Top 10 moments of Tony P¨Śrez's HOF career
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Tony P¨Śrez derived more than a sense of satisfaction after his home run off Catfish Hunter broke a 15th-inning tie and propelled the National League to a 2-1 triumph over the American League in the 1967 All-Star Game. The Cuba native also felt considerable pride in earning a place alongside his fellow Latin American standouts, Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda of Puerto Rico.
Ą°It doesnĄŻt get any better than that for a Latin player,Ąą said P¨Śrez, who was in his third full Major League season. Ą°That home run. Ą Clemente and Cepeda congratulating me. ThatĄŻs the moment I felt I arrived.Ąą
HereĄŻs a look at 10 highlights of P¨ŚrezĄŻs journey from key member of the Big Red Machine during his 23 MLB seasons all the way to the Hall of Fame.
1. Working overtime
July 11, 1967
P¨Śrez broke an All-Star Game stalemate that appeared destined to continue. He struck out against Catfish Hunter in his previous at-bat to end the 12th. Hunter, then a promising 21-year-old, was coming off a 14th inning -- his fourth inning of work -- in which he retired Willie Mays, Clemente and Hank Aaron in order. With one out in the 15th, P¨Śrez took Hunter deep.
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2. Captain Comeback
Oct. 22, 1975
The Reds trailed Boston in Game 7 of the World Series, 3-0, when P¨Śrez delivered a two-run, two-out homer off Bill Lee's eephus pitch in the sixth inning. The Reds proceeded to win, 4-3. Some observers believe that P¨ŚrezĄŻs clout was the biggest hit in Reds history, since it began the surge that ultimately carried them to a World Series title.
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3. Catfish canĄŻt wiggle off hook
Oct. 17, 1976
P¨Śrez broke a 3-3 tie in the ninth inning against his All-Star rival, Hunter, by singling home Ken Griffey with two outs in Game 2 of the World Series against the Yankees. The Reds widened their Series lead to 2-0 and were halfway toward their four-game sweep.
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4. Plenty of power
Oct. 16, 1975
P¨Śrez was hitless in 15 World Series at-bats before his pair of homers off Boston starter Reggie Cleveland paced the Reds to a 6-2 victory in Game 5. His first homer forged a fourth-inning tie; the next was a three-run drive in the sixth that essentially sealed the outcome. The decision gave the Reds a 3-2 edge in the Series, which moved back to Boston for the final two games.
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5. Keeping the line moving
Oct. 11, 1972
P¨Śrez singled off Dave Giusti to follow Johnny BenchĄŻs dramatic ninth-inning homer that forged a 3-3 tie in Game 5 of the 1972 NL Championship Series against Pittsburgh. George Foster ran for P¨Śrez and scored the run that sent Cincinnati to the World Series on Bob MooseĄŻs wild pitch.
6. Top-notch slugging
Oct. 4, 1986
Finishing his career where it began, with Cincinnati, P¨Śrez hit his 379th and final home run to tie Cepeda for the most round-trippers ever hit by a Latin American player. P¨ŚrezĄŻs third-inning drive off Ed Whitson contributed to the RedsĄŻ ?10-7 win over the Padres.
7. Pitch to him at your own risk
Aug. 11, 1970
P¨Śrez smacked the first red-seat (upper-deck) home run in the history of Riverfront Stadium, which opened less than two months earlier. For emphasis, he made it a grand slam. P¨Śrez connected off Mets right-hander Jim McAndrew in the second inning to open the scoring as he demonstrated his punishing strength.
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8. Producing runs came naturally
May 13, 1985
P¨Śrez drove in 90 runs or more for 11 consecutive seasons (1967-77) at the height of his Hall of Fame career. He remained capable of recording key RBIs into his later years as a player. Such was the case on this date, when he entered the game with only 11 plate appearances on the season. He also was pinch-hitting, never an easy job. But he victimized Phillies reliever Dave Rucker with a grand slam that shattered a sixth-inning tie and carried the Reds to a 7-3 win.
9. Big Red Machine, indeed
July 25, 1974
Through most of the 1970s, opponents practically had to drive a stake through the collective heart of the RedsĄŻ lineup to subdue it. On this day, Cincinnati entered the ninth inning trailing the Giants, 13-9, before rallying for five runs -- the final two coming on P¨ŚrezĄŻs two-out two-run homer off Randy Moffitt -- to secure a 14-13 victory.
10. Fenway tribute
Sept. 30, 1982
P¨Śrez always will be associated primarily with the Reds, having spent 16 of his 23 big league seasons with them. But he also had a three-year stint with the Red Sox (1980-82), for whom he amassed 25 homers and 105 RBIs in 1980. He received a thunderous standing ovation from Boston fans after his final Fenway Park plate appearance, which resulted in a pinch-hit, two-run homer the opposite way to right in the eighth inning off MilwaukeeĄŻs Bob McClure.