1938
Born September 15, 1938
Williamston, NC, USA
Gaylord Perry Marquee Hall of Fame 1991
b. September 15, 1938 · San Francisco Giants 1962–1971, Cleveland Indians 1972–1975, Texas Rangers 1975–1977, 1980, San Diego Padres 1978–1979, New York Yankees 1980, Atlanta Braves 1981, Seattle Mariners 1982–1983, Kansas City Royals 1983
Twenty-two seasons took him through eight franchises and 5,350 innings. He won 314 games, lost 265, struck out 3,534 batters, completed 303 starts and threw 53 shutouts. Three times he led his league in wins: 23 for San Francisco in 1970, 24 for Cleveland in 1972, 21 for San Diego in 1978.
Hitters and managers accused him of loading the ball for twenty years. Umpires searched his cap, his belt and his hair. He published a book called Me and the Spitter in the middle of it all and kept the question open on purpose. Not until 1982, his twenty-first season, was he ejected for doctoring a baseball.
The 1972 award in the American League and the 1978 award in the National made him the first pitcher to win the Cy Young in both. He turned forty during that 1978 season and went 21-6. He and his brother Jim won 529 games between them, second only to the Niekros. The writers elected him in 1991 on his third try, 342 votes of 443.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 1966, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1979 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 1978, 1979, 1982 |
| Cy Young Award | 2 | 1972, 1978 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 2 | 1972, 1978 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1978 |
| Player of the Month | 1 | 1974 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | SFG | 13 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .231 |
| 1963 | SFG | 32 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .222 |
| 1964 | SFG | 46 | 56 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 0 | .054 |
| 1965 | SFG | 49 | 64 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 0 | .156 |
| 1966 | SFG | 36 | 86 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 0 | .186 |
| 1967 | SFG | 42 | 91 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | .143 |
| 1968 | SFG | 39 | 97 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 0 | .113 |
| 1969 | SFG | 40 | 117 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 47 | 0 | .120 |
| 1970 | SFG | 41 | 120 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 47 | 0 | .117 |
| 1971 | SFG | 38 | 98 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 0 | .102 |
| 1972 | CLE | 41 | 110 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 43 | 0 | .155 |
| 1973 | CLE | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | CLE | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | CLE/TEX | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | TEX | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | TEX | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | SDP | 37 | 87 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 0 | .092 |
| 1979 | SDP | 32 | 71 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 0 | .085 |
| 1980 | NYY/TEX | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | ATL | 24 | 48 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .250 |
| 1982 | SEA | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1983 | KCR/SEA | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 787 | 1076 | 48 | 141 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 47 | 22 | 369 | 0 | .131 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | SFG | 3 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 43.0 | 54 | 25 | 14 | 20 | 5.23 |
| 1963 | SFG | 1 | 6 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 76.0 | 84 | 34 | 29 | 52 | 4.03 |
| 1964 | SFG | 12 | 11 | 44 | 19 | 5 | 206.1 | 179 | 63 | 43 | 155 | 2.75 |
| 1965 | SFG | 8 | 12 | 47 | 26 | 1 | 195.2 | 194 | 91 | 70 | 170 | 4.19 |
| 1966 | SFG | 21 | 8 | 36 | 35 | 0 | 255.2 | 242 | 85 | 40 | 201 | 2.99 |
| 1967 | SFG | 15 | 17 | 39 | 37 | 1 | 293.0 | 231 | 85 | 84 | 230 | 2.61 |
| 1968 | SFG | 16 | 15 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 291.0 | 240 | 79 | 59 | 173 | 2.44 |
| 1969 | SFG | 19 | 14 | 40 | 39 | 0 | 325.1 | 290 | 90 | 91 | 233 | 2.49 |
| 1970 | SFG | 23 | 13 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 328.2 | 292 | 117 | 84 | 214 | 3.20 |
| 1971 | SFG | 16 | 12 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 280.0 | 255 | 86 | 67 | 158 | 2.76 |
| 1972 | CLE | 24 | 16 | 41 | 40 | 1 | 342.2 | 253 | 73 | 82 | 234 | 1.92 |
| 1973 | CLE | 19 | 19 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 344.0 | 315 | 129 | 115 | 238 | 3.38 |
| 1974 | CLE | 21 | 13 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 322.1 | 230 | 90 | 99 | 216 | 2.51 |
| 1975 | CLE/TEX | 18 | 17 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 305.2 | 277 | 110 | 70 | 233 | 3.24 |
| 1976 | TEX | 15 | 14 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 250.1 | 232 | 90 | 52 | 143 | 3.24 |
| 1977 | TEX | 15 | 12 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 238.0 | 239 | 89 | 56 | 177 | 3.37 |
| 1978 | SDP | 21 | 6 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 260.2 | 241 | 79 | 66 | 154 | 2.73 |
| 1979 | SDP | 12 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 232.2 | 225 | 79 | 67 | 140 | 3.06 |
| 1980 | NYY/TEX | 10 | 13 | 34 | 32 | 0 | 205.2 | 224 | 84 | 64 | 135 | 3.68 |
| 1981 | ATL | 8 | 9 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 150.2 | 182 | 66 | 24 | 60 | 3.94 |
| 1982 | SEA | 10 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 216.2 | 245 | 106 | 54 | 116 | 4.40 |
| 1983 | KCR/SEA | 7 | 14 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 186.1 | 214 | 96 | 49 | 82 | 4.64 |
| Career | — | 314 | 265 | 777 | 690 | 11 | 5350.1 | 4938 | 1846 | 1379 | 3534 | 3.11 |
On this day & linked events
2022
Died December 1, 2022
1962
Major-league debut: Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry made a major-league debut on April 14, 1962.
1968
Gaylord Perry's No-Hitter
Gaylord Perry threw a no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants against the St. Louis Cardinals on September 17, 1968, winning 1–0.
1983
Final major-league game: Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry played a final major-league game on September 21, 1983.
Image: twm1340, CC BY-SA 2.0