Gaylord Perry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gaylord Perry |
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Perry with the San Francisco Giants in 1965
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: September 15, 1938 Williamston, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| Died: December 1, 2022 (aged 84) Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 14, 1962, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
| Last 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 | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 1991 | ||
| Vote | 77.2% (third ballot) | ||
Gaylord Jackson Perry (born September 15, 1938 – died December 1, 2022) was a famous American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. He became one of the most successful and long-lasting pitchers in baseball history.
Perry was chosen for the All-Star team five times. He was the first pitcher ever to win the Cy Young Award in both the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). He won the AL award in 1972 while playing for the Cleveland Indians. He led the league with 24 wins and had a great earned run average (ERA) of 1.92. In 1978, he won the NL award with the San Diego Padres, again leading the league with 21 wins. When he won at age 40, he was the oldest player to receive the award, a record he held for 26 years.
Gaylord and his older brother, Jim Perry, were the first brothers to each win 200 games in the major leagues. They are also the only brothers to both win Cy Young Awards.
Perry was well-known for using a special, tricky pitch called a "spitball," which was against the rules. He was also famous for making batters *think* he was throwing it all the time. He even named his 1974 book Me and the Spitter, though he said he no longer used the pitch. For over 20 years, opposing managers, umpires, and league officials watched him closely. They tried to catch him breaking the rules. Despite all this attention, he was only ejected from a game for this pitch once, in his 21st season in 1982.
Throughout his career, Perry proved to be one of baseball's best pitchers. He won 20 games five times and had 200 strikeouts eight times. He led his league in innings pitched and complete games twice each. In September 1968, he pitched a no-hitter, which means no opposing player got a hit. This happened just three weeks after he threw a one-hitter. He also had thirteen career two-hitters. In 1978, Perry became the third pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts. In 1982, he became the first pitcher in 19 years to join the 300 win club. He and Walter Johnson were the only two pitchers at that time to reach both major milestones.
Over his 22-year career, Perry won 314 games. When he retired, he was third in MLB history with 3,534 strikeouts. His 690 games started ranked him behind only Cy Young's 815. He was the last pitcher to throw 300 complete games. Perry was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Contents
Early Life and Baseball Beginnings
Perry was born in Williamston, North Carolina. His parents, Evan and Ruby Perry, were farmers. Evan Perry was a well-known athlete. Gaylord grew up with his older brother Jim and younger sister Carolyn in Williamston. They also lived in a small area called Farmlife. Gaylord helped his father with farming on their family's land. Both Jim and Gaylord started playing baseball with their father during lunch breaks on the farm when they were young.
Gaylord went to Williamston High School. There, he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was an All-State player in football as a sophomore and junior. He later decided to focus on other sports. In basketball, Gaylord and Jim helped Williamston reach the state finals in Gaylord's first year. During his high school career, Gaylord averaged almost 30 points and 20 rebounds per game. Williamston High had an amazing 94–8 record while he played. He turned down many college basketball scholarship offers.
In baseball, Perry first played third baseman as a freshman. His brother Jim was the pitcher for Williamston. However, near the end of Gaylord's first year, he started sharing pitching duties with Jim. In 1955, Williamston High won the North Carolina Class A state tournament. The Perry brothers threw back-to-back shutouts to win the best-of-three finals. Gaylord had an impressive 33–5 win-loss record in his high school career.
As a teenager, Perry played semi-professional baseball for the Alpine Cowboys in Alpine, Texas. Both Perry brothers attended Campbell University, where they played college baseball.
Pitching Style and Tricky Pitches
Gaylord Perry was known for his unique pitching style. He claimed he learned a special pitch, sometimes called a "spitball," in 1964. This pitch was against baseball rules because it involved putting a substance on the ball to make it move in unusual ways. Throughout his career, umpires and opposing teams watched him very closely.
On August 23, 1982, Perry was ejected from a game for the first and only time in his career for using this pitch. He was suspended for 10 days. Even his catcher, Gene Tenace, said sometimes the ball was so slippery he couldn't throw it back!
Perry also used his reputation to trick batters. When he looked at his catcher for the pitch, he would touch different parts of his head, like his eyebrows or cap. This made batters wonder if he was putting something on the ball. He might or might not have been doing it for that particular pitch. This mind game often made batters frustrated. For example, Reggie Jackson was so upset after striking out against Perry in 1982 that he was ejected from the game. Jackson even came back with a container of Gatorade, splashing it on the field and yelling that Perry should be allowed to use Gatorade on the ball!
The "spitball" wasn't his only trick. He also used something called the "Puffball." For this, he would use a lot of rosin (a sticky substance). When he threw the pitch, a puff of white smoke would come off the ball. This was also made illegal later, partly because of Perry.
Professional Baseball Career
Minor League Journey
The San Francisco Giants signed Perry on June 3, 1958. He made his professional debut that year with the St. Cloud Rox team. He had a good start with a 9–5 record and a 2.39 earned run average (ERA).
In 1959, the Giants moved Perry up to the Double-A Corpus Christi Giants. He continued to improve his skills. By 1961, he was playing for the Triple-A Tacoma Giants. There, Perry led the Pacific Coast League in wins (16) and innings pitched (219).
San Francisco Giants (1962–1971)
Perry made his major league debut with the Giants on April 14, 1962. He played in 13 games that year but was sent back to the minor leagues. He returned to the Giants in September but was not on the team for their World Series appearance. This was the only time in his career he played for a team that won a pennant.
In 1963, Perry mostly worked as a relief pitcher. In 1964, he became a regular starter. His big season came in 1966 when he started with an amazing 20–2 record by August. Perry and Juan Marichal became a powerful pitching duo for the Giants. Perry played in his first All-Star game that year. He finished the season with 21 wins and 8 losses.
In 1968, Perry had a career-best 2.45 ERA. On September 17, just after his 30th birthday, Perry threw a 1–0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. A no-hitter means no opposing player gets a hit in the entire game. The very next day, a Cardinals pitcher also threw a no-hitter against the Giants. This was the first time in major league history that two no-hitters happened back-to-back in the same series.
Perry was not known for his hitting. In 1963, his manager Alvin Dark joked that a man would land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hit a home run. On July 20, 1969, just an hour after the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the Moon, Perry hit the first home run of his career!
In 1969, Perry led the league in innings pitched. In 1970, he became the Giants' top pitcher, leading the league in wins (23) and innings pitched. In 1971, the Giants finally won their division. Perry had a 16–12 record. In his only trip to the postseason, Perry won Game 1 of the National League Championship Series but lost the final Game 4.
Cleveland Indians (1972–1975)
On November 29, 1971, the Giants traded Perry to the Cleveland Indians. In 1972, Perry had an incredible season, winning 24 games with a 1.92 ERA. He won his first Cy Young Award, becoming the only Cy Young winner for Cleveland until 2007.
By 1973, many people suspected Perry was throwing a "spitball." After the 1973 season, Perry wrote a book called Me and the Spitter. In the book, he talked about his tricky pitches.
Before the 1974 season, Major League Baseball added a new rule, sometimes called "Gaylord's Rule." It allowed umpires to call an automatic ball if they suspected a "spitball." A pitcher could be ejected on the second offense. In 1974, Perry won 21 games. His brother Jim also joined the Indians and won 17 games. Together, they accounted for half of the team's wins that year.
Texas Rangers (1975–1977)
In June 1975, the Indians traded Perry to the Texas Rangers. He continued to pitch well, finishing 12–8 for the rest of 1975. In 1976 and 1977, Perry won 15 games each season.
San Diego Padres (1978–1979)
Before the 1978 season, the Rangers traded Perry to the San Diego Padres. In the last game of the 1978 season, Perry recorded his 3,000th strikeout. He was only the third pitcher to do so, after Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson. Perry won the Cy Young Award that year, with a 21–6 record. He became the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National Leagues. In 1979, Perry had a 12–11 record before leaving the team.
Later Career (1980–1983)
Perry was traded back to the Texas Rangers in 1980. Later that year, he was traded to the New York Yankees. Many Yankees players had complained about Perry's tricky pitches before he joined the team. He finished the season with the Yankees but did not play in the postseason.
In 1981, Perry signed with the Atlanta Braves. He was the oldest player in Major League Baseball at the time. He had an 8–9 record in the strike-shortened season. The Braves released him after the season, leaving him just three wins short of 300.
In 1982, Perry signed with the Seattle Mariners. On May 6, 1982, he won his 300th game. He was the first pitcher to reach 300 wins since 1963. On August 23, he was ejected from a game for using a tricky pitch and was suspended for ten days. This was his first ejection for that reason.
In 1983, Perry was picked up by the Kansas City Royals. In August, he became the third pitcher in history to record 3,500 strikeouts. That same year, Perry was involved in the famous Pine Tar Game against the New York Yankees. He tried to hide a bat that was against the rules, and was later ejected from the game for it.
Perry announced his retirement on September 23, 1983. He finished his MLB career with 314 wins, a 3.11 ERA, and 3,534 strikeouts. He also threw 303 complete games.
After Baseball
After retiring from baseball, Perry lived on his farm in Martin County, North Carolina. He briefly worked as a sales manager. Later, Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, chose Perry to be their first baseball coach. He coached there until 1991. In 1998, Perry was inducted into the Limestone College Athletics Hall of Fame.
Honors and Legacy
In 1991, Gaylord Perry was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Many experts consider him one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
On July 23, 2005, the Giants retired Perry's uniform number 36. This means no other Giants player will wear that number. Perry was also inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. He was honored several times at AT&T Park with World Series rings alongside other San Francisco Giants legends. On August 13, 2016, the Giants unveiled a bronze statue of Perry outside their ballpark.
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| Gaylord Perry's number 36 was retired by the San Francisco Giants in 2005. |
Personal Life
Gaylord Perry's wife, Blanche Manning Perry, passed away in 1987. They had three daughters and one son. Their son, Jack, passed away in 2005. In 1988, Perry started the baseball program at Limestone College, and his son Jack was on the first team. Jack was a talented pitcher and was inducted into the Limestone University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. Jack pitched three seasons for his father and was the only player in team history to throw two no-hitters within two weeks in 1990. Perry's nephew, Chris, is a professional golfer.
Perry became ill in 2021 and never fully recovered. He passed away at home on December 1, 2022, at the age of 84.
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
Images for kids
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Perry as a member of the Tacoma Giants in 1961
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Perry with the Texas Rangers in 1977
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Perry in 2011
