Cy Young Profile: Jim Perry, 1970

Pitcher, Minnesota Twins

Age:  34

8^th season with Twins (7^th complete)

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 190

Prior to 1970:

A native of Williamston, North Carolina, Perry pitched for his high school team and was eventually joined by younger brother Gaylord (who also went on to a long major league pitching career), who played third base and also pitched. Moving on to Campbell College, he was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1956. Assigned to North Platte of the Class D Nebraska State League he went 7-8 in his first taste of professional action with a 4.80 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 120 innings pitched. Moving along to Fargo-Moorhead of the Class C Northern League in 1957 Perry improved to 15-12 with a 2.88 ERA and 150 strikeouts over 231 innings. His next stop was Reading of the Class A Eastern League in 1958, where he produced a 16-8 record and 2.79 ERA with 135 strikeouts. Invited to spring training with the Indians in 1959, he made the pitching staff and was used primarily as a reliever during the first half of the season on his way to a 12-10 tally with a 2.65 ERA, 4 saves, and 79 strikeouts in 153 innings pitched. He placed second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Fully in the starting rotation in 1960, Perry, who relied on a fastball, curve, and slider, tied for the league lead in wins with his 18-10 record. He also had a 3.62 ERA and 120 strikeouts while showing a tendency to give up home runs, leading the AL by allowing 35 homers. Although an All-Star in 1961, Perry suffered from inconsistency and his record dropped to 10-17 with a 4.71 ERA. He broke even at 12-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 1962. Back in the Cleveland bullpen at the start of 1963, he was dealt to the Twins in May and utilized primarily as a starter finished at 9-9 with a 3.83 ERA. Almost exclusively a reliever in 1964, Perry was 6-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 42 appearances. Working with new pitching coach Johnny Sain in 1965, he improved his fastball and curve and, when RHP Camilo Pascual was out for an extended period, Perry took his place in the rotation. For the year he appeared in 36 games, 19 of them starts, and compiled a 12-7 record with a 2.63 ERA. The Twins won the AL pennant and Perry made two relief appearances in the World Series loss to the Dodgers. Primarily a spot starter in 1966, he produced an 11-7 mark with a 2.54 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 184.1 innings. Sain departed for Detroit following the ’66 season, and Perry continued to be a starter/reliever in 1967 and ’68, posting an 8-7 tally with a 3.03 ERA in 37 appearances in ’67 and going 8-6 with a 2.27 ERA in 1968. In 1969, new manager Billy Martin put Perry in the rotation with good results, as he contributed a 20-6 record for the division-winning Twins along with a 2.82 ERA and 153 strikeouts. Another new manager, Bill Rigney, kept him in place as the ace of the staff in 1970. 

1970 Season Summary

Appeared in 41 games

P – 40, LF – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 40

Games Started – 40 [1, tied with four others]

Complete Games – 13 [7, tied with Chuck Dobson & Mickey Lolich]

Wins – 24 [1, tied with Mike Cuellar & Dave McNally]

Losses – 12

PCT - .667 [3, tied with Jim Palmer]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [3, tied with Mike Cuellar & Gary Peters]

Innings Pitched – 278.2 [5]

Hits – 258 [6]

Runs – 112 [11]

Earned Runs – 94 [15]

Home Runs – 20

Bases on Balls – 57

Strikeouts – 168 [10]

ERA – 3.04 [8, tied with Ray Culp]

Hit Batters – 9 [3, tied with four others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 3

Midseason Snapshot: 13-7, ERA - 3.42, SO - 88 in 142 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 9 (in 9 IP) at Milwaukee Brewers 9/1

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at KC Royals 9/25, (in 7.2 IP) vs. Detroit 7/22

Batting

PA – 109, AB – 97, R – 9, H – 24, 2B – 4, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 6, BB – 1, SO – 14, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .247, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 10, SF – 1

Fielding

Chances – 59

Put Outs – 11

Assists – 47

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .983

Postseason Pitching: (ALCS vs. Baltimore)

G – 2, GS – 1, CG – 0, Record – 0-1, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 5.1, H – 10, R – 9, ER – 8, HR – 3, BB – 1, SO – 3, ERA – 13.50, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

9^th in AL MVP voting (63 points, 19% share)

All-Star

AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Jim Perry, Min.: 55 pts. – 6 of 24 first place votes, 46% share

Dave McNally, Balt.: 47 pts. – 5 first place votes, 39% share

Sam McDowell, Clev.: 45 pts. – 4 first place votes, 38% share

Mike Cuellar, Balt.: 44 pts. – 6 first place votes, 37% share

Jim Palmer, Balt.: 11 pts. – 1 first place vote, 9% share

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Twins went 98-64 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 9 games over the Oakland Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in saves (58). A refurbished club under new manager Bill Rigney, the Twins started fast and were 31-13 by the end of May. They struggled during the summer and endured an 8-game August losing streak. Rebounding in September they coasted to a second straight division title. Lost ALCS to the Baltimore Orioles, 3 games to 0.

Aftermath of ‘70:

The Twins sank in the standings in 1971 and Perry’s record dropped to 17-17 with a 4.23 ERA and he again had problems giving up the long ball, surrendering a league-high 39 home runs. In 1972 he went 13-16 with a 3.35 ERA and he was traded to Detroit just prior to the 1973 season, reuniting him with manager Billy Martin. Martin didn’t last the year with the Tigers and Perry went 14-13 with a 4.03 ERA. Dealt back to Cleveland in 1974, Perry was now teamed with his brother Gaylord, and the Perry brothers won 38 games between them, as Gaylord went 21-13 and Jim added a 17-12 tally with a 2.96 ERA. The rest of the staff was disappointing, and when Jim got off to a 1-6 start in 1975, he was traded to Oakland, where he went 3-4 the rest of the way, including a one-hitter against Baltimore. Released in August, Perry retired. For his major league career, he posted a 215-174 record with a 3.45 ERA, 109 complete games, 32 shutouts, and 1576 strikeouts over 3285.2 innings. With the Twins he was 128-90 with a 3.15 ERA and 1025 strikeouts in 1883.1 innings pitched, along with 61 complete games and 17 shutouts. Appearing in five postseason games (two starts) he was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. He was a three-time All-Star and was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2011.

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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.