Gaylord Perry Biography

Rule 8.02 of the Official Rules of Baseball pitcher specifically prohibits a misshapen ball or you apply any foreign substance. The "E" section states that "the arbitrator shall be the sole judge as to whether any of these rules has been violated." In other words: do not get caught.

Gaylord Perry boasted openly violating this rule for most of his career and was rarely surprised. Although the ball saliva was banned in 1920, and legally last pitched in 1934 for pitcher Burleigh Grimes whom he was allowed to make this launch to retirement, Perry might have been the most successful in the use of ball saliva in baseball history.

He grew up in a small rented farm in eastern North Carolina. His father was a successful semi-professional pitcher Gaylord and teaches him and his older brother, Jim, the intricacies of the art of pitching. Both boys were excellent pitchers and basketball players in the Williamson High School, and both rejected scholarship offers to play college basketball league for professional baseball. Gaylord signed with the New York Giants to a team record of US $ 73.500 in 1958.

Although an old friend of his father taught him to Perry like throwing a ball hard when the boy was still in high school, the illegal pitch still not part of his repertoire, and defended himself with a good fastball, curve and change. Like his brother Jim, Gaylord Perry moved quickly through the minor leagues. After leading the Pacific League with 16 wins for the Tacoma in 1961, he was called to the Giants, who had moved to San Francisco in 1959. Perry then went back and forth between San Francisco and Tacoma for a few seasons, throwing for several seasons, and threw well in AAA, but it was vapulaeado at the top level.

All that changed in 1964. Disappointed with performances and impatient with the development of its "slider" Perry saw the veteran pitcher Bob Shaw make a curious release that fell to the thigh and ankles broke violently into the batter. Perry asked Shaw to teach him launch. It was the ball of saliva, which Perry delinquency ensured.

Although Perry took several seasons to learn to control the release effectively represented an immediate difference, and made his way to the rotation of the giants in 1964. The regulations were so easy to get away with the use of ball saliva. Pitchers were allowed to put their fingers in their mouths when they were on the mound. It is assumed that the dried, but a ghost to dry finger movement was also easy to learn. Since then, some have claimed that at least 25 percent of major league pitchers used that 1os launch in mid-sixties.

Unlike the fastball, which is released with a backward rotation, the release in question does forward, by making a sudden and sharp drop as it approaches the plate. Saliva in the first two fingers of launch allows the pitcher "tighten" the ball at the time of release and impart a rotation forward.

Perry melted all in 1966. With his ball of saliva and a "slider" under control, it was almost impossible to hit and became an overnight sensation in his eighth year in professional baseball. He won 21 games and was the winning pitcher in the All-Star. On July 22, he struck out 15 batters in a game against the Phillies. He finished the season with 201 strikeouts and walked only 40.

He pitched even better in 1967, and lowered his ERA from 2.99 to 2.61. In a streak he threw 40 consecutive scoreless innings. But he lost ten decisions by a race and finished the season with a record of 15 -17. Suddenly the ball saliva became a hot topic. 

While the pitcher will not be very effective with it, few complained. But the success of Perry was unusual. Before the 1968 season, Rule 8.02 was amended to prohibit the pitcher take his hands to his mouth.

Perry was adapted. All winter he practiced making similar pitches with fat instead of saliva. He stood before a mirror and practiced a clever transfer of fat from your belt or other parts of uniform into his hands. In his few outings in the spring, Perry was bombed, but he mastered the new release just before the season started and returned to his winning ways.

Everyone knew he was throwing that ball, but no one could imagine how prepared. Perry became a teacher to throw to the batter and the use of its release, as a psychological weapon. His throwing hand would cap and neck; adjusted the belt, he wiped his hand on his shirt; He caps again; and he seemed to be giving a speech before finally throwing the ball. Since then the batter was more anxious account or convinced that Perry was throwing a ball "ready".

When he was asked about his success, Perry just smiled and gave credit to his "super-slider". Nobody believed, but could not catch him. Perry threw a no-hitter against San Luis and Bob Gibson on 17 September 1968. The next day, the Cardinals pitcher Ray Washburn left the Giants hitless.

In 1970, Perry won 23 games and finished second in the CY Young voting that was at the hands of Gibson. His brother Jim won 24 games for the Twins and won the Cy Young Award in the American League. They are the first two brothers who won 20 games in the same season.
 

Perry moved to San Francisco to Cleveland in 1972 and responded with the best season of his career, winning the CY Young with a sparkling 1.92 ERA and leading the AL with 24 wins. The change set a pattern for the rest of his career. After several successful seasons, it would be traded to a team that he believed his presence or help them win the championship or the fans would be the stadium. The club, usually, was not up to the performances of Perry and the pattern was repeated.

The Perry brothers joined in Cleveland in 1974 and the first half of 1975. Gaylord won 21 games, including 15 in succession, one short of the record. Jim, meanwhile, added 17 victories in 1974. But the May 20, 1975, he was traded to the Athletics for Blue Monn Odom. Less than a month later, Gaylord was traded to Texas by Jim Bibby, Jackie Brown, Rick Waits and $ 100,000.

After winning 15 games in 1976 and in 1977, the Rangers moved to Perry to San Diego in January 1978. He won 21 games for the Padres this season and his second Cy Young Award. It remains the only pitcher to win a CY Young in each league.

Perry then signed with the Texas again, and the Rangers traded him in mid-season the Yankees. He played with Atlanta in 1981, Seattle in 1982 and Kansas City in 1983.

Perry won his 300th game with Seattle in 1982 and retired after the 1983 season with 314 victories. 529 victories Perry brothers are second, just behind the 539 of Niekro. One of the few negative signs Gaylord Perry's careers is that he never went to the World Series in 22 years of work in the majors. Only Phil Niekro longer played 24 seasons without which appeared in the Fall Classic.

Perry issued a highly entertaining biography, me and the Spitter (I and ball saliva) in 1974. After his retirement, Perry returned to North Carolina and became a farmer. 

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991