Baseball History Podcast

Atanasio Pérez Rigal, more commonly known as Tony Pérez and nicknamed “Big Dog,” was born May 14, 1942 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.

Perez was a fixture on Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s.  A native Cuban, he left a job in a Havana sugar-cane factory to sign with the Reds organization.  In 1967, he notched the first of seven 100 Runs Batted In seasons.

Welcome to the Baseball History Podcast:  Featuring This Week in Baseball History, baseball dictionary and a tour of baseball cities.  I’m your game announcer Bob Wright.

This is game 22 of the 2010 baseball season

In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 4 week of May.

May 27
2000 The Reds retire the No. 24 jersey worn by Hall of Famer Tony Perez making it just the sixth to be retired by the oldest professional baseball organization. The former first baseman and manager joins Fred Hutchinson (1), Johnny Bench (5), Joe Morgan (8), Ted Kluszewski (18) and Frank Robinson (20) to be honored in such a manner.

Atanasio Pérez Rigal, more commonly known as Tony Pérez and nicknamed “Big Dog,” was born May 14, 1942 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba.

Perez was a fixture on Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s.  A native Cuban, he left a job in a Havana sugar-cane factory to sign with the Reds organization.  In 1967, he notched the first of seven 100 Runs Batted In seasons.

Tony Pérez was named as the Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Coast League in 1964 when he played for the then minor league San Diego Padres.  He hit .309 with 34 home runs and 107 Runs Batted In that season for Padres.  His performance earned him a promotion to the Reds in the homestretch of the 1964 season.

After playing third base for Reds in the early part of his career, from 1972 onward he starred at first base.  Pèrez was one of the premier Runs Batted In players of his generation, driving in 100 or more runs seven times in his 23-year long career.

In an eleven-year stretch from 1967 to 1977, Pérez drove in 90 or more runs each year, with a high of 129 in 1970.  During the decade of the 1970s, Pérez was second among all major-leaguers in Runs Batted In, with 954, behind only his teammate Johnny Bench.

Pérez was selected to his first All-Star team in 1967.  The game, played on July 11, 1967, at Anaheim Stadium, went into 15 innings and was then the longest All-Star Game in history.  It was Pérez’s home run off future fellow Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter that propelled the National League to victory.  He was subsequently voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1967 All-Star Game.

In 1970, Pérez hit the first home run in Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium.  The 1970 campaign was his finest year, statistically: in addition to his 129 Runs Batted In, Pérez hit .317, slugged 40 home runs and scored 107 runs.

He came in third in the Most Valuable Player voting behind Billy Williams and winner Johnny Bench, his Cincinnati Reds teammate who had one of the best offensive seasons in the history of catchers that year (.293/45/148), in addition to winning a Gold Glove.

Beginning in 1970, the Reds went to the World Series four times in seven years, winning back-to-back world championships in 1975 and 1976, with Pérez starting at first base.  Following the Red’s sweep of the Phillies in the 1976 League Championship Series and New York Yankees in the 1976 World Series, Pérez was traded to the Montreal Expos.

After his trade, the “Big Red Machine”– considered one of baseball’s all-time greatest teams—sputtered and never again got into the Series, reaching the playoffs but one more time in 1979.  Sparky Anderson, the Reds manager during the championships of the 1970s, has stated in many interviews since that Pérez was the leader, and heart and soul of those teams.

After three seasons in Montreal, Pérez signed, for the 1980 season, as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.  In his first season with the Red Sox, he finished in the top ten in the American League in home runs and Runs Batted In, and won the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award.  Conversely, he also ranked among the top ten in strikeouts and led all American League batters by grounding into 25 double plays.

Perez remained a dangerous pinch hitter for several seasons after his days as a regular ended.  He was often compared to first baseman Orlando Cepeda, and Perez’s final homer in 1986 tied him with Cepeda at 379 for the most career homers by a Latin player.

For the 1983 season, Pérez reunited with “Big Red Machine” teammates Pete Rose and Joe Morgan on the Philadelphia Phillies.  Still a feared hitter based on his reputation, Pérez was a reserve player on the 1983 National League Champion Phillies.  Following the season, he returned to the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent, where he remained until his retirement following the 1986 season.

Pérez was a seven time All-Star who was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1967 All-Star Game.

In 2000, Pérez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He had the honor of being elected by the Baseball Writers, garnering 385 votes on 499 ballots for a total of 77.15%, just over the three-quarters minimum required for induction.

He finished his career with a .279 batting average, 379 home runs, 1652 runs batted in and 1272 runs scored.

After retiring, Pérez went on to manage the Reds and Florida Marlins.

Tony Perez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

In this inning we’ll open up the Baseball Dictionary
Under the letter: C

Cactus League
Commonly used nickname for the major-league teams that conduct spring training and play exhibition games against each other in the Southwest.  Formerly known as the Arizona State League (when Arizona had four teams training in the state), the terms “Cactus League” and “Cactus Loop” began appearing in newspaper articles in 1954.

The name seemed to solidify at the end of the 1954 spring training season when an American Legion post sponsored a trophy (immediately dubbed the Cactus Cup) for the team with the best training record in the Southwest.

The term comes from the cacti that are common to the southwestern area of the United States.

For those of you that want to stick around, here’s an
Extra Inning

Catching up on a couple of comments on baseballhistorypodcast.com the first on is from Seamus McDonnell and he has this to say:

Thank you very much for such a great podcast. I’m finding them a great and easily digestible way in which the listener can learn about the Game and the greats who played it.

As in Irishman interested in the history of the game in America I’m wondering if there has been any baseball players to make their mark on the game. As baseball must have been a lure to immigrants from Ireland due to the ‘ bat and ball’ oriented game. We have a game in Ireland called Hurling which primary sports equipment is a ‘Hurley’ and is played with a small leather ball.

I would be interested if you have come across any players or managers from 1st. generation  or 2nd…

oh and one more thing. At my local library I found an interesting graphic novel called- ‘The Golem’s Mighty Swing’ by James Sturm. An intresting tale of baseball during the prohibition days following a team called the Stars of David. Certainly worth having a look at if you haven’t already!

Thank you Bob and good luck with future episodes!
Seamus(an Irishman living in England)

Well listeners, would you like to answer Seamus’s question about 1st or 2nd generation Irishmen in baseball?

The second comment comes from Ollie James:

Hi Bob, just want to say thank you so much for your wonderful podcast. I have been listening to it since last year and being a lover of not only the Yankees but the history of the game, I find it a weekly treat to listen to each episode. I am currently stuck in Europe on work and will be for some time and I miss my home in Chicago and my Mom, who had the biggest influence on me in appreciation for the national pastime and the Bronx Bombers, and so listening to these weekly programs helps me feel in touch with my home and family. Especially when I’m in a continent where the game has none or seemingly little recognition.

I am a huge collector of game used memorabilia, especially the Yankees and have a now rather large collection of player worn Jerseys, pants, bats, cleats, helmets, caps and many other various items. I find that collecting these, like listening to, and where possible watching, vintage broadcasts and are a great way to keep in touch with this timeless sport. I am reminded of a story of the late great Ernie Harwell who was once asked what he would take from the now removed Tiger Stadium. He replied that he would like to take the toilet from the visitors clubhouse as many of the greatest ever to play the game once did their business in there and that it was one of the big symbols of baseball history contained in the park. True to his word, he took the toilet, filled it with flowers and presented it to his wife to put in the backyard. To touch something that has appeared in one Stadium, or has evidence of use in many is fascinating to me and adds a real personal thrill to the joy of collecting. Do you have items or treasured memorabilia that you have collected? I have attached a link to images of some of my collection which I placed on youtube. I hope one day to pass them onto my children and teach them the joy of baseball (and of course the Yankees)

Please keep up the fantastic work and I will one day get round to finishing my tour segment that I have been writing for you.

Thanks Again.

Ollie

I’m not a big collector of anything but memories; well, I do have 5 or 6 Angels bobble heads up in my office at work but not much else.  I know for sure that I don’t have a toilet from a ballpark.  I’m trying to imagine my wife reaction if I gave her one.  Humm, not a pleasant image.

If you would like to a part of Baseball History Podcast, submit your written contribution for the tour segment.  I will only be doing the tour when one is sent in by a listener.  You can do the segment on any stadium or team; past or present; Minor League, Major League, Negro League or any league outside of the US.  Write about 1 page in a conversational tone, send it to me, I will record it, and you will get the credit.

You can email me at baseballhistory@gmail.com.
You can follow me on Twitter; I’m BaseballHistory.
Look for the new BHP web site at Baseball History Podcast at baseballhistorypodcast.com.

Well, that’s it for today’s game of Baseball History Podcast.  I’ll see you later at the ballpark.