Tuesday, October 21, 2014

#304 Melido Perez

About the Front: You may remember that Melido, Pascual (67-68, 3.44 ERA from 1981-1991), and Carlos Perez (40-53, 4.44 ERA from 1995-2000) were all brothers who pitched in the majors during the 1980s and 1990s. Though none of them were particularly attractive, I'd go out on a limb and say that Melido got the good looks in the family.

About the Back: Melido's no-hitter was actually a rain-shortened complete game, but is not considered an "official" no-no because it was fewer than nine innings. Older brother Pascual no-hit the Phillies in a rain-abbreviated five-inning contest on September 24, 1988. These were both counted as no-hitters at the time, but retroactively discounted in a 1991 change to the rule book. That seems a bit cruel.

Triple Play:

1. Perez debuted for the Royals on September 4, 1987, allowing a single unearned run on six hits and three walks in seven innings to top the White Sox.

2. On September 3, 1993, he surrendered the first of Manny Ramirez's 555 career home runs.

3. How's this mix of conventional and unconventional post-playing pursuits? Melido spent some time coaching the White Sox' Dominican Summer League team, and later was elected mayor of San Gregorio de Nigua, San Cristobal, DR.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: "Melido" struck me as one of the more unique baseball names. In fact, I can now use the power of the Internet to report that Perez is the only player in MLB history named Melido.

Bill James Said: "I have always spoken well of Perez, but the fact is that he, far more than anyone else, kept the Yankees from beating Toronto." Yeah, he was pretty bad in '93: 6-14, 5.19 ERA (80 ERA+), 9.6 hits per nine innings. Of course, New York also gave 367 plate appearances to shortstop Spike Owen (.234/.294/.311, 66 OPS+), and that couldn't have helped their playoff chances.

On This Date in 1993: October 21. Civil war is afoot in Burundi as President Melchior Ndadaye is killed in a failed military uprising. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Ndadaye had been elected as the African nation's first democractically chosen leader just three months prior, but soon ran afoul of the Tutsi-controlled army.

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