Ray Perry
From BR Bullpen
Raymond Lawrence Perry
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 175 lb.
- Debut N/A
- Final Game N/A
- Born December 23, 1920 in San Francisco, CA USA
- Died May 3, 1973 in Fremont, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
- Began his minor league career in 1940 at 19 in the Class C Pioneer League. He hit .295,17,94 along with 41 doubles. He moved up to the Class B Western International League in 1941. He hit .313,12,88 with another 41 doubles. He made it to the Class AAA San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League in 1942, where he hit .271,12,75 with 27 doubles. As a 21-year-old third baseman who proved himself in the PCL, he was still a good prospect. Were it not for WWII, Perry would have been in the majors in a year or two, but he was out of baseball until 1945. He hit .256,5,58 with 30 doubles and 70 walks. Still only 25, the majors should have been in the very near future. On 4/21/46, Perry fractured his leg so severely, that he was out for basically all of 1946-1947 - and also finished as a major league prospect.
- In 1948 Perry moved to the Far West League as player/manager and hit .411,36,163 with 139 walks and 18 SB. He led in BA by 63 points, in RBI by 48, and hit more HR than other TWO players combined. Also had .549 OBP and .727 SLG.
- In 1949 hit .404,45,155 with 169 walks and 20 SB. Had .600 OBP and .846 SLG.
- In 1950 hit .366,44,170 with 179 walks and 23 SB. Had .547 OBP and .734 SLG.
- In 1951 slumped to .349,18,128 with 180 walks and 19 SB. Still led league in HR and RBI for 4th year in a row.
- In 1952 got 12 games in the PCL, but didn't hit and was sent down to Cotton States League, where he hit .308,15,60 with 79 walks to lead the league in HR in only 84 games.
- In 1953 moved to the California League hitting .337,36,119 with 41 doubles, 142 walks, and 16 SB. Again led league in HR.
- In 1954 hit .341,37,128 with 184 walks to lead the league in HR for the 7th consecutive time, while serving as Don Drysdale's first pro manager.
- From 1955 to 1958 he inched more towards manager and away from player.
- Perry played against many future major leaguers, and was for many years the dominant player in the league. If not for WWII and a horrible broken leg......
-Material stolen mostly from Bill James
Perry was a scout for the Chicago Cubs from 1961 to 1967, briefly managing the Lodi Crushers in 1966. He scouted for the New York Yankees in 1968-1969, and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1970 to 1973.
