Perry, Gaylord (1938-2022), was a star Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. A masterful hurler who became known for bending and breaking the rules, Perry pitched for eight different teams during his 22-year career.
Perry began his career in 1962 with the San Francisco Giants. In his 1974 memoir, Me and the Spitter, Perry admitted that he began throwing a spitball (also called a spitter) in 1964. A spitball is a pitch in which the pitcher applies saliva to one side of the ball. The added air resistance causes a properly thrown ball to sink as it approaches the batter. MLB had banned the spitball—and altering the surface of the baseball in general—after the 1920 season. Making such alterations—by applying foreign substances or scuffing or cutting the ball—is called “doctoring” the ball.
In his memoir, Perry also claimed to have stopped doctoring the ball. But he went on to play on batters’ suspicions that he continued to cheat in this way. After receiving the sign from the catcher, Perry sometimes touched a part of his body or uniform, making batters think he was wiping a substance onto his fingers to then apply to the ball. Perry was ejected from a game in 1982 for allegedly doctoring the ball.
In 1972, the Giants traded Perry to the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). That year, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award. Perry’s brother, Jim, joined him on Cleveland’s pitching staff for the 1974 season. Gaylord won a National League (NL) Cy Young award as a member of the San Diego Padres in 1978. He was the first pitcher to win the award in both leagues.
Perry also pitched for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals. He retired in 1983, ending his career with 313 wins and 303 complete games in 690 starts. He amassed a 3.11 career earned run average (ERA) and 3,534 strikeouts over 5,350 innings. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Gaylord Jackson Perry was born on Sept. 15, 1938, in Williamston, North Carolina. He died on Dec. 1, 2022.
