Jeff Perry

Jeffrey Stewart Perry

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 202 lb.

• School College of the Canyons

• Born August 5, 1962 in Santa Monica, CA USA

BR Minors page

Jeff Perry pitched for six seasons in the USA and another eight in Mexico. He was once traded even-up for a future Hall-of-Famer.

Perry was the St. Louis Cardinals' first-round pick in the January 1983 draft. He debuted with the Johnson City Cardinals, going 3-6 with a 3.62 ERA that summer. He was 9th in the Appalachian League in ERA. In 1984, he improved to 7-5, 3.21 for the Savannah Cardinals. He returned to Savannah in 1985 but only got into 7 games, going 0-3 with a 3.82 ERA. He missed all of 1986, presumably due to injury.

In 1987, Perry was in the Minnesota Twins chain. He bounced between three stops - the Visalia Oaks (5-6, 4.66), Orlando Twins (4-3, 4.31) and Portland Beavers (1-3, 6.18), ranging from A to AAA. He was then the player to be named later in a deal to the Cleveland Indians for future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. Assigned to the Williamsport Bills, he had a 1-0, 1.57 record in three games following the trade.

Perry split 1988 between the Midland Angels (0-1, 2 Sv, 4.15) and Torreon Cotton Dealers (10-6, 12 Sv, 3.15, 108 K in 108 2/3 IP). He led the Mexican League in games pitched (59) and games relieved (58) and ranked 12th in ERA, one of only two relievers to qualify and rank that highly in '88. The right-hander remained sharp with Torreon in 1989 (12-9, 6 Sv, 3.21, 130 K in 126 1/3 IP).

In 1990, the Californian hurler was 6-6 with 27 saves and a 2.99 ERA for Torreon, fanning 117 in 99 1/3 innings. He led the LMB in saves. The next season, Jeff posted a 8-9, 3.82 record with 14 saves and topped 100 strikeouts for his fourth straight year despite pitching almost entirely in relief. Perry split 1992 between Torreon and the Saraperos de Saltillo (5-5, 5 Sv, 4.60), fading from his first four seasons south of the border.

Spending all of 1993 with Torreon, Perry was 10-7 with 14 saves and a 3.11 ERA. He struggled in 1994 with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes and Mexico City Tigers (2-, 6 Sv, 6.60, 1.93 WHIP). In 1995, he was 4-11 with a 4.86 ERA for the Nuevo Laredo Owls, walking 63 in 109 1/3 IP. It was the only time in his Mexican League career he was used primarily as a starter.

In 85 games (62 starts) in the US minors, Perry was 21-27 with two saves and a 3.94 ERA. In 339 games (49 starts) in the Mexican League, he was 57-62 with 84 saves and a 3.84 ERA. He retired with more saves in Mexico than anyone else born in the US. As of 2000, he was 18th in Mexican League history in saves.

Sources include The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros