2019 National Free Signer - Jim Perry

I was really excited to meet Jim Perry when it was announced that he would be one of the free signers at this year's National.  When I was in high school, my bus driver would tell me that he grew up in Williamston, NC with the Perry brothers and how he played baseball with them.

Jim said he thought he could remember him, but since I couldn't remember his last name, there wasn't much help.  I just remember him as Dave, and a super nice guy.

Perry was very talkative, and interacted with everyone.  I thought he was really cool to meet.  The line took a while, but to me, it was worth it.

Perry (b. 1935) played in the majors from 1959 to 1975 for the Indians, Twins, Tigers and A's.  He had a career record of 215-174 with 1,576 strike outs and a 3.45 ERA.  He was the 1970 AL Cy Young Award winner, when he went 24-12 with a 3.04 ERA.  He finished second in the 1959 AL Rookie of the Year voting (to Bob Allison).  He was an All Star 3 times (1961, 1970 and 1971).  His best finish in the AL MVP voting was 9th, which he did twice (1969 and 1970).  He won 20 or more games twice (1969 and 1970).  Perry appeared on only two Hall of Fame ballots when eligible (1981 and 1983), but could only get a peak of 1.9% of the vote.