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Big Red RBI machine Numbers make strongest argument for Perez
Posted: Monday January 10, 2000 09:01 PM
Their last game as teammates was 13 years ago, and yet Tony Perez still finds himself overshadowed by Pete Rose. It was that way in Cincinnati, when they were part of the Big Red Machine. It was that way the year they won a pennant together in Philadelphia. And it's that way today whenever talks turns to the Hall of Fame. Both have impressive career statistics. Both are frustrated that they haven't been inducted. But all the attention swirls around Rose -- just like in the old days. Rose lobbies loudly, spurring debate in the media and around the water cooler. The genial Perez declines to campaign, preferring as always to let his play speak for itself. "This is the ninth time I've been in the voting, and every year is the same," the 57-year-old Perez says. "I'm not getting too anxious. You get used to waiting after waiting so many years." Ballots have been mailed to about 500 baseball writers, and election results will be announced Jan. 11. Rose, banned from the game for gambling, is ineligible for the ballot, but Perez ranks among the top candidates after falling 71 votes short last year. He awaits this winter's verdict at his offseason home in Santurce, Puerto Rico. "I'm close," he says. "I hope this is the year. It would be the greatest thing that happened in my career. I've been through a lot of good things -- the playoffs and World Series and All-Star Games. I had a great career, and this would be the top."
Perez, who works in the Florida Marlins' front office, can't explain why he hasn't made it yet to Cooperstown. In 24 seasons he had 1,652 RBIs, more than any eligible player not in the Hall. His manager with the Reds, Sparky Anderson, describes Perez as the best hitter he ever saw when a game was on the line. "Tony taught us all the meaning of heart," Anderson wrote in his autobiography. But while Big Red Machine alumni Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan made the Hall in their first year of eligibility, Perez still waits. "Nobody understands why. Me either," he says. Perez could choose to campaign by creating controversy. After all, he is Cuban, like Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant, two other worthy candidates who have yet to win induction. But Perez dismisses the notion of voter bias. "I don't believe that," he says. "Everything has changed now. Latin players are dominating the big leagues and are being recognized for that. Maybe at one time (there was bias), but I hope not." So the debate focuses on the numbers, which make a strong argument for Perez. A comparison with Robin Yount, inducted just last year, shows Perez has a substantial advantage in homers (379-251), RBIs (1,652-1,406) and appearances in All-Star Games (7-3) and World Series (5-1). "A lot of people send me letters comparing this guy or that guy with me, and how are they in there when I'm not?" Perez says. "I never say, 'Why is this guy in?' I say, 'Why am I not in?"' True, Perez was only the fourth-best player on the Reds of the mid-1970s. But he was their best clutch hitter, and that team ranks among the best of all time. Baseball writers recently received a letter from Reds managing executive John Allen encouraging them to vote for Perez. The written endorsement of a Hall of Fame candidate was a first for the Reds. Morgan, Bench and Rose are quick to support Perez's Cooperstown candidacy. And does Perez believe Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame? "He should be there already," Perez says. "I hope we make it at the same time." In truth, Perez would rather not wait that long.
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