Tony Perez (2000)


Date of Birth: 5/14/1942
Birthplace: Ciego de Avila, Cuba

Tony Perez, first baseman on the successful Cincinnati Reds "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s, was a shortstop when he played in his home country of Cuba. He signed with the Reds in March, 1960. He played in the minor leagues from 1960 through most of 1964.

Cincinnati Reds

Perez was moved up to the major leagues at the end of 1964, playing in 12 games with the Reds that season. In 1965, he played in 104 games with the Reds and he had 73 hits, 14 doubles, 47 RBIs, and a .260 batting average. The following season, he batted .265 with 68 hits in 99 games.

In 1967, Perez won the All Star Game MVP award. That season, he batted .290 with 174 hits, 28 doubles, 26 home runs, and 102 RBIs in 156 games. He played in a career high 160 games in 1969. He finished that season with 185 hits, 31 doubles, 37 home runs, 122 RBIs, and a .294 batting average.

One of Perez's best seasons was the 1970 one. That year he batted .317 with career highs in hits with 186, home runs with 40, RBIs with 129, and walks with 83 (to 134 strikeouts) in 158 games. He had another good season in 1971, batting .269 in 158 games. He had 164 hits, 22 doubles, 25 home runs, and 91 RBIs. In 1972, his batting average went up to .283. He finished the season with 146 hits, 33 doubles, 21 home runs, and 90 RBIs in 136 games.

Perez had another strong season in 1973, batting .314 in 151 games. He had 177 hits, 33 doubles, 27 home runs, 101 RBIs, and 117 strikeouts to 74 walks. Defensively, he also played well, leading all NL players in putouts with 1,318, and leading all NL first basemen in double plays turned with 131.

Perez continued to play well from 1974 through 1976. He batted .265 with 158 hits, 28 doubles, 28 home runs, and 101 RBIs in 158 games in 1974. The following year, he had 144 hits, 28 doubles, 20 home runs, 109 RBIs, and a .282 batting average in 137 games. In 1976, he batted .260 in 139 games. He finished the season with 137 hits, 32 doubles, 19 home runs, and 19 RBIs. That year, he walked 50 times and struck out 88 times.

Montreal Expos

Perez was traded to the Montreal Expos on December 16, 1976. He batted .283 in his first season with them. He finished the 1977 season with 158 hits, 32 doubles, 19 home runs, and 91 RBIs in 154 games.

In 1978, Perez had a career high 38 doubles. He finished the season with 158 hits, 14 home runs, 78 RBIs, and a .290 batting average in 148 games. The following season, he batted .270 in 132 games. He finished the 1979 season with 132 hits, 29 doubles, 13 home runs, and 73 RBIs.

Boston Red Sox

Perez became a free agent on November 1, 1979. He signed with the Boston Red Sox on November 16th. He batted .275 in his first season in Boston. He finished the 1980 season with 161 hits, 31 doubles, 25 home runs, and 105 RBIs in 151 games. He won the Lou Gehrig Memorial award that year.

In the strike shortened 1981 season, Perez batted .252 in 84 games. He had 77 hits and 39 RBIs. The next year, he played in just 69 games. He batted .260 with 51 hits in 1982.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Red Sox released Perez on November 1, 1982. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on January 31, 1983. He played for just one season with the Phillies. In 1983, he batted .241 with 61 hits and 43 RBIs in 91 games.

Return to the Reds

The Phillies traded Perez to the Reds on December 6, 1983. He was a part-time player for the Reds from 1984 through 1986. He batted .241 in 71 games in 1984, .328 in 72 games in 1985, and .255 in 77 games in 1986.

Awards

  • All Star Game MVP
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Perez in 16 full seasons (1965-1980) in the major leagues include:

  • 10 seasons with over 150 hits, with highs of 185 in 1969 and 186 in 1970
  • 7 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 38 in 1978
  • 9 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 40 in 1970
  • 7 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 129 in 1970

Career batting statistics for Perez include:

  • 2,777 games played
  • 2,732 hits
  • 505 doubles
  • 379 home runs
  • 1,652 RBIs
  • 1,867 strikeouts to 925 walks
  • .279 batting average
  • .341 on-base percentage
  • .804 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Perez at first base include:

  • 1,778 games played
  • 117 errors
  • 936 assists
  • 1,342 double plays
  • 14,481 putouts
  • .992 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Perez include:

  • 6 postseasons
  • 47 games played
  • 172 at-bats
  • 41 hits
  • 6 doubles
  • 6 home runs
  • 1 stolen base
  • 24 RBIs
  • 37 strikeouts to 14 walks
  • .238 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a player, Perez came back twice as a manager. In 1993, he managed his old team, the Cincinnati Reds, for one season and in 2001, he managed the Florida Marlins. His record as a manager was 149 wins to 175 losses.

Perez was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000 on the ninth ballot with 77.2% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Tony Perez
ESPN - Tony Perez
Baseball Reference - Tony Perez

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