Carlos Gross Pérez (born April 14, 1971) is a Dominican former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

and the brother of former major league players Melido Pérez and Pascual Pérez.

Career

Pérez signed with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

as an amateur free agent in . After being an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

pitcher in his debut season in , Pérez's career looked extremely promising. However, he soon suffered an untimely and devastating injury which forced him to miss the entire 1996 season. After rehabilitation, he re-joined the Expos in but still displayed steady showings of his All-Star form, earning a career-high 12 wins and leading the majors with five shutouts. After several productive months into the 1998 season, Pérez was traded to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

on July 31 along with Hiram Bocachica and

Mark Grudzielanek Mark James Grudzielanek (; born June 30, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop. Grudzielanek played for six different teams during his 15-season career. He batted and threw right-handed. He was most recent ...

for Peter Bergeron,

Wilton Guerrero Wilton Álvaro Guerrero (born October 24, 1974Ben LindberghBP Unfiltered: Guerrero Brothers and Birthdates Baseball Prospectus (February 5, 2013).) is a Dominican former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Los Angeles Dodge ...

Ted Lilly Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III (born January 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 t ...

, and Jonathan Tucker. By the time he became a Dodger, his potential for being a dominant left-handed major league pitcher was quickly slipping away. Frustration grew and Pérez had his two worst seasons in (2-10 in only 16 starts) and , and he was relegated to the bullpen (after an entire career as a starter). On June 16, 1999, Pérez had an outburst during a game against 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. After consecutively walking Abraham Nunez, Francisco Córdova and Mike Benjamin to load the bases in the fourth inning, he was removed from the game by Dodger Manager

Davey Johnson David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from through , most notably in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty t ...

in favor of Jamie Arnold. Upon returning to the dugout, Pérez proceeded to destroy a water cooler with a

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...

. (The Dodgers won the game, 6-5.) Pérez was a highly animated player, especially when he was on the mound. Beginning in his rookie year, after every strikeout (and sometimes even after individual strikes), he made spastic movements, usually flailing an arm into the air while crouching very low to the ground and hopping in a semicircle (in the case of a strikeout, Pérez would react in unity with the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

who was signaling the strikeout motion). Sometimes batters took offense to it while others realized or knew that it was just part of his routine. Perez has gone on to play in his native Dominican Republic, to play winter ball, including the 2009

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

as well as the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

. Pérez hit four home runs, two triples, and eight doubles in his 250 official MLB at-bats.

Personal life

In 1995, Pérez was arrested and charged with

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and

sodomy Sodomy (), also called buggery in British English, principally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any Human sexual activity, sexual activity between a human and another animal (Zoophilia, bestiality). I ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 2000, Fulton County prosecutors said they would not be proceeding with the charges at the alleged victim's request. The alleged victim, however, said that she never asked for the charges to be dropped. In 1999, Pérez was charged with rape in two separate incidents in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

. The accuser in one case consented to the charges being withdrawn and the prosecution declined to pursue the charges in the other case due to lack of evidence. In July 2000, Pérez was arrested for allegedly assaulting, threatening and causing injury to a

flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

on a team flight. The charges were eventually dismissed, although the Dodgers released Pérez in early May 2001. The flight attendant's attorney alleged that she needed multiple neck surgeries as a result of the assault and was unable to return to work. Her lawsuit against the Dodgers and Pérez was settled in 2003 under confidential terms. At a civil trial at which he failed to appear in August 2005, Pérez was found liable for rape, stemming from one of the 1999 Vero Beach incidents. He was ordered to pay $15 million in damages.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Carlos 1971 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Burlington Bees players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Expos players Harrisburg Senators players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars Ottawa Lynx players Rockford Expos players San Bernardino Spirit players Sumter Flyers players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tigres del Licey players Baseball players from San Cristóbal Province