Mélido Turpen Gross Pérez (born February 15, 1966) is a former

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher who played from through for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Career

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals signed Melido as an undrafted free agent in 1983. He made his major league debut for the Kansas City Royals on September 4, 1987. In that game, Pérez pitched seven innings of shutout ball for the victory. On December 10, 1987, Melido was traded with Chuck Mount (minors), John Davis and Greg Hibbard to the Chicago White Sox for Floyd Bannister and Dave Cochrane.

Chicago White Sox

In 4 seasons with the White Sox, Melido appeared in 147 games, starting 106, and pitching 713 innings while compiling a 44–45 record; all the highest cumulative totals he accrued with one team during his career. In his first season at Chicago, Perez started 32 games, posting a 12–10 record with a 3.79 ERA. He finished 6th in the American League

Rookie of the Year Award A Rookie of the Year award or ROY is given by a number of sports leagues to the top-performing athlete in his or her first season within the league. Athletes competing for the first time in any given league are also known as "rookies". Principal ...

voting. Perez was the White Sox's Opening Day starter in 1990. Later that season, he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against the New York Yankees in a game shortened to 7 innings by rain. The following year, Major League Baseball revised its definition of a no-hitter, stating that a pitcher must complete at least 9 innings to achieve the feat, retroactively disallowing Perez's and 35 other shortened no-hitters, as well as the Yankees' Andy Hawkins' no-hitter against the White Sox earlier that year. On January 10, 1992, Melido was traded by the Chicago White Sox with Domingo Jean and Bob Wickman to the New York Yankees for Steve Sax.

New York Yankees

In 1992, Melido had his best year statistically, striking out 218 batters - second in the American League behind

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...

- and was third in the AL with 7.922 strikeout average per 9 innings while maintaining a 2.87 ERA. His career with the Yankees ended at the end of the 1995 season after a tear in his right throwing elbow.

Cleveland Indians

In 1997, Melido was invited to the Cleveland Indians spring training. He did not make the cut for the season roster.

Post career

Melido currently lives in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with his wife and three children. He earned an estimated $16 million in his nine-year career. He is also known for giving up Manny Ramírez's first career home run. Currently, Perez is the mayor of

San Gregorio de Nigua San Gregorio de Nigua is a municipality (''municipio'') of the San Cristóbal province in the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the At ...

in the Dominican Republic.

References

External links

* Career statistics and player information fro
Baseball Reference
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Baseball-Reference (Minors)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Melido 1966 births Living people Azucareros del Este players Burlington Expos players Caimanes del Sur players Charleston Royals players Chicago White Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Eugene Emeralds players Gulf Coast Yankees players Fort Myers Royals players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Memphis Chicks players New York Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Baseball players from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic Tigres del Licey players