| Ron Perranoski | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1936-04-01)April 1, 1936 Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| Died: October 2, 2020(2020-10-02) (aged 84) Vero Beach, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 14, 1961, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 17, 1973, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 79–74 |
| Earned run average | 2.79 |
| Strikeouts | 687 |
| Saves | 178 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Ronald Peter Perranoski (April 1, 1936 – October 2, 2020) was an American professionalbaseball player andcoach.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball as a left-handedrelief pitcher from1961 to1973, most prominently as a member of theLos Angeles Dodgers for whom he appeared in threeWorld Series and, with theMinnesota Twins teams that won two consecutiveAmerican League Western Division titles. He also played for theDetroit Tigers and theCalifornia Angels. After his playing career, Perranoski worked as a Major League pitching coach, winning two more World Series with the Dodgers in the 1980s.
Perranoski was born inPaterson, New Jersey and grew up inFair Lawn, New Jersey,[2] where he attendedFair Lawn High School, (1952-54) and pitched on its state champion baseball team. He also played on the basketball team.[3][4][5] As a child attending Yankees games, he was inspired by watching Yankees pitcherJoe Page to want to become a relief pitcher.[4]
Perranoski attendedMichigan State University, where he was a teammate and friend ofDick Radatz, who also would become a standout reliever in the 1960s.[4]
Perranoski was signed as an amateur free agent by theChicago Cubs on June 9, 1958.[6]
The Cubs assigned him to theClass BBurlington Bees, where he started 13 of the 18 games in which he appeared, with a 5–9won–loss record and 6.43earned run average (ERA).[7] He spent 1959 with theDouble-ASan Antonio Missions, starting 26 games, with an 11–10 record and 3.12 ERA.[8]
Before the start of the 1960 season, the Cubs traded Perranoski to the Dodgers, along withJohnny Goryl, Lee Handley and $25,000 forDon Zimmer.[6] Perranoski had just finished six months in the Army, and Dodgers general managerBuzzy Bavasi had never seen him play, but decided to take a chance on Perranoski as the third player in the Zimmer trade because Perranoski had received a substantial bonus from the Cubs which gave him potential worth in Bavasi's eyes.[9] In 1960, he pitched for two different DodgerTriple-A affiliates, with a combined 12–11 record and 2.58 ERA. Unlike his earlier years, Perranoski pitched the majority of his games as a relief pitcher, starting only 18 of the 57 games in which he appeared.[10]
In his rookie season with the Dodgers (1961), Perranoski pitched 52 games in relief, with one start. He was 7–5 with a 2.68 ERA and sixsaves in 91.2innings pitched.[11] In 1962, he led all major league pitchers in games pitched (70) and was tied for third in saves (19), behindRoy Face (28) and old friend Radatz (24).[12] He was 6–6 with a 2.85 ERA, and pitched 107.1 innings, all in relief.[13]
In 1963, Perranoski appeared in 69 games, saved 21 games, had a 1.67 ERA, and won 16 of 19 relief decisions for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who went on to winthat year's World Series in four consecutive games over theNew York Yankees.[14][4] He appeared in Game 2 of that Series and earned a save in relief ofJohnny Podres.[15] Perranoski led the National League in pitching appearances and was second in saves, behind onlyLindy McDaniel's 22 saves.[16] He was fourth in the NLMost Valuable Player (MVP) voting.[17]
In 1964, Perranoski had a career high 72 pitching appearances, but his ERA rose to rose to 3.09, with 14 saves and a 5–7 record.[1] He improved the following year with a 2.24 ERA, 18 saves and a 6–6 record in 59 games.[18] Perranoski would again pitch in and win the1965 World Series with the Dodgers over the Minnesota Twins. He relieved in two games without a decision or save, giving up three runs in 3.2 innings.[19]
He returned with the Dodgers to the1966 World Series, but lost to theBaltimore Orioles in four straight games.[4] Perranoski pitched in 55 games that year with a 6–7 record and 3.18 ERA, but only had six saves; asPhil Regan became the Dodgers primary closer, pitching in 65 games with 21 saves and a 1.62 ERA.[20] Perranoski pitched in two 1966 World Series games, with no decisions or saves, giving up two runs in 3.1 innings.[21] He had a good year in 1967, leading the NL in pitching appearances (70), with a 2.45 ERA and 16 saves, but the Dodgers fell into eighth place.[22]
After the 1967 season ended, the Dodgers traded Perranoski to the Minnesota Twins, along withJohn Roseboro andBob Miller forJim "Mudcat" Grant (who Perranoski pitched against in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series[23]) andZoilo Versalles (who hit a triple against Perranoski in Game 2 of the 1965 World Series[24]).[6][25] In his first year with the Twins, Perranoski led them in games pitched (66) and was 8–7 with a 3.10 ERA and six saves; but reliever Al Worthington led team with a league-leading 18 saves and a 2.71 ERA.[26]
Perranoski had two more exceptional seasons in his career, 1969-70. He was named theSporting News Reliever of the Year for the American League in both 1969 and 1970 while pitching for the Twins.[27] He led all major league pitchers in saves in 1969 with 31,[28] and led the American League in 1970 with a career-high 34,[4][29] only one save behindWayne Granger's major league best 35 saves that year.[30] His ERAs in 1969-70 were 2.11 and 2.43 respectively.[1] In 1969, he was 13th in AL MVP voting,[31] and in 1970 was 12th in MVP voting and 7th in voting for theCy Young Award.[32]
His Twins teams won the AL Western Division each of those years, but lost to the Orioles in the playoffs both times, three games to none.[33] In the1969 American League Championship Series (ALCS), Perranoski pitched in all three ALCS games, losing Game 1 in the bottom of the 12th inning after pitching 3.2 innings in relief ofJim Perry,[34] whenPaul Blair laid down abunt to scoreMark Belanger from third base. Perranoski and his managerBilly Martin said there was nothing that could be done because it was a perfect bunt.[35] He pitched two games in the1970 ALCS, but was ineffective, giving up five runs in 2.1 innings pitched.[36]
After pitching in 36 games for the Twins with a 6.75 ERA in 1971, he was waived by the Twins in July and claimed by the Tigers.[1][6] He pitched only 18 innings in 11 games for the Tigers, but had a 2.50 ERA and two saves.[37] In 1972, his ERA ballooned to 7.71, and the Tigers released him at the end of July.[38][6] The Dodgers signed him in early August, and he appeared in nine games with a 2.70 ERA, but was released after the season ended.[6][39] He ended his career with the California Angels in 1973, but played only sparingly.[1]
In 13 seasons, Perranoski appeared in 737 major league games (only once as a starter), pitching 1,174.2 innings, with a 2.79 lifetime ERA. His record was 79–74, with 178 saves. He averaged 5.3strikeouts per nine innings, 3.6bases on ball per nine innings, and .4home runs per nine innings.[1]
After his playing career ended, Perranoski was the Dodgers'minor league pitching coordinator (1973 or 1975–80),[40] then the MLBpitching coach for Los Angeles for 14 seasons (1981–94).[41] During this time, the Dodgers ranked first or second eight times in the NL and led all of major league baseball in ERA in 1982-83, 1985, 1989 and 1991.[40] He joined theSan Francisco Giants as minor league pitching coordinator in 1995, was promoted to bench coach for managerDusty Baker in 1997 and then to pitching coach in 1998-99.[41][40] He was succeeded as the Giants pitching coach byDave Righetti, who had great success with the Giants and considered Perranoski his mentor.[40] He had been a special assistant togeneral managerBrian Sabean since 2000.
In 1983, Perranoski was inducted into theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[42]
On June 6, 1964, Fair Lawn honored him with a Ron Perranoski Day, including 1,000 Fair Lawn residents honoring him before a Dodgers-Mets game at Shea Stadium, followed by a dinner in Fair Lawn later that evening. A Ron Perranoski Scholarship Fund was created for deserving high school candidates who had an interest in baseball and wanted to attend college.[43]
In 1965, Perranoski appeared in an episode of the television seriesBranded ("Coward Step Aside", S1, Ep 7) with former baseball player and series starChuck Connors.[44][45]
Perranoski died in his home inVero Beach, Florida, on October 2, 2020, following complications from a long illness.[46][14]
Several thousand fans from Fair Lawn, NJ, were on hand to honor their most celebrated citizen, Ron Perranoski
In 1954, as a 17-year-old Fair Lawn High School student, Potts established the Fair Lawn Athletic Club baseball team to give himself and his friends a chance to play summer baseball. The team soon became the Paterson and later the Clifton Phillies, which was one of the most successful teams of its kind in the country until it folded in 1999. Among the first players on the Phillies was Potts' high school teammate, Ron Perranoski, who later starred as a relief pitcher on several Los Angeles Dodgers world championship teams.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching coach 1981–1994 | Succeeded by |
