Yankees: 3 Hall of Famers you forgot played for NYY

1. Gaylord Perry

One of baseball’s biggest outlaws, Gaylord Perry, pitched for the Yankees

See the Yankees logo on this well-traveled wild man’s jersey? It’s right there, bottom right from our perspective. Proof!

In a way, it’s not terribly surprising that Gaylord Perry pitched for the Yankees. After all, he pitched for half the league. But on the other hand, the Steinbrenner Administration allowed this unsavory character who threw the shineball, emery ball, and spitball onto his squeaky-clean roster?! Now I’ve seen everything!

Heavy dose of sarcasm aside, Perry was a wizard for the way he was allowed to skirt traditional rules that any other hurler would’ve been penalized. As his excellent career droned on, he became known more for his prop-based experimentation than his skills as a moundsman, but rest assured, he was a great pitcher before he was a walking prank war.

A 41-year-old Perry joined the 1980 Yankees for the stretch run after a mid-August trade from Texas; New York sent pitcher Ken Clay to the Rangers (that’s two-time champion Ken Clay to you!)

Perry went 4-4 down the stretch in 10 starts, but it wasn’t enough; the ’80 Yankees went 103-59, lost the ALCS to the Royals, and Perry didn’t appear in any game. In fact, the two-time Cy Young winner only pitched two postseason games in his entire career, going 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA against the Pirates in the 1971 NLCS.

He’d go on to hurl for the Braves, Mariners, and Royals, retiring after the 1983 season at age 44.

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