Gary Charles Peters (April 21, 1937 – January 26, 2023) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player. He was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played on two major league teams for 14 seasons, from 1959 through 1972. He was one of the best-hitting pitchers of his era.

Major league baseball

The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

signed Peters as an amateur free agent in after he graduated from

Grove City College Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-profession ...

. After four brief call-ups, he got a pitching job on the White Sox in , winning 19 games (19-8) and the

American League Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

. A left-handed pitcher, he led the American League in

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 1963 and 1966, with the most wins in 1964. In 1965, he was limited by a bad back.

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, ...

, who lived with him part of the year, recalled that Peters had to sleep on a mattress on the floor and could not stand up straight in the mornings.John and Valenti, p. 95 He led in

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

as a pitcher in 1968. He stayed in the White Sox organization through the season and was traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, where he spent the last three years of his playing career. Peters was named to the American League All-Star roster in 1964 and 1967, and finished in the top 10 in the Most Valuable Player voting in 1963, 1964, and 1967. He had a .222 lifetime

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and hit 19 home runs and 102 RBI. He was frequently used as a pinch-hitter, once winning a game with a pinch-hit home run. On May 5, 1968, Peters hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in Comiskey Park, helping the White Sox to a 5-1 victory over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He was also used as a pinch-runner. Peters was a big practical joker. Once, when the White Sox went to play the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

, they found themselves at the same hotel as the Yankees, who had not left for their next destination yet. Obtaining the key to

Joe Pepitone Joseph Anthony Pepitone (born October 9, 1940) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played the bulk of his career for the New York Yankees. He also played several seasons with the Chicago Cubs and had short stints wi ...

's room, Peters snuck into the hitter's room in the middle of the night and started jumping on the bed and screaming, scaring the hitter tremendously until Pepitone finally got the lights turned on and figured out what had happened. Another time, he caught a baby octopus while skindiving and threw it at Ed Stroud in the locker room the next day. On September 30, 2000, the Chicago White Sox announced that Gary Peters and 26 other former and active White Sox players were members of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team.

Personal life and death

On January 26, 2023, it was announced that Peters had died at the age of 85.

Major League stats

MLB awards

* American League All-Star (1964, 1967) * American League Rookie of the Year (1963)

MLB achievements

* American League leader in ERA (1963, 1966) * American League leader in wins (1964) * American League leader in fielding average as pitcher (1968) * American League pennant team (1959) * 20-game winner (1964) * Chicago White Sox All-Century Team (2000)

References

External links

, o
SABR Biography Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Gary 1937 births 2023 deaths American League All-Stars American League ERA champions American League wins champions American people of Dutch descent Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Springs Sky Sox (WL) players Davenport DavSox players Dubuque Packers players Florida Instructional League White Sox players Grove City Wolverines baseball players Holdrege White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners People from Grove City, Pennsylvania Rapiños de Occidente players San Diego Padres (minor league) players