The Great Baseball Player Tony Perez

I remember being outraged as to how long it took for Tony Perez, the great baseball player, to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Now that he has been enshrined for a while, I reflect on this winter’s day about his greatness as a clutch hitter.

Of course “Doggy” as he was known, was part of a great Cincinnati Reds’ team. Ask the players on that team and they will testify that Perez was indispensable.

When Cincinnati did lose Perez to free agency, their fortunes turned for the worse.

It was a “pick your poison” situation for Yankees’ manager Billy Martin in game 2 of the 1976 World Series, an eventual Reds’ sweep.

This was the lone competitive game of that World Series and with Ken Griffey at second base, and two outs of a (3-3) game in the bottom of the ninth inning, Martin could have Jim “Catfish” Hunter face either Perez or the great Joe Morgan.

He chose to face Perez, who singled home Griffey, with the winning run, surely a highlight in Perez’ great career.