Joe Perona

Joseph Paul Perona

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School Northwestern University
• High School St. Bede Academy
• Born February 8, 1970 in Spring Valley, IL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Catcher Joe Perona played in the Detroit Tigers system from 1991 to 1995. He peaked at Double-A, spending his final three seasons at that level.

He was taken in 8th round of the 1991 amateur draft. It was a power-packed round for pitchers as Jason Schmidt, Brad Radke, Derek Lowe and Steve Trachsel were also taken in it, but not so much for position players, as Perona was taken ahead of obscure outfielder Dax Jones.

While he had a solid first season, hitting .288/.395/.503 with 7 home runs, 28 RBI and 26 walks (to 20 Ks) in 51 games between the Fayetteville Generals and Bristol Tigers, he never again experienced such success and finished with a .242/.314/.357 stat line overall. In 367 games, he hit 21 home runs with 123 RBI. His initial campaign impressed enough that Baseball America named him Detroit's #10 prospect going into 1992. He was the only one from that year's top 10 to not eventually make the majors.