GAFFNEY, S.C. — Gaylord Perry, a baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young Award winner, died Thursday. Perry was a master of the spitball and a storyteller about the pitch. He was 84.
Perry died at his home in Gaffney at 5 a.m. Thursday, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler. He did not offer any other information. According to the Perry family, he “died peacefully at his home following a brief illness.”
The native of Williamston, North Carolina, became the only player in history to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, with Cleveland in 1972 after a 24-16 season and with San Diego in 1978 — finishing 21-6 for his fifth and final 20-win season shortly after turning 40.
“Before I won my second Cy Young, I believed I was too old – I didn’t think the writers would vote for me,” Perry stated in an essay published on the website of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “However, they voted on my performance, therefore I won.”
“In his Hall of Fame career, Gaylord Perry was a consistent workhorse and a memorable figure,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement, adding that “he will be remembered among the most accomplished San Francisco Giants ever… and remained a popular teammate and friend throughout his life.”
Perry was picked by the San Francisco Giants and spent ten seasons with renowned colleagues such as Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who stated Thursday that Perry was his favourite player “was a nice man, a tremendous baseball player, and a dear friend of mine. So long, Pal.”
Perry was described by Juan Marichal as “Everyone in the clubhouse thinks he’s brilliant, humorous, and nice. You paid attention while he spoke.”
“We combined to record 369 complete games in our 10 seasons together in the San Francisco Giants rotation, more than any other pair of teammates in the Major Leagues,” Marichal stated. “I will remember Gaylord for his love and dedication to baseball, his family, and his farm.”
Perry, who pitched for eight different big league clubs between 1962 and 1983, was a five-time All-Star and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. He had a 314-255 career record, 3,554 strikeouts, and utilised a pitching method in which he doctored baseballs or made hitters believe he was doctoring them.
According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Perry was “one of the finest pitchers of his generation.” Perry played twice for the Texas Rangers, who claimed in a statement that he was “a strong competitor every time he took the ball and more often than not gave the Rangers an opportunity to win the game.”
“The Rangers extend their heartfelt sympathies to Gaylord’s family during this sad time,” the organisation stated in a statement. “This baseball legend will be sorely missed.”
How Perry learned the spitball
Perry’s 1974 book, “Me and the Spitter,” stated that when he first joined the Giants in 1962, he was the “11th guy on an 11-man pitching staff.” He sought a competitive edge and picked up the spitball from San Francisco colleague Bob Shaw.
Perry stated he first used it in May 1964 against the New York Mets, pitching 10 innings without allowing a run before joining the Giants’ starting rotation.
In the book, he also stated that he consumed slippery elm bark to increase his saliva production, and that he finally quit throwing the pitch in 1968 after MLB decreed that pitchers may no longer touch their fingers to their lips before contacting the baseball.
According to his book, he explored for additional ingredients to doctor the baseball, such as petroleum jelly. He utilised a variety of actions and routines to touch various sections of his jersey and body to fool batters into believing he was using a foreign substance.
Orlando Cepeda, a Giants teammate, described Perry as having “a terrific sense of humour… a fantastic personality and was my baseball brother.”
“I never saw a right-handed pitcher have such a presence on the field and in the clubhouse in all my years in baseball,” Cepeda continued.
In a statement, Seattle Mariners Chairman John Stanton stated that he met with Perry on his most recent visit to Seattle, adding that Perry was “delightful and very enthusiastic in his ideas on the game, and especially on pitching.”
Perry was removed from a game only once for doctoring a baseball, in August 1982, while playing for Seattle. Perry and teammate Leon Roberts attempted to hide George Brett’s famed pine-tar bat in the clubhouse during his final season with Kansas City, but were prevented by a guard. Perry was also ejected for his involvement in that game.
Following his career, Perry formed and coached the baseball programme at Limestone College in Gaffney for the first three years.
Perry’s wife Deborah and three of his four children, Allison, Amy, and Beth, survive him. Perry’s son Jack had died before.
Gaylord Perry was “an revered public person who inspired millions of followers and was a dedicated husband, father, friend, and mentor who transformed the lives of many people with his elegance, patience, and spirit,” Deborah Perry said in a statement to The Associated Press.
According to the Hall of Fame’s announcement, Perry frequently returned for induction weekend “to be with his friends and admirers.”
“We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife, Deborah, and the entire Perry family,” Baseball Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark said.