Ray Perry
Raymond Lawrence Perry
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 175 lb.
- Born December 23, 1920 in San Francisco, CA USA
- Died May 3, 1973 in Fremont, CA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Ray Perry began his minor league career in 1940 at 19 in the Class C Pioneer League. He hit .295,17,94 along with a league leading total of 41 doubles. He moved up to the Class B Western International League in 1941. He hit .313 with 12 HR and 88 RBI 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 with 12 HR and 75 RBI 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 World War II, Perry would have been in the majors in a year or two, but he was out of baseball until 1945. He hit .256 with 5 homers and 58 RBI with 30 doubles and 70 walks. Still only 25, the majors should have been in the very near future. However, on April 21, 1946, Perry fractured his leg so severely, that he was out for basically all of 1946 and 1947 - and he was also finished as a major league prospect.
In 1948 Perry moved to the Far West League as player/manager and hit .411 with 36 HR and 163 RBI 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 a .549 OBP and .727 SLG. In 1949, he hit .404 with 45 HR and 155 RBI with 169 walks and 20 SB. He had a .600 OBP and an .846 SLG. In 1950, he hit .366 with 44 HR and 170 RBI, with 179 walks and 23 SB. He had a .547 OBP and a .734 SLG.
In 1951, he slumped to .349 with 18 homers and 128 RBI with 180 walks and 19 SB. He still led league in HR and RBI for 4th year in a row. In 1952, he got 12 games in the PCL, but didn't hit and was sent down to the Cotton States League, where he hit .308 with 15 HR and 60 RBI with 79 walks to lead the league in HR in only 84 games. In 1953, he moved to the California League hitting .337 with 36 HR and 119 RBI, with 41 doubles, 142 walks, and 16 SB. He again led the league in HR. In 1954, he hit .341 with 37 HR and 128 RBI 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 whichever league he played in. If not for WWII and a horrible broken leg, who knows what he would have done...
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.
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