Today’s
blog post has a 1974 career-capping “not so missing” card for former
reliever Ron Perranoski, who finished up a nice 13-year Major League
career with eight appearances for the California Angels:
Perranoski really made a name for himself with his tenures for the Los
Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, which spanned 1961 through the 1970
seasons before playing out the final three years of his career with the
Detroit Tigers, Angels, and a brief return with L.A.
He appeared in only eight games during the 1973 season, going 0-2 with an ERA of 4.09 over 11 innings of work for the Angels.
He had some really good seasons during his career, including 1963 with
the Dodgers when he went 16-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 saves over 69
appearances and 129 innings pitched. Those numbers were good enough for a
fourth place finish in the National League’s MVP race that year.
Some years later he would end up leading the American League in saves
with 31 and 34 in 1969 and 1970 respectively, giving the Twins a solid
closer as they were fighting for the newly formed American League West
championship.
By the time he retired after that 1973 campaign, Perranoski finished
with a record of 79 and 74, with 178 saves and a very nice 2.79 ERA over
737 appearances and 1174.2 innings of work.
All but one of those appearances were out of the bullpen.