Juan C. Pérez

Juan Carlos Pérez Rondón

• Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.

• Born May 17, 1969

Olympics-Reference page

Juan Pérez was only a .500 pitcher in 10 seasons in Cuba but won a Gold Medal in the Olympics.

Pérez pitched for Las Tunas in the Cuban Serie Nacional. In 1989-1990, he led the eastern division in wins (10, tied with Wilson Hawthorne), innings (151 1/3), complete games (7, tied), walks (67, the most in all of Cuba) and strikeouts (117, one behind Cuban leader Osvaldo Fernández Guerra). He led the Serie Nacional in 1990-1991 in innings (106 2/3) and strikeouts (107) while his 57 walks led the east and were four shy of Cuban leader Eddie Oropesa.

The young workhorse paced the Serie Nacional in innings (119 2/3), starts (15), strikeouts (134) and walks (57) in 1991-1992 and led the eastern division with 96 hits allowed (Oropesa had more in the west). The wild flamethrower made the Cuban national team for the 1992 Olympics. He went 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA for the Gold Medalists, with 11 strikeouts and four hits allowed in 8 2/3 innings. He appeared against Italy (one run in five in winning his only start), Puerto Rico (two shutout innings to close out a win) and Taiwan (1 2/3 shutout innings).

Injuries ended his career; with such a large workload at such a young age, this is hardly shocking. He went 46-46 with 3 saves and a 4.47 ERA in 155 games in Cuba. He walked 476 in 808 2/3 IP.

Sources

• 2005 Guia Official de Beisbol
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• Defunct IBAF site