Jim Perry
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Both • Throws: Right
6-4, 190lb (193cm, 86kg)
Born: October 30, 1935 in Williamston, NC
High School: Williamston HS (Williamston, NC)
School: Campbell University (Buies Creek, NC)
Debut: April 23, 1959 (11,641st in major league history)
vs. DET 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 SO, 4 BB, 4 ER
Last Game: August 5, 1975
vs. TEX 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 2 ER
Full Name: James Evan Perry
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Brother of Gaylord Perry
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1959
Willie McCovey
Billy Williams
Maury Wills
Tommy Davis
Jim Kaat
Tim McCarver
Jim Perry
Mike Cuellar
Zoilo Versalles
All-Time Teammate Team
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Notable Events and Chronology
Jim Perry was the older brother of Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, the two combining for 529 victories. Jim won 20 games twice for the Minnesota Twins, for whom he pitched ten seasons. A right-hander with fine control, Perry won the 1970 American League Cy Young Award when he led the league with 24 wins. Ten years earlier he had paced the AL with 18 victories while with the Indians. In contrast to his Hall of Fame brother, Jim did not rely on a spitball, but employed a sharp breaking ball and a fastball to keep batters off balance.
Biography
The less-famous half of the second-winningest brother combination in ML history, Jim Perry won 215 games in 17 seasons, and younger brother Gaylord added 314 to boost the family total to a whopping 529. A tall, trim righthander, Perry overcame several seasons in Twins manager Sam Mele’s doghouse, as well as the rap that he was “too nice” to win consistently in the ML, and in 1970 won the AL Cy Young Award with a 24-12 record.
Perry was first signed by the Indians, and in his second season he led the AL in starts (36), wins (18), and shutouts (four) as Cleveland’s number-one starter. His ERA jumped to 4.71 in 1961, and after a 12-12 season in 1962 he was traded to the Twins for pitcher Jack Kralick in May 1963. Perry shuttled between the bullpen and starting rotation in his first six seasons with the Twins, usually only starting when injuries or doubleheaders necessitated it, and he pitched well, posting only one ERA above 3.00 from 1965 to 1968. In 1965 Minnesota even placed Perry on waivers, and after he went unclaimed he won seven straight games to help the Twins to the World Series.
Billy Martin became the Twins’ manager in 1969, and Perry immediately took over as the number-one starter, going 20-12 with a 2.82 ERA as the Twins won the AL West. The following year, he won the AL Cy Young Award with his 24-12, 3.03 record as the Twins won a second straight division title, but they were swept by the Orioles in the LCS for the second year in a row, with Perry losing Game One. He averaged over 15 wins a year from 1971 to 1974, but was traded to the Tigers in 1973 and to the Indians in 1974 before finishing his career with Cleveland and Oakland in 1975.
At the plate Perry was a switch-hitter, and boasted a respectable .199 career average.
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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Teams Jim Perry Played For
Cleveland Indians (1959-1963)
Minnesota Twins (1963-1972)
Detroit Tigers (1973)
Cleveland Indians (1974-1975)
Oakland Athletics (1975)
Best Season: 1969
Jim Perry was one of the finest pitchers in the American League in 1969-1970. In ’69 he went 20-6 with a 2.82 ERA, helping Minnesota to the AL West title.
Factoids
Jim and Gaylord Perry are the only brothers to each win a Cy Young Award. Jim won the American League award in 1970, Gaylord won in the AL in 1972, and in the National League in 1978.
Where He Played
Starting pitcher (447 games ), relief pitcher (183).
Family Tree
His brother, Gaylord, is in the Hall of Fame.
Similar Players
Milt Pappas, Charlie Root, Doyle Alexander, Rick Reuschel
Related Players
Phil Niekro and Joe Niekro, who eclipsed the Perry brothers mark for wins by brothers.
Post-Season Appearances
1965 World Series
1969 American League Championship Series
1970 American League Championship Series
Post-Season Notes
Perry was a reliever in his two appearances in the 1965 World Series. In 1969 he started Game One of the ALCS, handing a 3-2 lead to Ron Perranoski in the ninth. But Perranoski failed to shut the door, and the Orioles won in 12 innings. Perry started Game One again in 1970, but was knocked out in the fourth inning, having allowed seven earned runs.
Awards and Honors
1970 AL Cy Young
Transactions
Before 1956 Season: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent; May 2, 1963: Traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Minnesota Twins for Jack Kralick; March 27, 1973: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Detroit Tigers for Danny Fife and cash; March 19, 1974: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Detroit Tigers to the Cleveland Indians. The Cleveland Indians sent Rick Sawyer and Walt Williams to the New York Yankees. The Detroit Tigers sent Ed Farmer to the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees sent Jerry Moses to the Detroit Tigers; May 20, 1975: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with Dick Bosman to the Oakland Athletics for Blue Moon Odom and cash; August 13, 1975: Released by the Oakland Athletics.
All-Star Selections
1961 AL
1970 AL
1971 AL
Replaced
Herb Score, in the 1960 Indians’ rotation.
Replaced By
The 1975 Indians had several young pitchers they preferred to look at instead of 39-year old Jim Perry. Dennis Eckersley was one of them.
Best Strength as a Player
Curveball
Largest Weakness as a Player
No glaring weaknesses.
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