Perry returns to Rangers in pursuit of 300th win
Needing only 21 more victories to reach the 300 mark, Gaylord Perry wasn’t going to let age stand in his way of history.
“The way I look at it, I feel I can pitch well enough this year and another year, at least,” Perry told United Press International in Spring Training when he was 41 years old and was starting his second stint with the Texas Rangers. “Maybe another one after that. The important thing is that I’ll get the opportunity to pitch here.
“So what if I’m 41? I’m proud of it. I still believe I can pitch.”
On Feb. 15, 1980, the Rangers acquired Perry from the San Diego Padres along with Tucker Ashford and a minor leaguer in exchange for Willie Montañez. The deal ended a months-long saga that saw Perry leave the Padres without permission toward the end of the 1979 campaign and go home to Williamston, N.C.
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“It was important to me to get back home because of my family,” Perry told UPI. “When I left San Diego, (Padres president) Ballard Smith said he’d do the best he could to make a trade for me. He tried but he couldn’t work anything out until a few weeks ago. I understand that and I’m not complaining. I lost $25,000 in salary by doing what I did and I’d do the same thing all over again.”
Perry was first traded to the Rangers in June of 1975 when he was coming off a dominant three-year stretch with Cleveland which included the 1972 American League Cy Young Award. In two-and-a-half seasons with Texas, Perry went 42-34 before he was traded to the Padres following the 1977 season. With San Diego in 1978, Perry won the National League Cy Young Award – becoming the first pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues.
During the 1980 season, Perry was fined an undisclosed amount by MLB for tampering, alleging that he tried to arrange a trade with the Rangers in 1979. The Rangers were cleared of any wrongdoing, allowing the eventual trade to stand.
“I wish he was still on our team,” Padres infielder Kurt Bevacqua told the Los Angeles Times. “There aren’t many I’ve seen who are half as good as Gaylord.”
Perry went 6-9 with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts for the Rangers in 1980 before being traded to the Yankees on Aug. 14 in exchange for Ken Clay and a minor leaguer. Perry went 4-4 with the Yankees down the stretch to finish the season 10-13 with a 3.68 ERA, working 205.2 innings.
Perry would pitch for the Braves in 1981 before moving to Seattle in 1982, where he picked up his 300th win.
Perry was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991.
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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