Age: 40 (Sept. 15)
1st season
with Padres
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 205
Prior to 1978:
A native of
Williamston, North Carolina, Perry played football and basketball as well as
baseball. in high school. He started out as a third baseman who began pitching in tandem with
his older brother Jim (who also went on to have a long major league career)
with great success (he compiled a high school record of 33-5). After high
school he signed with the San Francisco Giants for a $60,000 bonus. He was
first assigned to St. Cloud of the Class C Northern League in 1958, where he
was 9-5 with a 2.39 ERA. He had a more difficult time in 1959 with Corpus
Christi of the Class AA Texas League, compiling a 10-11 record with a 4.05 ERA.
Perry was back in the Texas League in 1960, this time with the Rio Grande
Valley Giants. His record was a mediocre 9-13, but he led the league with a
2.82 ERA. He moved on to Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1961, where
he was outstanding with a 16-10 tally and a 2.55 ERA. Making it to the Giants
in 1962 as a reliever and spot starter, Perry struggled and was 1-6 with a 6.25
ERA when he was sent down to Tacoma in June. Back in the PCL, Perry was 10-7
with a 2.48 ERA. His fastball was highly effective and he returned to the
Giants, who were locked in a hot pennant race with the Dodgers. He ended up
posting a 3-1 major league record with a 5.23 ERA. In 1963 with the Giants, he
was a seldom-used reliever who appeared in 31 games, four of them starts, and
went 1-6 with a 4.03 ERA. Following a strong Dominican League performance in
the winter, Perry learned how to throw a spitball during the spring from RHP
Bob Shaw. The illegal pitch was in wide use and Perry developed it along with a
slider to supplement his fastball and curve. Appearing in 44 games in 1964 (19
of them starts) he was 12-11 with a 2.75 ERA and 155 strikeouts. In 1965, still
utilized as a starter and reliever, Perry dropped to 8-12 with a 4.19 ERA and
170 strikeouts. In 1966, having adjusted from a three-quarters pitching motion
to straight over-the-top, he added a hard slider to his repertoire (in addition
to his regular slider) and moved firmly into the starting rotation. He
delivered a 21-8 record with a 2.99 ERA and 201 strikeouts. He was also an
All-Star selection for the first time. His ERA was 2.61 in 1967 although his
record dropped to 15-17 with 230 strikeouts. By this point he had added an
elaborate ritual of hand motions to distract from how he was applying foreign
substances to the ball to throw the spitball. In 1968 Perry’s record was only
16-15 despite a 2.45 ERA that included a no-hitter against the pennant-winning
Cardinals (whose RHP Ray Washburn returned the favor the next day). Now part of
an effective one-two punch with RHP Juan Marichal, the staff ace, Perry
continued in 1969 with a 19-14 record and 2.49 ERA with 233 strikeouts. He also
compiled 26 complete games and a league-leading 325.1 innings pitched.
Routinely checked by umpires for foreign substances, he remained highly
effective and unsanctioned. Perry had a big year in 1970, as he added a
forkball to his repertoire, in which he went 23-13 to lead the NL in wins,
along with a 3.20 ERA and 214 strikeouts. He again topped the circuit with
328.2 innings pitched that included 23 complete games and 5 shutouts. The
Giants won the NL West in 1971 and Perry contributed a 16-12 mark with a 2.76
ERA and 158 strikeouts. He was 1-1 in the only postseason action of his career.
In the offseason Perry was dealt to the Cleveland Indians along with shortstop
Frank Duffy for LHP Sam McDowell. He had an excellent year for his new team in
1972, producing a 24-16 record with a 1.92 ERA , 29 complete games, and 234
strikeouts and received the AL Cy Young Award as a result. Allegations of
throwing illegal pitches continued to follow Perry, who seemed to embrace the
controversy and the psychological effect on opposing batters. He went 19-19
with the last-place Indians in 1973 with a 3.38 ERA, 29 complete games, and 238
strikeouts. Perry had a strong season in 1974, the same year in which he
released Me and the Spitter, An Autobiographical Confession in which he
claimed to no longer be using the illegal pitch, which did not allay the
suspicions. He compiled a 21-13 record in ’74 that included a 15-game winning
streak. The 1975 season was highlighted by feuding with new manager Frank
Robinson. He had a 6-9 record when he was traded to the Texas Rangers in June.
He finished with a combined tally of 18-17 with a 3.24 ERA and 233 strikeouts
while still completing 25 games, five of them shutouts. In 1976 he went 15-14
with a 3.24 ERA and 143 strikeouts while pitching 250 innings and completing 21
games. In 1977 the Rangers finished a surprising second in the AL West and the
38-year-old Perry was 15-12 with a 3.37 ERA and 177 strikeouts over 238
innings. Seeking an infusion of youth, the Rangers traded Perry to the Padres
just prior to spring training.
1978 Season Summary
Appeared in 37
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 37
Games Started –
37 [2]
Complete Games
– 5
Wins – 21 [1]
Losses – 6
PCT - .778 [1]
SV – 0
Shutouts – 2
[18, tied with thirteen others]
Innings Pitched
– 260.2 [4]
Hits – 241 [3]
Runs – 96 [17,
tied with Dennis Lamp]
Earned Runs – 79
Home Runs – 9
Bases on Balls
– 66
Strikeouts – 154
[9, tied with Don Sutton]
ERA – 2.73 [6]
Hit Batters – 2
Balks – 3 [11,
tied with twelve others]
Wild Pitches – 4
League-leading
wins were +1 ahead of runner-up Ross Grimsley
League-leading
winning pct was +.078 ahead of runner-up Don Robinson
Midseason
Snapshot: 9-4, ERA - 3.11, SO - 79 in 127.1 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 10 (in 10 IP) vs. LA Dodgers 10/1
10+ strikeout
games – 1
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 4 (in 9 IP) vs. Montreal 6/14, (in 9 IP) vs. Houston
6/23, (in 7 IP) vs. San Francisco 9/21
Batting
PA – 102, AB – 87,
R – 5, H – 8, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 2, SO – 31, SB – 0, CS – 0,
AVG - .092, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 13, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 55
Put Outs – 13
Assists – 40
Errors – 2
DP – 6
Pct. - .964
Awards & Honors:
NL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
8th in
NL MVP voting (45 points, 13% share)
NL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Gaylord Perry,
SD: 116 pts. – 22 of 24 first place votes, 97% share
Burt Hooton, LAD:
38 pts. – 32% share
Vida Blue, SF: 17
pts. – 1 first place vote, 14% share
J.R. Richard,
Hou.: 13 pts. – 1 first place vote, 11% share
Kent Tekulve,
Pitt.: 12 pts. – 10% share
---
Padres went 84-78
to finish fourth in the NL Western Division, 11 games behind the
division-winning Los Angeles Dodgers, for the first winning record in franchise
history. The pitching staff led the league in saves (55).
Aftermath of ‘78:
Perry followed
up in 1979 with another solid season in which he posted a 12-11 record with a
3.06 ERA and 140 strikeouts. However, he feuded with manager Roger Craig and,
never one to tolerate defensive miscues, publicly berated the poor defensive
play behind him. Desiring to be traded, Perry quit the club in September and
got his wish just prior to spring training in 1980 when he was dealt back to
the Texas Rangers for first baseman Willie Montanez. Perry started 24 games for
the Rangers, battled with another manager (Pat Corrales) and was 6-9 with a
3.43 ERA when he was traded to the New York Yankees in August. He went 4-4 the
rest of the way with a 4.44 ERA. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with
the Atlanta Braves for 1981 and was 8-9 during the strike-interrupted season
with a 3.94 ERA. He signed with the Seattle Mariners for 1982 and compiled a
10-12 record that included his 300th career win, along with a 4.40
ERA. He was also ejected from a game for allegedly throwing illegal pitches for
the only time in his long career. He split the 1983 season between Seattle and
the Kansas City Royals, posting a combined record of 7-14 with a 4.64 ERA,
after which he retired. Overall for his major league career, Perry was 314-265
with a 3.11 ERA and struck out 3534 batters over 5350 innings pitched. He
further hurled 303 complete games that included 53 shutouts. With the Padres he
went 33-17 with a 2.88 ERA and 294 strikeouts over the course of 493.1 innings.
A five-time All-Star who won a Cy Young Award in each league, Perry was elected
to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. His #36 was retired by the San Francisco
Giants.
--
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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