Pascual Perez, former pitcher for the New York Yankees,
was killed at his home on Thursday in the Dominican Republic. His death was the result of an apparent home invasion, where he was fatally stabbed in the neck. He was 55.
 |
| Pascual Perez signed card - Baseball Almanac |
Perez made his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1980, but gained notoriety in 1982 when he was traded to the Atlanta Braves and failed to report for his first start. Perez drove around I-285 multiple times looking for the stadium, but eventually ran out of gas, drawing the ire of manager Joe Torre. He earned the nickname, “I-285,” for the incident. Perez recovered from his blunder and went on to make the All-Star team the following season. He continued to pitch with the Braves until 1985.
 |
| The Infamous I-285 Incident |
He mysteriously disappeared from baseball for the entire 1986 season, but resurfaced with the Montreal Expos in 1987, where he had the most success in his career, going 28-21 from 1987-89. The Yankees signed him as a free agent prior to the 1990 season, and he pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Texas Rangers in his first start of the year. Despite the high expectations from his pinstripe debut, injuries kept him from taking the field regularly during his two-year tenure with the Yankees. His Yankee career came to an abrupt end when he was suspended in 1992 from baseball for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
The Dominican pitcher, who was known for his flamboyant style of play, also had two brothers, Carlos and Melido, who pitched in the big leagues.
0 comments:
Post a Comment