Raymond Lawrence Perry (December 23, 1919 – May 3, 1973) was an American 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,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Career

Perry was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, in 1919. He was 5'7" tall and weighed 175 pounds. Primarily a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, he started his professional baseball career in 1940 with the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

of the class C Pioneer League. That season, he had a .295

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 17

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 94

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. In 1941, he spent most of the season with the Tacoma Tigers of the class B

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ev ...

and batted .313 with 12 home runs and 88 RBI. In 1942, Perry played for the San Francisco Seals of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, the best minor league during that era. In 167 games, he batted .256 with 12 home runs and 75 runs batted in."Ray Perry Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2023. Perry then missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons while he was in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He returned to the Seals in 1945 and batted .271 with 5 home runs and 67 RBI. In April 1946, he fractured his leg during a game, which kept him out for the rest of 1946 and 1947.James, Bill (2001). ''The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract''. pp. 243–245. In 1948, Perry returned to professional baseball as a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

with the

Redding Browns The Redding Browns were a minor league baseball team that operated from 1948 to 1951 as part of the Class-D Far West League. They were based in Redding, California. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Browns of the American League and won th ...

of the class D Far West League. He led the league in all three

triple crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

categories with a .411 batting average, 36 home runs, and 163 RBI. In 1949, he won the triple crown again with a .404 batting average, 45 home runs, and 155 RBI. In 1950, Perry batted .366 and led the league with 44 home runs and 170 RBI. He also managed the Browns to the league championship. In 1951, he batted .349 and led the league with 18 home runs and 128 RBI. In 1952, Perry had short stints in the Pacific Coast League and the class AA

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

but played poorly, and he spent most of the season as a player-manager of the El Dorado Oilers of the class C

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Englis ...

. There, he batted .308 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI, leading the league in homers. In 1953, Perry became a player-manager of the

Bakersfield Indians Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

of the class C

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. He batted .337 with 36 home runs and 119 RBI, leading the league in homers. In 1954, he batted .341 and led the league with 37 home runs and 128 RBI. In 1955, he was a player-manager for the Cedar Rapids Raiders of the class B

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

. He batted .268 with 23 home runs and 82 RBI. In 1956, Perry returned to the California League as a player-manager for the

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...

. He batted .316 with 20 home runs and 101 RBI. In 1957, he batted .350 with 19 home runs and 124 RBI. In 1958, he batted .290 with 8 home runs and 50 RBI. In 1959, he continued to manage the Silver Sox but did not play. In 1960, Perry managed the

Macon Dodgers Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon **Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America *Macon, Alabama *Macon, Georgia *Macon, Illinois *Macon, Mis ...

of the class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. He finished his professional baseball playing career with a .323 batting average, 348 home runs, and 1,609 RBI. In his 2001 book ''

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'' is a reference book written by Bill James featuring an overview of professional baseball decade by decade, along with rankings of the top 100 players at each position. The original edition was publi ...

'',

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...

noted that Perry missed four seasons early in his career due to a war and an injury, which hurt his chances of making the major leagues. From 1961 to 1967, Perry was a scout for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He was a scout for the

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 ...

from 1968 to 1969 and for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

from 1970 until his death. In 1973, Perry died of a heart attack in

Fremont, California Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...

. He had a wife and daughter.Arnold, Joe (1948). "Managerial Worries Fail to Slow Down Ray Perry", ''The Sporting News''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Ray 1919 births 1973 deaths Baseball third basemen Salt Lake City Bees players Tacoma Tigers players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Redding Browns players San Diego Padres (minor league) players El Dorado Oilers players Little Rock Travelers players Bakersfield Indians players Cedar Rapids Raiders players Reno Silver Sox players Macon Dodgers players Minor league baseball managers Chicago Cubs scouts New York Yankees scouts Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Baseball players from San Francisco