Herbert Perry

Herbert Edward Perry Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Lafayette High School (Mayo)
• Debut May 3, 1994
• Final Game September 10, 2004
• Born September 15, 1969 in Live Oak, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Herbert Perry overcame six knee operations to have a nine-year career in the majors, primarily as a third baseman.

Perry, born in Florida in 1969, played college ball at the University of Florida, where he was a pitcher and also a quarterback.

In college, he attracted the attention of the Cleveland Indians, who drafted him in the 2nd round in the 1991 amateur draft. In the minors, he was to suffer shoulder and wrist injuries, which slowed down his progress.

Starting with the Watertown Indians in 1991, the next season he was with the Kinston Indians in the Carolina League, hitting .278. In 1993, he was with the Canton-Akron Indians in the Eastern League, hitting .269, and then he blossomed with the Charlotte Knights in Triple A, posting averages of .327/ ~.397/.505 in 1994. That got him a look-see at the major league level.

His first cup of coffee in the majors was only 4 games in 1994. The next year, [1995 Indians|1995]], back in the minors with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple A, he posted a line of .317/~.373/.439 and played more than half his games at the major league level. He impressed with Cleveland, hitting .315 with 13 doubles in 52 games. He started one game in the 1995 World Series, batting seventh in the order.

The next year, 1996 he proved himself too good for the minors, hitting .338/~.371/.497 in Buffalo in 40 games. He had 7 games at the major league level. He struggled with a knee injury.

He was to have multiple knee operations, and missed all of 1997. He was then selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the expansion draft following that season. 1998 was spent in the minors, where Perry played in only 15 games at three different stops.

In 1999, Perry was back, hitting well in 27 games in Triple A with the Durham Bulls, and earning a promotion to the Tampa Bay team. He hit .254 with 6 home runs in 66 games.

The year 2000 was Perry's first year in the majors without spending part of the season in the minors. He started slowly with Tampa Bay, hitting only .214 in 7 games with them, and was put on waivers. Luckily for him, the Chicago White Sox were interested, and he spent the rest of the season with them. The 2000 White Sox were a division winner, with Frank Thomas the top hitter. Young up-and-coming players included Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez. Perry was to beat out Greg Norton for the third base job, after Norton had an injury. Perry hit .308 with 12 home runs in 109 games. Defensively, his range was excellent.

In 2001, he hit .256 in 92 games for the White Sox. 2002 found him relatively healthy, appearing in 132 games with the Texas Rangers and hitting .276 with 22 home runs, his career high. Alex Rodriguez hit 57 home runs for the team, playing next to Perry at shortstop, and Rafael Palmeiro was the first baseman, hitting 43 home runs. He was reduced to very limited play in 2003, appearing in 11 games at the major league level and 9 games in the minors. In 2004, he played 49 games with the Rangers, hitting .224 at the age of 34, and was in the minors for 8 games, where he hit .414.

His nickname on the White Sox was "The Milkman."

Perry's brother, Chan Perry, played briefly in the majors.

Related Sites

• Herb Perry at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page