Gerald June Perry (born October 30, 1960) is an American former professional baseball
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...
. He played from 1983 to 1995 for the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...
,
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...
and
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...
of
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) ...
(MLB).
Career
In 1988, Perry had his best season, batting an even .300. He was one of only five National League batters that hit .300 or better that season who had the required number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Perry was a contender for the title virtually the entire season, but ended up fifth.
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed h ...
won the title that season by batting .313. For his efforts, Perry was named to the 1988 NL All-Star team.
In 1993 he tied a
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...
single-season club record with 24
pinch hits, and in 1995 he became the Cardinals all-time pinch-hit leader with his 70th Cardinal pinch hit.
Perry was hitting coach for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
from 2000 to 2002, the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
from 2003 to 2005, the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
in 2006, and the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
from 2007 until he was fired on June 13, 2009. The Cubs replaced him with
Von Joshua
Von Everett Joshua (born May 1, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–71, 1973–74 and 1979), San Francisco Giants (1975–76), Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77) and San Diego Padres (1980) of Major Le ...
. In 2011, the Athletics re-hired him as batting coach and let him go after the season ended.
He was the hitting coach for the AAA
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
in 2012. Perry joined the
Erie SeaWolves for the 2013 season as their hitting coach.
He was the hitting coach for the
USA team in the
2013 World Baseball Classic
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
Unlike ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Gerald
1960 births
Living people
African-American baseball coaches
African-American baseball players
Atlanta Braves players
Baseball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state)
Baseball players from Savannah, Georgia
Chicago Cubs coaches
Durham Bulls players
Greenwood Braves players
Gulf Coast Braves players
Kansas City Royals players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball hitting coaches
National League All-Stars
Oakland Athletics coaches
Richmond Braves players
Pittsburgh Pirates coaches
St. Louis Cardinals players
Savannah Braves players
Seattle Mariners coaches
United States national baseball team people
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople