 no-hitter against the Cardinals and Bob Gibson at Candlestick Park. The lone run came on a first-inning home run by light-hitting Ron Hunt—the second of the only two he hit that season. The next day, Ray Washburn of the Cardinals no-hit the Giants, winning 2–0, and marking the first time in major league history that back-to-back no-hitters had been pitched in the same series.[21]
Like most pitchers, Perry was not renowned for his hitting ability, and in his sophomore season of 1963, his manager Alvin Dark is said to have joked, "There would be a man on the moon before Gaylord Perry would hit a home run."[23] There are other variants on the story, but either way, on July 20, 1969, just an hour after the Apollo 11 spacecraft carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, Perry hit the first home run of his career.[24][25]
In 1969, Perry led the league in innings pitched, but the Giants finished second in the pennant race for the fifth straight season. Perry took over as the Giants' ace in 1970, and led the league both in wins (23) and innings pitched (328+2⁄3).[17] Perry's strong 1970 performance salvaged the Giants' season, helping them finish above .500 but in third place. In 1971, the Giants finally won their division, with Perry posting a 16–12 record and 2.76 ERA in 37 starts.[17] In what would be his only trip to the postseason, Perry won Game 1 of the National League Championship Series but lost the decisive Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[26]
Cleveland Indians (1972–1975)
On November 29, 1971, the Giants traded the then 33-year-old Perry and shortstop
By the 1973 season, Perry was widely suspected of throwing a spitball.[29][30] That season, Bobby Murcer of the New York Yankees publicly criticized Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Baseball, and Joe Cronin, the president of the American League, for lacking the "guts" to enforce Rule 8.02, which banned the spitball; in response, Kuhn fined Murcer $250 (equivalent to $1,648 today).[30] After losing a game to Perry, Billy Martin, manager of the Detroit Tigers, told reporters that he instructed his pitchers to throw a spitball, leading to Cronin suspending Martin for three games.[31] Publicly, Perry insisted that the pitch was a "hard slider".[32]
After the 1973 season, Perry approached Bob Sudyk, sportswriter for the Cleveland Press, about co-authoring an autobiography. Sudyk said that Perry would have to be willing to discuss the rumors that he threw a spitball,[33] and Perry agreed. Phil Seghi, the general manager of the Indians, tried to dissuade Perry from sharing his secrets, but was unsuccessful.[33] Perry showed Sudyk how he threw spitballs with substances like Vaseline and K-Y Jelly, and a "puffball" using rosin dust. Perry also showed Sudyk how he hid additives on his uniform and body. The book, titled Me and the Spitter, was released in 1974.[33]
Before the 1974 season, Major League Baseball added to Rule 8.02, now nicknamed "Gaylord's Rule", allowing umpires to call an
Perry feuded with player-manager Frank Robinson after Robinson was acquired during the 1974 season. Perry told the press that he wanted to earn "one dollar more" than Robinson's $173,000 salary.[40] They also feuded over Robinson's training regimen during spring training in 1975.[3] Perry began the 1975 season with a 6–9 record and a 3.55 ERA in 15 starts through mid-June.[3][17] In May, the Indians traded Jim Perry to the Oakland Athletics after he began the season with a 1–6 record and 6.69 ERA; it would turn out to be his final major league season.[39]
Texas Rangers (1975–1977)
On June 13, 1975, at the start of a three-game series with the Texas Rangers, the Indians traded Perry to the Rangers in exchange for pitchers Jim Bibby, Jackie Brown, and Rick Waits.[41] Perry was 12–8 with a 3.03 ERA in 22 starts during the remainder of 1975.[3][17]
In 1976, Perry had a 15–14 record and a 3.24 ERA in 32 starts.
San Diego Padres (1978–79)
Before the 1978 season, the Rangers traded Perry to the San Diego Padres in exchange for middle reliever Dave Tomlin and $125,000.[42] In the final game of the 1978 season, Perry recorded his 3,000th strikeout, becoming the third pitcher to do so after Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson.[43] Perry won the Cy Young Award, going 21–6 with a 2.73 ERA in 37 starts for San Diego, becoming the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues.[17][44]
In 1979, Perry posted a 12–11 record and a 3.05 ERA in 32 starts before quitting the team on September 5, saying he would retire unless the club traded him back to Texas.[17][45] The Padres traded Perry to the Texas Rangers on February 15, 1980, with minor leaguers Tucker Ashford and Joe Carroll for first baseman Willie Montañez.[46]
Texas Rangers / New York Yankees (1980)
In 1980, Perry posted a 6–9 record and 3.43 ERA in 24 starts with Texas before being traded to the Yankees on August 13, 1980, for minor leaguers Ken Clay and a player to be named later (Marvin Thompson).[47] Many Yankees players had complained about Perry during his stints with the Rangers, and the club even used a special camera team to monitor his movements during one of his starts at Yankee Stadium.[48] Perry finished the season with a 4–4 record with a 4.44 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) for the Yankees.[17] He did not pitch in the team's trip to the AL Championship Series.
Atlanta Braves (1981)
Perry's contract was up after the 1980 season and he agreed to a one-year, $300,000 contract with the Atlanta Braves for the 1981 season on January 8.[49] During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Perry, the oldest player at the time in Major League baseball, started 23 games (150+2⁄3 innings) and had an 8–9 record with a 3.94 ERA.[17] The Braves released Perry after the season, leaving him three victories short of 300.[7]
Seattle Mariners / Kansas City Royals (1982–83)
After being released by the Braves, Perry was unable to find interest from any clubs during the offseason, and missed his first spring training in 23 years.[7] On March 5, 1982, he signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners,[50] where he acquired the nickname "Ancient Mariner."[51] Perry won his 300th game on May 6, 1982, becoming the first pitcher to win 300 games since Early Wynn did so in 1963.[52] On August 23, he was ejected from a game against the Boston Red Sox for doctoring the ball, and given a ten-day suspension. It was the second time Perry had been ejected in his entire career, and it was his first ejection for ball doctoring.[11]
After starting the 1983 season 3–10, Perry was
In August 1983, Perry became the third pitcher in the same year to surpass longtime strikeout king Walter Johnson's record of 3,509 strikeouts. Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan were the others.[56] Also in 1983, Perry was involved in the Pine Tar Game against the New York Yankees. The game originally ended when the umpires called George Brett out for too much pine tar on his bat, negating his home run and drawing a vehement protest from him and the Royals. Perry absconded with Brett's bat and gave it to a bat boy so he could hide it in the clubhouse, only to be caught by Joe Brinkman. When the Royals won the protest, Perry was retroactively ejected for doing this.[57]
Perry announced his retirement on September 23, 1983.[58] He finished his MLB career with 314 wins, a 3.11 ERA, and 3,534 strikeouts. He threw 303 complete games.[27][8]
Post-playing career
Perry retired to his 500-acre (2.0-square-kilometer) farm in
Perry supported the Republican Party. He campaigned for Jesse Helms and contemplated a bid for Congress himself in 1986.[63]
Honors
In 1991, his third year of eligibility, Perry was elected to the
On July 23, 2005, the Giants
Personal life
Perry's wife, Blanche Manning Perry, died on September 11, 1987, when a car ran a stop sign and hit her car broadside on U.S. Route 27 in Lake Wales, Florida.[76] Perry and Blanche had three daughters and one son. Their son, Jack, died of leukemia on June 18, 2005. In 1988, Perry launched the baseball program at Limestone College (now Limestone University) in Gaffney, South Carolina, and his son Jack was an inaugural team member.[77] Jack was an accomplished pitcher and was posthumously inducted into the Limestone University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.[77] Jack pitched three seasons at Limestone under his father's coaching and is the only player in team history to throw a no-hitter—achieving a no-hitter twice within two weeks during the 1990 season.[77] Perry's nephew, Chris, is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour.[78]
Perry contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and never fully recovered.[79] He died at home on December 1, 2022, at age 84.[80]
Publications
- Perry, Gaylord; Sudyk, Bob (1974). ISBN 0-841-50299-4.
See also
- 300 win club
- 3000 strikeout club
- List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Texas Rangers Opening Day starting pitchers
- Top 100 Major League Baseball hit batsmen leaders
- Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers
References
- ^ Langs, Sarah (November 16, 2022). "Verlander joins list of oldest Cy Young winners". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-2722-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g Armour, Mark. "Gaylord Perry". Society for American Baseball Research.
- ^ "NCHSAA BASEBALL STATE CHAMPIONS" (PDF). NCHSAA. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Stout, DJ (October 2010). "King of Diamonds". Texas Monthly. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ "Dreaming Big". Campbell Magazine. December 28, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c Berkow, Ira (March 1, 1982). "Gaylord Perry: The Lonely Quest For Victory No. 300". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Jarrett, Keith (July 10, 2015). "Gaylord Perry still loves to keep 'em guessing about spitball". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Saracena, Joe (June 19, 2003). "Clemens should save pitches for mound, not Hall of Fame". USA Today.
- ^ a b "SPORTS PEOPLE; More on the Perry Case". The New York Times. August 26, 1982.
- ^ "California Angels 3, Seattle Mariners 1". Retrosheet. August 7, 1982. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ ISBN 0-7864-1676-9.
- ^ a b "Gaylord Perry Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds vs San Francisco Giants Box Score: April 14, 1962". Baseball-Reference.com. April 14, 1962. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Gaylord Perry statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b MacKay, 179
- ^ "1968 National League Team Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ Schudel, Matt (November 13, 2014). "Alvin Dark, baseball player and manager who led Oakland A's to 1974 title, dies at 92". The Washington Post. p. B6. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Mikkelson, David (July 22, 2002). "Gaylord Perry's 'Moon Shot' Home Run". Snopes. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
- ^ Haft, Chris (December 1, 2022). "After moon landing, Gaylord Perry shocked everyone". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media.
- ^ MacKay, 180
- ^ a b Muder, Craig. "Trade to Indians launched stellar stretch for Perry". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
- ^ Podolski, Mark (July 25, 2022). "Fifty years ago, Gaylord Perry won Cleveland's first Cy Young Award with a season unthinkable today". News-Herald. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Wright, Larry (June 1980). "Spit and Polish". Texas Monthly. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Fimrite, Ron (July 16, 1973). "Every Little Movement..." Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ Rogers, Thomas (September 1, 1973). "People in Sports: Loop Suspends Billy Martin". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zumsteg, Derek. "MLB – Perry greased batters with his stuff". ESPN. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cliff Lee wins No. 20 as Indians top White Sox". The Columbus Dispatch. September 2, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "Jim Perry Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ Pluto, Terry (February 8, 2019). "Frank Robinson: His trials with the Cleveland Indians – Terry Pluto". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gaylord Perry leaves Padres". The Globe and Mail. September 6, 1979.
- ^ "The Herald-Sun 15 Feb 1980, page 37". The Herald-Sun. February 15, 1980. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Gaylord Perry, who is just three victories shy of..." United Press International. March 5, 1982. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Newspage sports Gaylord Perry wins 300th game". United Press International. May 7, 1982. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "Baseball Roundup". The Globe and Mail. July 6, 1983.
- ^ "Perry Ends His Career After 21 Years, 314 Wins". The Washington Post. September 23, 1983. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ Boswell, Thomas (October 1, 1983). "Three Great Careers Ending, and an Era". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Chesterton, Eric (July 24, 2018). "The 'Pine Tar Incident' remains one of the craziest stories baseball has ever told". Cut4. MLB.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Winnie Davis Now". Limestone College. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- ^ Gardner, Tim (October 17, 2014). "The Best From High Country Magazine The High Country's Gaylord Perry: A Major League Baseball Immortal". High Country Press.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan. "Gaylord Perry (1938 - )". North Carolina History Project. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ ""You can't eat and farm too" – Gaylord Perry". United Press International. August 13, 1986. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Berkow, Ira (July 28, 1991). "Sports of The Times; The Spitter Versus the Hustler". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780892046089. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ James, p.426, 448–9
- ^ "Padres Acquire Randa From the Reds". The Washington Post. July 24, 2005.
- ^ Crumpacker, John (March 10, 2009). "Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Inductions". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Giants, past and present, receive World Series rings". The Mercury News. April 9, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Shea, John (April 7, 2013). "Giants strike the proper ring tone". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "The San Francisco Giants 2014 World Championship Ring unveiled". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. April 18, 2015.
- ^ Higgs, Robert (April 4, 2016). "First pitch means it's time to play ball! See who's thrown them at the Indians home openers". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Wise, Justin (August 14, 2016). "Giants immortalize Perry with AT&T Park statue". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "Wife of Gaylord Perry killed in wreck". United Press International. Associated Press. September 11, 1987. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Jack Perry (2017) – Limestone College Athletics Hall of Fame". Limestone University.
- ^ "Perry tries something new: defending champ". ESPN. Associated Press. September 15, 1999. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (December 1, 2022). "Gaylord Perry, Hall of Fame Pitcher With a Doctoring Touch, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry dies at Upstate Home". WSPA-TV. December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Gaylord Perry at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Gaylord Perry at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Gaylord Perry at Find a Grave