Gaylord Perry: Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities
Here is a different type of profile of Gaylord Perry, one that looks at the hitters who did the best and worst against him, his results vs. teams and in stadiums, other splits, and more.
Issue #55
Back on December 1st, we lost Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, who died of natural causes at age 84. For a great bio article, see Mark Armour’s write-up at the SABR Bio Project, or for a book-length treatment, see the new Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry, by David Vaught (Texas A&M University Press, 2022).
Soon after Perry passed, I did a little digging into his career numbers, but only now am getting around to doing the kind of write-up that I wanted to. This is the first in what I intend to be a new series called “Best, Worst, Outliers, and Oddities.”
Standard Numbers and Accolades
Before I get to that analysis, here are some of the standard numbers and accolades that reviews of Gaylord Perry’s playing career usually include:
22-year career, 1962-1983, playing for 8 teams (Giants, Indians, Rangers, Padres, Yankees, Braves, Mariners and Royals)
5-time All-Star, including at age 40 in 1979
First pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both the AL (1972, Cleveland) and NL (1978, San Diego).
He pitched a no-hitter on September 17, 1968, against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was a big game, as he was facing Bob Gibson who was in the midst of one of the greatest pitching seasons ever. Gibson pitched well, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run, so it took Perry’s no-hitter for the Giants to win the game 1-0.
Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991, in his third year on the ballot (his vote totals were 68%, 72%, and 77%). See Perry’s page at the HOF.
The Giants, the team that Perry pitched for the longest, retired his jersey #36 in 2005.
Never led his league in ERA (twice came in second) or strikeouts (once came in second), but did lead his league in innings twice, ERA+ once, complete games twice, shutouts once, and wins three times, including 23 wins in 1970 and 24 wins in 1974.
Very durable, he won 15+ games every season from 1966-1978
Career slash line by opposing batters: .245/.296/.354
Career ERA was 3.11 and backed by a 117 ERA+ and 3.06 FIP. He had 11 qualifying seasons with an ERA+ of 120 or higher. Through 1981 his career ERA was 2.99, it only jumped to 3.11 because of his final two seasons.
Notable career totals and all-time rank for pitchers:
314 Wins (17th)
3,534 Strikeouts (8th)
93.0 WAR for pitchers (13th)
5,350 IP (6th)
4,938 Hits Allowed (5th)
3.11 ERA (15th since 1947 for pitchers with 2,000+ IP)
303 Complete Games (3rd since 1947)
53 Shutouts (T-8th since 1947)
Best Season
Overall 1972 was pretty clearly Gaylord Perry’s best season. And it was a remarkable one, as his 10.8 WAR that year was the third best pitching WAR season for the entire 1970s decade (trailing only Steve Carlton’s 12.1 WAR in 1972, and Wilbur Wood’s 11.8 WAR in 1971).
In 1972 Perry posted a 24-16 record with 1.92 ERA, 0.978 WHIP, and 234 SO in 342.2 IP. He started 40 games, completed 29 of them, pitched 5 shutouts, and got the save in his one game in relief. Those 29 complete games, which he matched the next season) is tied for the fourth most during the 1970s. And his 1972 ERA+ of 168 was the 10th best for any 1970s pitcher with 162 or more innings pitched.
Splits
Many of Gaylord Perry’s career splits were not surprising to see:
As a RHP, he was more effective against right-handed batters (.231/.278/.335) than left-handed batters (.262/.316/.376)
He pitched better at home (.240/.288/.350 with a 2.99 ERA) than on the road (.251/.303/.358 with 3.23 ERA).
He pitched pretty consistently between night and day games, with a slightly lower ERA in night games (3.04) than in day games (3.19)
He pitched by far the best in September/October vs. other months:
September/October: career ERA of 2.62
March/April to August: career monthly ERAs range from 3.15 to 3.32
In general, a lack of strikeouts was not a cause of his losses. In his 314 wins he averaged 6.0 SO/9 with a 1.54 ERA, while in his 265 losses he also averaged 6.0 SO/9, but with a 5.26 ERA. Of note, he pitched 76 complete games in those 265 losses. The issue in the losses of courses was letting up more hits and walks, only 0.927 WHIP in his wins vs. 1.480 WHIP in his losses. Hitters batted only .200 against him in his wins (.271 SLG), but .294 against him in his losses (.449 SLG).
In the games he started, his ERA was lowest in games when his team provided the least run support. Of course, if your team scores 6 or more runs, it is much easier to get the win:
0-2 Runs scored: 44-170 W-L record, but 2.96 ERA
3-5 Runs scored: 141-74 W-L record, with 3.18 ERA
6+ Runs scores: 120-8 W-L record, with 3.16 ERA
Over his career, Perry wasn’t particularly good against the first batters of the game, as they hit .272 against him, though he only allowed 8 HR to such hitters leading off the game (.361 SLG).
Best and Worst Team Opponents
The teams Perry did the best against were the following (ranked by ERA):
Padres: 1.73 ERA in 19 games, 14-3 record
Rangers: 2.18 ERA in 13 games, 9-4 record
Giants: 2.26 ERA in 10 games, but a 3-4 record
Cardinals: 2.54 ERA in 44 games, but a 14-14 record
Red Sox: 2.59 ERA in 32 games, 22-5 record
Tigers: 2.73 ERA in 25 games, 13-9 record
Twins: 2.75 ERA in 25 games, 13-7 record
Interesting that the top three here are teams he played for in 16 of his 22 seasons.
The teams Perry did the worst against were generally the following (ignoring the Mariners and Blue Jays who only came around late in his career):
Indians: 4.46 ERA in 16 games, but a 6-6 record
Expos: 4.42 ERA in 12 games, but a 4-3 record
Brewers: 4.16 ERA in 20 games, 5-12 record
Royals: 3.54 ERA in 30 games, 9-16 record
There is the other team he played for the most, the Indians. Huh.
Best and Worst Stadiums
The stadiums where Perry pitched best (10 or more games) were the following (again, ranked by ERA):
CIN-Crosley Field: 1.72 ERA in 16 games and 99.1 IP
SDP-San Diego Stadium: 1.97 ERA in 43 games and 342.1 IP — of course 35 of those were home games during his 1978/79 seasons
BAL-Memorial Stadium: 2.19 ERA in 18 games and 139.2 IP
LAD-Dodger Stadium: 2.67 ERA in 22 games and 141.2 IP
SFG-Candlestick Park: 2.68 ERA in 191 games and 1,255.2 IP — again, mostly home games from 1962-1971
The stadiums where Perry pitched worst (10 or more games) were the following (again, ranked by ERA):
PHI-Connie Mack Stadium: 4.58 ERA in 16 games and 72.2 IP
ATL-Atlanta Stadium: 4.23 ERA in 26 games and 180.2 IP
HOU-Astrodome: 4.13 ERA in 22 games and 128.2 IP
MIL-County Stadium: 4.13 ERA in 20 games and 130.2 IP
Best and Worst Umpires
Perry pitched best (by ERA) when these guys were the home plate umpire (10+ games):
Dave Phillips (1972-83): 1.75 ERA over 92.1 IP
Doug Harvey (1962-1978): 2.11 ERA over 119.1 IP — even with a remarkably low 4.7 SO/9
Harry Wendelstedt (1966-1981): 2.16 ERA over 129.1 IP
Stan Landes (1965-1971): 2.25 ERA over 116 IP
On the flip side, Perry didn’t pitch as well with these guys as the home plate umpire (10+ games):
Shag Crawford (1963-1971): 4.57 ERA over 126 IP — even with a solid 7.3 SO/9
Al Barlick (1962-1971): 4.23 ERA over 72.1 IP
Jim McKean (1974-1980): 3.97 ERA over 70.1 IP
Best and Worst Hitting Opponents
Over Perry’s long career, Pete Rose faced off against him the most and hit an impressive .304—interestingly, almost the same as Rose’s overall career average of .303.
What would a nightmare lineup have looked like for Gaylord Perry? Well, here are some candidates, namely the guys who hit him the best in terms of batting average (minimum of 30 at-bats):
Mike Hargove: .514 BA, 18-35 with 2 HR
Willie Horton: .433 BA, 13-30 with 3 HR
Dave May: .433 BA, 13-30 with 3 HR
Frank Robinson: .417 BA, 15-36 with 2 HR
Rich Coggins: .417 BA, 15-36 with 1 HR
Joe Christopher: .406 BA, 13-32 with 2 HR
Roy Smalley: .400 BA, 16-40 with 0 HR
Joe Rudi: .388 BA, 26-67 with 8 doubles and 3 HR
Cecil Cooper: .385, 25-65 with 5 HR
Cooper’s 5 HR against Perry are impressive (especially in only 65 at-bats). There were five guys hit more than five HR against Perry:
Billy Williams: 9 HR, .290 BA in 124 AB
Dick Allen: 8 HR, .275 BA in 109 AB
John Mayberry: 8 HR, .172 BA in 99 AB — all or nothing!
Willie Stargell: 7 HR, .343 BA in 102 AB
Willie Davis: 6 HR, .341 BA in 91 AB
On the other hand, these guys really struggled against Perry:
George Scott: .043 BA, 2-47 with 17 SO
Mark Belanger: .083 BA, 4-48 with 12 SO
Dal Maxvill: .111 BA, 5-45 with 13 SO
Bob Bailey: .115 BA, 7-61 with 18 SO
Leo Cardenas: .117 BA, 7-60 with 11 SO
Bill Sharp: .125 BA, 4-32 with 2 SO
Ted Sizemore: .129 BA, 4-31 with 4 SO
Clete Boyer: .140 BA, 6-43 with 11 SO
For some of them, they were at least putting the bat on the ball, as some of these SO rates aren’t too bad. But poor George Scott: 2-47 for a .043 average is painful.
There were a few big name guys who also struggled when facing Perry, such as:
Carl Yastrzemski: .161 BA, 14-87 with 0 HR
Matty Alou: .173 BA, 18-104 with 0 HR
Tony Oliva: .189 BA, 7-37 with 1 HR
Dwight Evans: .191 BA, 8-42 with 1 HR
Joe Morgan: .192 BA, 19-99 though with 3 HR and 3 triples
Carlton Fisk: .194 BA, 14-72 though with 4 HR
Oddities
The Spitter. The most obvious “oddity” when it comes to Gaylord Perry is of course his admitted use of various types of “spitballs” during parts of his career. While those no doubt gave him an edge at times, his reputation and the mere potential for using it—as he would frequently and variously touch his face, glove, belt, cap, etc.—might have been even more intimidating and effective. Perry once said “I don’t even have to throw it anymore, because the batters are set up to believe it’s there, waiting for ’em.” Despite constant surveillance, he was not ejected for doctoring the ball until 1982, his 21st season.
Brother Jim. Gaylord Perry is also in the record books because of his older brother, Jim Perry, three years his senior. Although not a Hall-of-Famer, Jim had a solid major league career from 1959-1975, playing for four teams (including two stints with the Cleveland Indians). A three-time All-Star, Jim twice led the AL in wins, including a 24-12 record in 1970 for the Twins when he took home AL Cy Young Award honors. Together, Gaylord and Jim are the only brothers to both win Cy Young Awards, and rank second to Phil and Joe Neikro in all-time wins (539 to 529).
Hitting. Gaylord Perry was a notoriously bad hitter, even for a pitcher. For his career, Perry batted only .131, with a .156 OBP and 6 HR in 1,076 at-bats. In 1970 he nearly set an odd record by striking out 47 times without drawing a walk (only pitcher Cy Morgan for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1911 has ever struck out more times in a season, 51, without drawing a walk).
It is worth noting for the record that opposing pitchers only faired slightly better against Perry, as he held them to a .139/.169/.180 slash line.
Here is a fun anecdote about Perry’s hitting, obtained from his page at the B-R Bullpen. During spring training in 1964 a writer, after seeing Perry hit a couple home runs in batting practice, remarked that he looked pretty good with a bat in his hand, and might even hit a home run in a game some day. Perry's manager, Alvin Dark responded, "Mark my words, a man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run." A little over five years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon at 1:17pm PDT. About 30 minutes later, in the top of the third inning, Perry says "Well, about the top of the third, over the loudspeaker, they were telling everybody to stand and give a moment of silent thanks for the astronauts who landed on the moon. And I'd say 30 minutes later, Claude Osteen grooved me a fastball, and I hit it out of the park."
Running. Like most pitchers, Perry was no threat on the bases either, as from what I can tell he never attempted to steal a base (0 SB, 0 CS). Oddly, according to baseball-reference.com, he was used as a pinch-runner 11 times in his career—were these special circumstances, like injury replacements or the like, where advancing as a runner wasn’t the point?
Fielding. Judging by some standard statistics, Gaylord Perry was an adequate fielder on the mound, posting a career .970 fielding percentage vs. a .953 league fielding percentage for pitchers during his career. Similarly his career caught-stealing percentage while on the mount was 47%, compared to a league average for pitchers during his career of only 36%. He twice led his league in assists as a pitcher, and three times came in second.
Extra Extra-Innings. As reported recently by Chris Haft, “On May 31, 1964, the Giants’ bullpen was virtually depleted entering the 13th inning of the second game of a doubleheader, tied, 6-6, with the Mets. San Francisco needed a reliever who could work multiple innings if the stalemate continued. As a part-time starter, Perry fit the description. Pitching as if his career depended on the outcome -- as it indeed might have -- Perry worked 10 shutout innings, allowing seven hits while walking one and striking out nine. The Giants prevailed, 8-6, in 23 innings. Suddenly, Perry was a performer to rely upon rather than avoid.”
Scoreless innings streak. Also as reported recently by Chris Haft, on Sept. 1, 1967, “Perry worked 16 shutout innings at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field but received no decision as three Reds pitchers silenced the Giants. Perry, who walked two and struck out 12, received some consolation when San Francisco pushed across a run in the 21st inning against the fourth Reds pitcher, Bob Lee, to prevail, 1-0. This was the central game in Perry’s streak of 40 consecutive scoreless innings.”
Well-traveled winner. As noted above, Perry pitched for 8 teams. In 1978, he became the third hurler to win 20 games for three different teams, joining old-timers Carl Mays and Pete Alexander.
Quotations by Gaylord Perry
I found these quotes at various sites online. I’ve not independently verified each at the source, but they were interesting so I am including them here:
“I reckon I tried everything on the old apple, but salt and pepper and chocolate sauce topping.”… “Of course, I’m reformed now. I’m a pure law-abiding citizen.”
Source: Me and the Spitter, by Gaylord Perry"The trouble with baseball is that it is not played the year round."
Source: Christian Science Monitor (September 9, 1978)"Going back down to the minors is the toughest thing to handle in baseball." Source: Me and the Spitter, by Gaylord Perry
"Greaseball, greaseball, greaseball, that's all I throw him (Rod Carew), and he still hits them. He's the only player in baseball who consistently hits my grease. He sees the ball so well, I guess he can pick out the dry side."
Source: Newsweek (July 11, 1977)Frustrated at one about his own teammates in San Diego, Perry quipped: “This club’s got a pretty good bench. Unfortunately, it starts every day.”
Source: San-Diego Union Tribune
For More Information
See also these pages, articles, and books:
“Top 10 Moments from Gaylord Perry’s Career” by Chris Haft at MLB.com
Gaylord Perry at SABR Bio Project, by Mark Armour
Book: Spitter: Baseball’s Notorious Gaylord Perry, by David Vaught (2022).
Book: Me and the Spitter, by Gaylord Perry, 1974
Gaylord was 24-16 in '72, not 24-12 as stated in the article.... could have won 30 on a decent team.