Books and articles about Pascual Perez

No matter what his win-loss record, Perez was always in the spotlight for his antics, intensity, fines, suspensions, and incarcerations. His showmanship pleased fans but could annoy opponents: shooting batters with an imaginary finger-gun, pounding the ball into the ground, and running full speed to the dugout (gold chains and long, curly locks bouncing) after an inning-ending strikeout. He eventually added the "Pascual pitch" (his version of the "eephus") to his repertoire. And he was involved in more than one beanball incident.

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The animated, rail-thin Dominican hot dog became a legend in Atlanta on August 19, 1982, the day he was to make his first start for the Braves. He had just passed his driver's test and got lost on his way to the stadium. He circled Atlanta three times on I-285, ran out of gas, and arrived 10 minutes after gametime.

Perez went 15-8 in 1983 but faced drug charges in the Dominican Republic that winter and found himself in jail. By May he was allowed to rejoin the Braves, and he went 14-8. Disabled three times in 1985 with shoulder pain, he went AWOL on the way to Montreal after a July 21 loss in New York and was suspended until August 5. He finished the year 1-13 and was released the following April.

Though he was out of organized ball in 1986, the Expos signed Perez to a minor league contract for 1987. Visa problems kept him from reporting until May. He joined the Expos in August and went 7-0. One of his 12 wins in 1988 was a five-inning, rain-shortened 1-0 no-hitter in Philadelphia on September 24. He also pinch ran 14 times that year. He started slowly in 1989, but by mid-season was back to his 1988 form.

Pascual's brothers Melido, Dario, and Valerio, were all signed as pitchers by Kansas City. Melido pitched for the White Sox in 1989. (JCA)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » August 19, 1982: Scheduled to pitch against the Expos in a home game, Braves' rookie Pascual Perez misses the start of the game when he can't find his way to the ball park. Perez circles on the expressway several times but got lost. He will be given a Braves jacket with the new number I-85 on it. Phil Niekro takes the mound and wins 5–4 to run his record to 11–3. » January 9, 1984: Braves Pascual Perez is arrested for cocaine possession in his native Dominican Republic. Under local law he will remain in jail until his trial, forcing him to miss the beginning of the season. Perez maintains that he was given the packet by a woman he did not know and was unaware of what it contained. » April 17, 1984: Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Braves pitcher Pascual Perez until May 15th as a result of his off-season drug arrest in the Dominican Republic, but an independent arbitrator will overturn the suspension because of lack of evidence. » August 12, 1984: In one of the ugliest brawl-filled games in ML history, the Braves beat the Padres 5–3 in Atlanta. The trouble begins when Atlanta's Pascual Perez hits Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game, and escalates as the Padres pitchers retaliate by throwing at Perez all four times he comes to the plate. All in all, the game features two bench-clearing brawls, the 2nd of which includes several fans, and 19 ejections, including both managers and both replacement managers. Padres manager Dick Williams will be suspended for 10 days and fined $10,000, while Braves manager Joe Torre and five players will each receive 3-game suspensions. But the brawl in Atlanta, as Dave Campbell observed, "woke the Padres up out of their doldrums." » September 30, 1984: Padre Eddie Miller and Dodger Tony Brewer hit homers today in their last major league at bats. Miller's 9th-inning four bagger, his only career homer, comes in a 4–3 loss to Atlanta's Pascual Perez, while Brewer, the 1984 PCL bat champ, homers in LA's 7–2 win over the Giants. » April 1, 1986: In a purge of its pitching staff, Atlanta releases veterans Pascual Perez, Len Barker, Terry Forster, and Rick Camp. » July 29, 1988: In the Cubs' 8–3 win over the Kevin Gross and the host Phillies, Rick Sutcliffe swipes home, the first pitcher since Pascual Perez in 1984 to steal home. It comes on the front end of a double steal with Mitch Webster. Sutcliffe is the first Cubs pitcher to steal home since Hippo Vaughn in 1919. » August 15, 1991: Yankees 1B Don Mattingly is benched and fined $250 for refusing to cut his shoulder-length hair, but the Yankees still beat Kansas City, 5–1. He will get one two days later, and the hair will eventually be auctioned off for $3,000 to benefit a children's charity. Mattingly is not alone; Steve Farr, Matt Nokes, and Pascual Perez have all been told their hair length violates club policy. Mel Hall, who wears his hair in a small ponytail before and after games, is warned his appearance is "borderline." » September 27, 1991: The Indians lose their 100th game as the Yankees beat Greg Swindell, 3–0. With eight innings of work, Pascual Perez (2–4) earns his last ML decision. » March 6, 1992: Yankees P Pascual Perez is suspended for one year for violation of baseball's drug policy.