Tony Perez Atanasio Pérez Rigal, better known as Tony Pérez (born May 14, 1942 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba), is a former player in Major League Baseball. After playing third base in the early part of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, from 1972 onward he starred at first base. In the early part of the 1970s he was a key member of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine". Apart from his years with the Reds (1964-76, '84-86), he also played for the Montreal Expos (1977-79), Boston Red Sox (1980-82) and Philadelphia Phillies (1983). After retiring, Pérez went on the manage with the Reds and Florida Marlins. He currently holds the title of Special Assistant to the General Manager with the Marlins.
In 2000, Pérez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He had the honor of being elected by the Baseball Writers rather than the Old Timers Committee, garnering 385 votes on 499 ballots for a total of 77.15just over the three-quarters minimum required for induction.
Tony Pérez's induction was controversial as some people felt he is not a deserving Hall of Famer and got in due to the fact he played on one of the most famous teams in history. The rap on Pérez was that his outstanding cumulative statistics were the result of his longevity, and but for a brief period in the early 1970s, he was not the outstanding player at his position. However, it should be noted that Pèrez was one of the premier R.B.I. men of his generation, batting in 100 or more runs seven times in his 23-year long career. In an eleven-year stretch from 1967 to 1977, Pérez drove in 90 or more runs each year, with a high of 129 RBIs in 1970.
The 1970 campaign was his finest year, statisically: in addition to his 129 RBIs, Pérez hit .317, slugged 40 home runs and scored 107 runs. He came in third in the Most Valuable Player voting behind Willie McCovey and winner Johnny Bench, his Cincinnati Reds teammate who had one of the best offensive seasons in the history of catchers that year (.293/45/148), in addition to winning a Gold Glove.
Beginning with 1970, the Reds went to the World Series four times in seven years with Pérez as a starting player. He departed after the 1976 season (which was capped by the team's sweep of the Yankees in the World Series), and the Big Red Machine -- considered one of baseball's all-time great teams -- sputtered and never again got into the Series, reaching the playoffs but one more time in 1979. (Tony Pérez was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1998.) Pérez also was a reserve player on the 1983 National League Champion Phillies, and batted .368 in his five World Series appearances.
Tony Pérez was a seven time All-Star who was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 1967 All-Star Game. The game, played on July 11, 1967, went into 15 innings and ranks as the longest All-Star Game in history. It was Pérez's home run off future fellow Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter that propelled the National League to victory.
He finished his career with a .279 batting average, 379 home runs, 1652 RBI and 1272 runs scored.
On the Adam Carolla Radio Show, Pete Rose admitted that Tony Perez was the most endowed player on the Reds. He said, "Tony Perez was the only guy in the lockerroom that ever needed three shower shoes." This has been confirmed by Molly McCarthy.
