Pascual Gross Pérez (May 17, 1957 – November 1, 2012) was a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player who pitched in the Major Leagues for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, 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) Amer ...

Career

Pérez was signed by scout Neftalí Cruz for the

organization in 1976. He reached the major league club in 1980. Traded to the Braves on June 30, 1982, he enjoyed his winningest seasons while with that organization, going 15–8 and 14–8 in 1983 and 1984 respectively. His most successful seasons were spent with the Montreal Expos, where he went 28-21 with a 2.80 ERA between 1987 and 1989. Slender at , , he received extensive press coverage for both on-field and off-field controversies. He was arrested for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

possession in his native

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

in January 1984 and spent three months in prison although his ultimate sentence was only a fine of $1,000. He did not rejoin the Braves until May 1984. He often drew the ire of his opponents, using an imaginary

finger gun The finger gun is a hand gesture in which a person uses their hand to mimic a handgun, raising their thumb above their fist to act as a hammer, and one or two fingers extended perpendicular to it acting as a barrel. The middle finger can als ...

to shoot opponents and would pound the baseball into the ground. While it is customary for pitchers to walk back to the bench after completing an inning, he would run full speed to the dugout (gold chains and long, curly locks bouncing) after an inning-ending strikeout. He eventually added the "Pascual pitch" (his version of the " eephus") to his repertoire. He was also involved in more than one beanball incident, most notably an August 12, 1984 brawl with the San Diego Padres where he hit the Padres'

Alan Wiggins Alan Anthony Wiggins (February 17, 1958 – January 6, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 198 ...

with his first pitch leading off the game, inciting each San Diego pitcher in the game to throw at him each time he came to bat. He had just received his driver's license and earned the nicknames "Perimeter Pascual" and "Wrong-Way Perez" after missing a start on August 19, 1982, while circling

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

's Interstate 285 (a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

) three times looking for

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of th ...

, he ran out of gas and arrived at the ballpark 10 minutes late. Released by the Braves on April 1, 1986, he missed the entire 1986 season. After signing a minor league contract with the Expos in 1987, he joined them in August and finished the 1987 season 7–0 with an outstanding 2.30 ERA. His last winning season came the following year when he went 12–8 and posted a 2.44 ERA with the Expos. Pérez threw a five-inning rain-shortened no-hitter against the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

on September 24, 1988. It was the first no-hitter in

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for foo ...

history. Pérez allowed one walk, and another Phillies baserunner reached on an error. Umpire

Harry Wendelstedt Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr. (July 27, 1938 – March 9, 2012) was an umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1966 to 1998. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He umpired in the World Series in 1973, 1980, 1986, 1991 ...

waved off the game after a 90-minute rain delay after the game was stopped by rain with one out in the top of the sixth. However, due to a statistical rule change in 1991, no-hitters must last at least nine innings to count. As a result of the retroactive application of the new rule, this game and thirty-five others are no longer considered no-hitters. He was granted free agency in November 1989 and signed with the Yankees. Through 1990 and 1991, he started only 17 games for the Yankees and compiled records of 1–2 and 2–4 respectively. Prior to the 1992 season, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for one year for violating the league's drug policy, a suspension that ended his career. His career record was 67–68. Two of his brothers, Mélido and Carlos, were also major league pitchers, as was a cousin, Yorkis. He also was married for 16 years to Maritza Madera Gross and had two daughters, Mariel Gross and Roxanna Gross. Pascual first made his trademark peek through the legs to check the runner on first in 1979 in the Dominican League.

Death

Pérez was found dead in his bedroom in

San Gregorio de Nigua San Gregorio de Nigua is a municipality (''municipio'') of the San Cristóbal province in the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Anti ...

, on November 1, 2012, after being hit on the head repeatedly with a hammer in an apparent robbery. He was also stabbed in the neck. ''Huffington Post'
"Pascual Perez Murder Suspects Arrested: Dominican Police Arrest 3 in Killing of Ex-MLB Pitcher

References

External links