Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Card King here right come.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, sports fans, sports collectors, and all hobbyists. Welcome to
The Car King Sports and Variety Show. I am your
host of Catman Brian Catequit aka The car King. We
are live on ABC's k M E T fourteen ninety
a m dot com. You're a number one spot right
here for news and talk off the West Coasts. I
(00:32):
thank everyone for tuning in this morning on the telephone line.
I welcome to the program. One of the finest fielding
shortstops in Major League Baseball, he played during the nineteen seventies.
I welcome in former Braves infielder Marty Perez. Marty, great
to have you.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Hey, it's great to be here, great to be alive.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Well, you sound great, and you know I spoke to
you earlier. You sound fine, and you know, Marty, reading
your career, I did not know that the Big Bear,
as he was nicknamed, Mike Garcia, who pitched for that
nineteen fifties Indians team along with Boss Fella.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, Boss Feller early when was a cousin of yours.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, well that's kind of that's what we said. You know,
they were real close to our family. And when I
asked me the question about that. I said, yeah, he's
my cousin and actually his brother. Back in the day
when my brother and I were you know, right around
(01:36):
ten eleven twelve, his brother carried a lot of the
Hispanics to the fields. So my dad decided we needed
to work, so we had to get on his truck
and go and pick grapes and whatever. And that was
(01:56):
his brother. And they said his brother was a better
player than my really, so I think in nineteen seventy
three or four, I can't remember. Before he before Mike died,
I had met with him in Cleveland for breakfast or
whatever it was, and I asked him a question about that.
He said, yeah, my brother was a hell of a player.
(02:18):
But yeah, I finally got to meet Mike. I never
did meet him until that day. That was a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And you know, Marty, nineteen sixty four, right after you
graduated high school, I mean, big year for you, the
Los Angeles Angels, you get the opportunities to sign for
them as an amateur free agent.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
How did the Angels hear about Marty Perez?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, there was a fella. There was a fella in
our community or right around the community that scouted, you know,
in Fresno and Bakersville and Byselia. I can't remember his name,
but he recommended I guess I can you recommend the
Angels to sign me? And I did go to My
(03:05):
coach did a bad thing. He didn't do too many
bad things, but this is one bad thing. I don't
think he realized what he was doing. But they invited
me to try out with the Angels when I was
still in high school and you weren't supposed to do
that in southtel California, and it was kind of an
(03:28):
unusual thing. I mean, I just did my thing. My
coach come up to me. He says, when you take
bad product, try to hit one over the fence, and
that's kind of weird. So I did. I hit one
over the left center field fence and bounty practice, and
I guess it must have encouraged him to sign me.
Then I had a really good game. I got a
(03:50):
hit off Tom Severer at that time, he was pitching
for uh he was, you know, he was pitching for
the Fresno City Call at that time, and uh so,
uh I was. I've always been a fastball hitter, and
you know, of course he threw a lot of fastballs.
But and that was my experience as far as you know,
(04:15):
trying out for the Angels.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But baseball wasn't your favorite sport. It was basketball, right.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Absolutely loved basketball. He had a great shot. You know,
there's a good story about that. I remember back in
my sophomore year in high school. You know, I wasn't
a varsity player yet. And I'm not sure if you
(04:45):
know Roland Todd. He played in the NBA for a
long time and he was one of our one of
the athletic coaches there. And I don't think he wasn't
you know, he wasn't coaching basketball or anything. But he
was in a gym shooting baskets and I just watched him.
I said, dang, that guy's pretty good. I wonder who
he is. And so he saw me looking at him,
(05:09):
and I told him that I wanted to play varsity basketball.
He said, well, let me see your shot. So I
took a shot and he said, no, no, no, no,
that's not the way to throws. You know, shoot a
jump shot. And he showed me how to shoot a
jump shot. And from there, when I tried off for
the varsity, I made it made the varsity junior m
I senior year that was only five foot nine.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Really yeah, yeah, I found that, I found that really intrigued.
Basketball was your favorite sport. But you know, eighteen years old,
you signed with the Angels and then you immediately get
reported to Idaho Falls and the Pire Knee, you know,
Pioneer League.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Rookie Ball, Pioneer League. Yeah, right, right.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
When you first got there, how did you face how
did you find the competition?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You felt it was competitive?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It was very competitive. You remember I was only out
of high school. Uh he hold on just saying he
I noticed a lot of the players were college players
and X you know, and players that came from you know,
(06:21):
in Venezuela and Puerto Rico, and you know that's all
they did over there was play baseball and as a
season win. I just realized that I was just as
good as they were, even even though just out of
high school.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, you were I'm looking at I'm looking at
your status. You hit two seventy three as a rookie,
you know, a rookie ball. You hit two seventy three
one home home run in eighteen RBIs in forty two games,
So you did pretty good. You know your rookie ball.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Right, Yeah, I was. That was kind of a there
was a story behind that too. Guy has got town
when I give, when I give my testimony in churches
and whatever. And I was, I was grew I grew
up as a Catholic, and I was. I think I
was hitting maybe two fifteen or two twenty at the
(07:14):
time for the first you know, four or five weeks,
and I said, you know, something's wrong. And I told
my roommate Mark Schultz, who's now passed away. I said, Mark,
I'm going to go to church. He said, okay, So
that's that. Sunday I went to church. I got on
my knees and after the mask, after the service, I
(07:37):
got down on my knees and I said, Lord, I said,
I promise you, I'll go to church from now on
if you just give me a real good rest of
the year. And that was it. And then I started
hitting like crazy after that, and I said, well, I'd
better go to church every every Sunday. And that's that's
why I got up to two seventy three, which is
(07:58):
a kind of a cute story. Anyway.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
I liked it, oh, of course.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then at Quad City the Class A ball there.
You played fifty three games but missed four weeks. You
was spiked and you missed, You missed four weeks. How
was that injury? That must have been tragic.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Huh the no, No, I didn't get spiked that year.
That was when I got hitting the wrist with a
pitch and broke my wrist. Eric. I mean, I still
remember Eric, Eric Salman, the pitching pitcher in spring training,
(08:37):
he had that sinker slider. When I leaned in, the
ball came in on me and hit my wrist and
broke it. So I didn't have any spring training Harley.
And then when I got back, they sent me down
from San Jose to Downport. I was and I was okay,
I just wasn't hitting very good, and they said, you know,
(08:58):
we need to send you down to Idaho, and they did.
I hit three three something in Idaho and they sent
me back up to San Jose, which is a higher
Class A, and I think I hit two fifty that,
you know, while I was there. Then it was kind
of uphill from there. It was Class A in Davport,
(09:21):
Iowa again, and I think if I remember, I hit
around two eighty nine to ninety and was named Western
United States shortstop and then I just you know, I
just kept going from there. It was great. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
You did now?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Also, the sun Kings you played for, now, was that
under manager Chuck Tanner at the time, right.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Yeah, that was nineteen sixty eight. Chuck was the double
A manager and we had won the uh WE one
Dad Division and won the playoffs and we beat I
think it was Arkansas, which was a Saint Louis affiliate,
(10:11):
and that's where Jerry Royce pitched. He's the only guy
ever hit me in the head.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Did he really?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
So? How did that reminded him? Well, you know, he threw. Yeah,
we were playing in Arkansas, and you know that the
lights and minor leagues are not very good and you
should be able to get away from somebody throwing at
your head unless, you know, unless you don't have very
good reactions. But he's a left hander and he threw
(10:42):
probably ninety five during those days. And some reason he
threw a ball inside and I guess I was looking
for it away or something, I don't know, and he
came in on me and when I turned my head
to keep him getting hit in the temple, it hit
(11:06):
the back of my head and cracked the helmet, and
I went, you know, I was they wanted to take
me out again. I'm fine. I went to first base
and the rest is history, you know. And then he
didn't remember when I finally text him, oh, I think
it was either this year last year and said, you
(11:27):
remember when you hit me in the head, you jerk?
He said, no, I don't remember that. He said, yeah,
you know, it was in a little rock. But yeah,
that was the only time I ever got hit in
the head. I've had a lot of a lot of
close calls, but never got hit again in the head.
Every other place though.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I was looking at a Sporting News issue from nineteen
sixty eight where they mentioned Marty Perez. The article described
you as an exceptional young shortstop, and I know Tanner
with you know, thought very highly of you.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I mean sixty eight.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
You know, Marty, you let the Texas League and assists
at short star with three one hundred and sixty three
assists at seventy two double plays, so you saw a
lot of action in the field.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You were some field that very fluid, very fluid who
taught you your fielding abilities?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You know, I mean, I can. Really, I really don't
have I really didn't have anybody. My coach was a
pitcher in high school. He'd always tell me to keep
my glove, you know, in front of me. And that's
about all he knew about fielding. But I guess it
(12:44):
was self taught. Just reaction, I guess, and you get
out there and you react to the ball, you know,
and I read, you know, I read a lot of
different stuff. I watched other you know that major leaguers play.
When I would watch the way the fielders would fail
the ball, and that's kind of way I learned how
to keep the ball in front of me. And then
(13:06):
and they had a robing instructure in the mono leagues.
Al Monchak for the Angels, and he got me out
there one time in spring training and he had me
sit on a chair at shortstop and they kept hitting
me ground balls, just hit me ground balls, and you
(13:27):
had to sit on the chair and fill the ground balls. Well,
it keeps your butt you're behind down. So the main
thing is that I realized was that if you if
you're too high, you know, if you're standing too high
and you go down and fail the ground ball, if
(13:48):
that ball comes up, it's gonna you know, you're if
you had bobbles too much, the ball is going to
bobble too. So that's where you make most of your airs.
So you've got to stay down level with the with
the ground and make sure the ball when it does
come up, you come up with it wellst Sometimes you don't,
(14:08):
it doesn't happen. But that's why you make airs. But
that's going to happen. Every nfiler makes airs. I don't
care who you are.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Absolutely, and we're talking with Marty Perez, who let me
mention some of these teams. He played for the Angels
in sixty nine seventy, played for the Atlanta Braves seventy
one to seventy six, play for the Giants in nineteen
seventy six, played for the Yankees in nineteen seventy seven,
and ended his career with the A's in seventy seven
seventy eight. A lot of teams there, Marty, So you
(14:37):
will pumped up a lot of teams. Talk about your
major League debut, if I remember correctly, or if I
read correctly, you came in for relief for Jim Fragosi.
Is that is that what happens September nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Right right, it was. You know, you asked me to
remember all these things. It's been so long, you know,
it's been like fifty years or something like that. Fifty
five years. How long has you been? You know, I'm
going to be eighty in February, so I'm trying to
remember back. But I think it was sixty nine. I
(15:16):
came in a couple of times, I think before they
sent me down. Actually they sent me down from spring training.
Then I came up at the end of the year,
and then I relieved Pregosie for one game I think
it was maybe it was more net then in seventy two.
(15:39):
Of course I stayed for a while and then they
sent me back down again. But of a lot of this,
you know, I didn't have somebody behind me picking me
up and encouraging me and giving me advice sometimes. You know,
of course you don't a lot of players don't like
(16:01):
listen to their wives, but but you know, we really do,
and that that was the encourtainment I had. That's that's
why you know I lasted so long. Otherwise I never
would would have made it without some banking from my wife.
But you know that's that's the way it is. Every
player has somebody, and my person was my wife.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And Marty.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
You know, six seasons with the Atlanta Braves, a team
that had Hank Aaron, Darryl Evans, uh, you know, Eddie
Matthews and so on. I got to ask you a
few questions on Hank Aaron. I mean, how was it
when you first got there? How was Henry aneron?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
How did he treat you?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Well, yeah, Andrew was we were We ended up friends.
Even after baseball. We got together and played golf and stuff.
And he, uh, my first road trip was in I
think it was in Chicago. Uh, and he he said, hey,
(17:02):
I can't remember if he called me Taco or if
he called me Marty, but Taco was my nickname in baseball.
I think it was just Marty at that time because
they did in seventy one. And he said, come on,
I want you to go with me to dinner. And
I said, oh, okay. So he took me to dinner
and we had a good time. And yeah, he was
(17:23):
very cordial, didn't say much. He's very very reserved person.
And you can understand why, you know, with all the
stuff going on with his record, you know, going for
the home run record. At that time he had I
think he had close to six hundred home runs, and
then he got to the six hundred home run I
(17:46):
think in seventy one when he hit forty seven home runs.
I think right around there because I remember he hit
forty seventh home run was the same day I hit
my eighth. Oh so that's a funny kind of yeah,
that was That was funny. And he said, well, I
need you to sign my ball too, but I couldn't
(18:07):
find it. They didn't throw it back to me, so
he just laughed about it. You know, he signed, He
signed the ball, his six hundred and eighty second home
run to me though, which was really cool.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And I got to mention this because I didn't know this.
I think it was September tenth, nineteen seventy three, where you,
Marty Perez, became part of the rare club. You were
the fourth player of just six batters to ever pinch
it for the Great Hank Aaron.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Right, Yeah, that was kind of unusual. I was on
a I think it was on a I don't know
what it was, fifteen day, fifteen game, hitting Street and
it was the middle of the I think it was
the middle of the summer, and was screaming hot. Eddie
Matthews was the manager and he was up to bat
(19:07):
and I didn't play that day, and he was up
to bat and he got a real bad muscle spased me.
He couldn't hardly move and uh, Eddie Matthews says, Marty,
get a back, go pinch it for Henry. I said, wow.
(19:28):
Everybody looked at him, like, well, you're on any streak.
What would you Why would he want you to pinch it?
They could have got anybody else, you know. Well, anyway,
I made it now. I think the bases were loaded,
and I think I made it now. I keep I
keep telling people I had I hit a ball into
uh where Pete Rose caught it at the warning track.
(19:50):
But I don't know how true that is. I thought
that was a better scenario than saying I grounded out
or something.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
You know, But I mean, you know, as you can
see six hitters ever pinched hit for the great Hank
Aaron in his long twenty two season career.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Before No. Yeah, I know, I always told everybody I
was the first. I was the first one. I didn't know,
I just assumed I didn't. I didn't think anybody pinched
it for Hank Aaron. That's why I thought it was
I was the first one.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Wow. And Eddie Matthews was the one who made that decision.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Right right, unbelievable, right. Yeah. He was a he was
a great manager. He just had some had some other problems.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
That's what I wanted to ask you, Eddie Matthews. You know,
a good baseball mind, good baseball manager.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Oh yeah, everybody loved Eddie Matthews. But you know, but
his issues, they just they couldn't they couldn't handle it.
So they fired him. And I don't even remember who
took his place. I think it was Connie Ryan or
somebody like that.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
All right, Now, I got to ask you about the
Yanks because you know, I'm originally from New York City
nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Yeah, no, seventy But I'm not a Yankee fan. I'm
a Mets fan. Seventy seven.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
You played for Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. How did you,
I mean, what was what was your feeling about playing
for the Yankees. Were you proud or not really to
wear the pinstripes?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Well, yeah, anytime anybody in those days, I don't know.
Now it seemed like everybody goes to the Yankees, But
in those days, you know, they didn't really. There wasn't
really a You've got to understand the team they had,
they didn't have. They didn't have players that they could
They didn't have players that can trade for that can
(21:45):
take the other players, you know from the Yankees' place.
They couldn't take their place. They were just so good.
And for me to go down there and be their
shortstop primarily you know, substitute, uh, you know, to to
play all the positions, which I could, and that's why
(22:06):
they got me. But they had the opportunity to you know,
I was proud of that. Yeah, since you asked me that,
I was very proud of playing for the Yankees. It
just was it just didn't work out, and I'm glad
it didn't. There was two minutes too much other stuff
going on. I was there when when I think I
was there when uh, the right fielder Reggie Reggie Jackson, Yeah,
(22:34):
got in it with Billy Martin. And you know Billy,
he didn't he didn't go for anybody slushing off. You
got to play hard. That kind of deal and sometimes
Reggie you know, he looks like you know, he was
like Andrew Jones. You know, you don't realize that that
(22:55):
they're running, but it doesn't like they're running, you know.
And and when he was running for a flyball, grund
ball whatever it was, you know, it looked like he
was slushing off on it, you know, And he took
him out and they had a big old argument, almost
to fight. Uh. But anyway, I got traded and traded
(23:20):
to Oakland with Doc Allie for I think it was
Ed figure Ow and another player I don't I don't remember.
But I had a good time I had there.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Yeah, I mean that yankee infielder, you know that yankee
infield I was should saying, Yeah, Marty Perez, Greg Nettles,
that third Bucky Dent, Willie Randolph.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I mean that's I mean right.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yeah, they had the They had the chicken there too.
You remember him Stanley.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Oh yeah, yes, Brett Stanley. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
They called him, yeah, they called him the chicken, the
chicken man. He ran and looked like a chicken when
he ran. He really Yeah, he's a funny guy though.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
And Chris Chambliss, right, he played Chris Chamblis at first,
I think.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Right, right, and White and Roy White, Reggie Jackson, Paul
Blair Rivers in center. Hey, we had, like I said,
we had a great team. That's why they won the
World Service that year. You know, then they had Randolph
who broke his leg, which he's broke his leg after
(24:31):
I got there or after after I left. I mean,
and uh, you know, I would have had a chance
to play all year second base, but they had traded
me already. So but anyway, yeah, that was that was
a good year. And then the next two years they
won the World Series. I believedn't they seventy six, seventy seven,
(24:52):
seventy eight.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, championship championship caliber, and
I got I want to end with this.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I have a couple of minutes left. Wasn't there an
incident with you and John Matt Lack of the Mets?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Oh my god, yeah, I have one minute left.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I have one minute left.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
Well, there was bases were loaded and I was up
the bat and I don't know, I don't think there
was any outs, maybe one out. He kept throwing me
fastballs away and I kept following him off, and then
he got me at zero and two and then he
thought he struck me out, but you know, he said
(25:32):
it was it was on the black, and I said
it was outside. Finally I said, okay, he's got to
come inside one time, and he came inside. I hit
a ball off his head, off his forehead, and it
took one hop into the Mets dugout, and he was
done for the next three weeks. But I have to
hand it to him.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
He won.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
He was I think he was, came out, came out throwing.
He did very well that year, and I I'm proud
of him for doing that because I scared the heck
out of all of us, including Ron Reid, who was
on third base. He got puked wow, because it looked
like I killed him, So I'm glad I didn't, of course.
(26:15):
But anyway, that's the story. And I think it was
a bases loaded double. I think Chris Baul went and dugout.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Well, Marty, I'm actually out of time, but you know
you have such a long history. I love to have
you back in the near future.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
This was great, good anytime. Just let me know.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Thank you so much, Marty Sar.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
And I appreciate you asking me to get on here
with you.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
You got it anytime.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Marty Perez, fantastic infielder during the nineteen seventies for the
Atlanta Braves. Until next week, Happy collecting to all.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Some happing s. S.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Contenson
Card King here right come.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hello, sports fans, sports collectors, and all hobbyists. Welcome to
The Car King Sports and Variety Show. I am your
host of Catman Brian Catequit aka The car King. We
are live on ABC's k M E T fourteen ninety
a m dot com. You're a number one spot right
here for news and talk off the West Coasts. I
(00:32):
thank everyone for tuning in this morning on the telephone line.
I welcome to the program. One of the finest fielding
shortstops in Major League Baseball, he played during the nineteen seventies.
I welcome in former Braves infielder Marty Perez. Marty, great
to have you.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Hey, it's great to be here, great to be alive.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Well, you sound great, and you know I spoke to
you earlier. You sound fine, and you know, Marty, reading
your career, I did not know that the Big Bear,
as he was nicknamed, Mike Garcia, who pitched for that
nineteen fifties Indians team along with Boss Fella.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, Boss Feller early when was a cousin of yours.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Yeah, well that's kind of that's what we said. You know,
they were real close to our family. And when I
asked me the question about that. I said, yeah, he's
my cousin and actually his brother. Back in the day
when my brother and I were you know, right around
(01:36):
ten eleven twelve, his brother carried a lot of the
Hispanics to the fields. So my dad decided we needed
to work, so we had to get on his truck
and go and pick grapes and whatever. And that was
(01:56):
his brother. And they said his brother was a better
player than my really, so I think in nineteen seventy
three or four, I can't remember. Before he before Mike died,
I had met with him in Cleveland for breakfast or
whatever it was, and I asked him a question about that.
He said, yeah, my brother was a hell of a player.
(02:18):
But yeah, I finally got to meet Mike. I never
did meet him until that day. That was a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
And you know, Marty, nineteen sixty four, right after you
graduated high school, I mean, big year for you, the
Los Angeles Angels, you get the opportunities to sign for
them as an amateur free agent.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
How did the Angels hear about Marty Perez?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Well, there was a fella. There was a fella in
our community or right around the community that scouted, you know,
in Fresno and Bakersville and Byselia. I can't remember his name,
but he recommended I guess I can you recommend the
Angels to sign me? And I did go to My
(03:05):
coach did a bad thing. He didn't do too many
bad things, but this is one bad thing. I don't
think he realized what he was doing. But they invited
me to try out with the Angels when I was
still in high school and you weren't supposed to do
that in southtel California, and it was kind of an
(03:28):
unusual thing. I mean, I just did my thing. My
coach come up to me. He says, when you take
bad product, try to hit one over the fence, and
that's kind of weird. So I did. I hit one
over the left center field fence and bounty practice, and
I guess it must have encouraged him to sign me.
Then I had a really good game. I got a
(03:50):
hit off Tom Severer at that time, he was pitching
for uh he was, you know, he was pitching for
the Fresno City Call at that time, and uh so,
uh I was. I've always been a fastball hitter, and
you know, of course he threw a lot of fastballs.
But and that was my experience as far as you know,
(04:15):
trying out for the Angels.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But baseball wasn't your favorite sport. It was basketball, right.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Absolutely loved basketball. He had a great shot. You know,
there's a good story about that. I remember back in
my sophomore year in high school. You know, I wasn't
a varsity player yet. And I'm not sure if you
(04:45):
know Roland Todd. He played in the NBA for a
long time and he was one of our one of
the athletic coaches there. And I don't think he wasn't
you know, he wasn't coaching basketball or anything. But he
was in a gym shooting baskets and I just watched him.
I said, dang, that guy's pretty good. I wonder who
he is. And so he saw me looking at him,
(05:09):
and I told him that I wanted to play varsity basketball.
He said, well, let me see your shot. So I
took a shot and he said, no, no, no, no,
that's not the way to throws. You know, shoot a
jump shot. And he showed me how to shoot a
jump shot. And from there, when I tried off for
the varsity, I made it made the varsity junior m
I senior year that was only five foot nine.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Really yeah, yeah, I found that, I found that really intrigued.
Basketball was your favorite sport. But you know, eighteen years old,
you signed with the Angels and then you immediately get
reported to Idaho Falls and the Pire Knee, you know,
Pioneer League.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Rookie Ball, Pioneer League. Yeah, right, right.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
When you first got there, how did you face how
did you find the competition?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You felt it was competitive?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
It was very competitive. You remember I was only out
of high school. Uh he hold on just saying he
I noticed a lot of the players were college players
and X you know, and players that came from you know,
(06:21):
in Venezuela and Puerto Rico, and you know that's all
they did over there was play baseball and as a
season win. I just realized that I was just as
good as they were, even even though just out of
high school.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, you were I'm looking at I'm looking at
your status. You hit two seventy three as a rookie,
you know, a rookie ball. You hit two seventy three
one home home run in eighteen RBIs in forty two games,
So you did pretty good. You know your rookie ball.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Right, Yeah, I was. That was kind of a there
was a story behind that too. Guy has got town
when I give, when I give my testimony in churches
and whatever. And I was, I was grew I grew
up as a Catholic, and I was. I think I
was hitting maybe two fifteen or two twenty at the
(07:14):
time for the first you know, four or five weeks,
and I said, you know, something's wrong. And I told
my roommate Mark Schultz, who's now passed away. I said, Mark,
I'm going to go to church. He said, okay, So
that's that. Sunday I went to church. I got on
my knees and after the mask, after the service, I
(07:37):
got down on my knees and I said, Lord, I said,
I promise you, I'll go to church from now on
if you just give me a real good rest of
the year. And that was it. And then I started
hitting like crazy after that, and I said, well, I'd
better go to church every every Sunday. And that's that's
why I got up to two seventy three, which is
(07:58):
a kind of a cute story. Anyway.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
I liked it, oh, of course.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then at Quad City the Class A ball there.
You played fifty three games but missed four weeks. You
was spiked and you missed, You missed four weeks. How
was that injury? That must have been tragic.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Huh the no, No, I didn't get spiked that year.
That was when I got hitting the wrist with a
pitch and broke my wrist. Eric. I mean, I still
remember Eric, Eric Salman, the pitching pitcher in spring training,
(08:37):
he had that sinker slider. When I leaned in, the
ball came in on me and hit my wrist and
broke it. So I didn't have any spring training Harley.
And then when I got back, they sent me down
from San Jose to Downport. I was and I was okay,
I just wasn't hitting very good, and they said, you know,
(08:58):
we need to send you down to Idaho, and they did.
I hit three three something in Idaho and they sent
me back up to San Jose, which is a higher
Class A, and I think I hit two fifty that,
you know, while I was there. Then it was kind
of uphill from there. It was Class A in Davport,
(09:21):
Iowa again, and I think if I remember, I hit
around two eighty nine to ninety and was named Western
United States shortstop and then I just you know, I
just kept going from there. It was great. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
You did now?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Also, the sun Kings you played for, now, was that
under manager Chuck Tanner at the time, right.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Yeah, that was nineteen sixty eight. Chuck was the double
A manager and we had won the uh WE one
Dad Division and won the playoffs and we beat I
think it was Arkansas, which was a Saint Louis affiliate,
(10:11):
and that's where Jerry Royce pitched. He's the only guy
ever hit me in the head.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Did he really?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
So? How did that reminded him? Well, you know, he threw. Yeah,
we were playing in Arkansas, and you know that the
lights and minor leagues are not very good and you
should be able to get away from somebody throwing at
your head unless, you know, unless you don't have very
good reactions. But he's a left hander and he threw
(10:42):
probably ninety five during those days. And some reason he
threw a ball inside and I guess I was looking
for it away or something, I don't know, and he
came in on me and when I turned my head
to keep him getting hit in the temple, it hit
(11:06):
the back of my head and cracked the helmet, and
I went, you know, I was they wanted to take
me out again. I'm fine. I went to first base
and the rest is history, you know. And then he
didn't remember when I finally text him, oh, I think
it was either this year last year and said, you
(11:27):
remember when you hit me in the head, you jerk?
He said, no, I don't remember that. He said, yeah,
you know, it was in a little rock. But yeah,
that was the only time I ever got hit in
the head. I've had a lot of a lot of
close calls, but never got hit again in the head.
Every other place though.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I was looking at a Sporting News issue from nineteen
sixty eight where they mentioned Marty Perez. The article described
you as an exceptional young shortstop, and I know Tanner
with you know, thought very highly of you.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
I mean sixty eight.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
You know, Marty, you let the Texas League and assists
at short star with three one hundred and sixty three
assists at seventy two double plays, so you saw a
lot of action in the field.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You were some field that very fluid, very fluid who
taught you your fielding abilities?
Speaker 3 (12:24):
You know, I mean, I can. Really, I really don't
have I really didn't have anybody. My coach was a
pitcher in high school. He'd always tell me to keep
my glove, you know, in front of me. And that's
about all he knew about fielding. But I guess it
(12:44):
was self taught. Just reaction, I guess, and you get
out there and you react to the ball, you know,
and I read, you know, I read a lot of
different stuff. I watched other you know that major leaguers play.
When I would watch the way the fielders would fail
the ball, and that's kind of way I learned how
to keep the ball in front of me. And then
(13:06):
and they had a robing instructure in the mono leagues.
Al Monchak for the Angels, and he got me out
there one time in spring training and he had me
sit on a chair at shortstop and they kept hitting
me ground balls, just hit me ground balls, and you
(13:27):
had to sit on the chair and fill the ground balls. Well,
it keeps your butt you're behind down. So the main
thing is that I realized was that if you if
you're too high, you know, if you're standing too high
and you go down and fail the ground ball, if
(13:48):
that ball comes up, it's gonna you know, you're if
you had bobbles too much, the ball is going to
bobble too. So that's where you make most of your airs.
So you've got to stay down level with the with
the ground and make sure the ball when it does
come up, you come up with it wellst Sometimes you don't,
(14:08):
it doesn't happen. But that's why you make airs. But
that's going to happen. Every nfiler makes airs. I don't
care who you are.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Absolutely, and we're talking with Marty Perez, who let me
mention some of these teams. He played for the Angels
in sixty nine seventy, played for the Atlanta Braves seventy
one to seventy six, play for the Giants in nineteen
seventy six, played for the Yankees in nineteen seventy seven,
and ended his career with the A's in seventy seven
seventy eight. A lot of teams there, Marty, So you
(14:37):
will pumped up a lot of teams. Talk about your
major League debut, if I remember correctly, or if I
read correctly, you came in for relief for Jim Fragosi.
Is that is that what happens September nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Right right, it was. You know, you asked me to
remember all these things. It's been so long, you know,
it's been like fifty years or something like that. Fifty
five years. How long has you been? You know, I'm
going to be eighty in February, so I'm trying to
remember back. But I think it was sixty nine. I
(15:16):
came in a couple of times, I think before they
sent me down. Actually they sent me down from spring training.
Then I came up at the end of the year,
and then I relieved Pregosie for one game I think
it was maybe it was more net then in seventy two.
(15:39):
Of course I stayed for a while and then they
sent me back down again. But of a lot of this,
you know, I didn't have somebody behind me picking me
up and encouraging me and giving me advice sometimes. You know,
of course you don't a lot of players don't like
(16:01):
listen to their wives, but but you know, we really do,
and that that was the encourtainment I had. That's that's
why you know I lasted so long. Otherwise I never
would would have made it without some banking from my wife.
But you know that's that's the way it is. Every
player has somebody, and my person was my wife.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
And Marty.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
You know, six seasons with the Atlanta Braves, a team
that had Hank Aaron, Darryl Evans, uh, you know, Eddie
Matthews and so on. I got to ask you a
few questions on Hank Aaron. I mean, how was it
when you first got there? How was Henry aneron?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
How did he treat you?
Speaker 3 (16:41):
Well, yeah, Andrew was we were We ended up friends.
Even after baseball. We got together and played golf and stuff.
And he, uh, my first road trip was in I
think it was in Chicago. Uh, and he he said, hey,
(17:02):
I can't remember if he called me Taco or if
he called me Marty, but Taco was my nickname in baseball.
I think it was just Marty at that time because
they did in seventy one. And he said, come on,
I want you to go with me to dinner. And
I said, oh, okay. So he took me to dinner
and we had a good time. And yeah, he was
(17:23):
very cordial, didn't say much. He's very very reserved person.
And you can understand why, you know, with all the
stuff going on with his record, you know, going for
the home run record. At that time he had I
think he had close to six hundred home runs, and
then he got to the six hundred home run I
(17:46):
think in seventy one when he hit forty seven home runs.
I think right around there because I remember he hit
forty seventh home run was the same day I hit
my eighth. Oh so that's a funny kind of yeah,
that was That was funny. And he said, well, I
need you to sign my ball too, but I couldn't
(18:07):
find it. They didn't throw it back to me, so
he just laughed about it. You know, he signed, He
signed the ball, his six hundred and eighty second home
run to me though, which was really cool.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And I got to mention this because I didn't know this.
I think it was September tenth, nineteen seventy three, where you,
Marty Perez, became part of the rare club. You were
the fourth player of just six batters to ever pinch
it for the Great Hank Aaron.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Right, Yeah, that was kind of unusual. I was on
a I think it was on a I don't know
what it was, fifteen day, fifteen game, hitting Street and
it was the middle of the I think it was
the middle of the summer, and was screaming hot. Eddie
Matthews was the manager and he was up to bat
(19:07):
and I didn't play that day, and he was up
to bat and he got a real bad muscle spased me.
He couldn't hardly move and uh, Eddie Matthews says, Marty,
get a back, go pinch it for Henry. I said, wow.
(19:28):
Everybody looked at him, like, well, you're on any streak.
What would you Why would he want you to pinch it?
They could have got anybody else, you know. Well, anyway,
I made it now. I think the bases were loaded,
and I think I made it now. I keep I
keep telling people I had I hit a ball into
uh where Pete Rose caught it at the warning track.
(19:50):
But I don't know how true that is. I thought
that was a better scenario than saying I grounded out
or something.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
You know, But I mean, you know, as you can
see six hitters ever pinched hit for the great Hank
Aaron in his long twenty two season career.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Before No. Yeah, I know, I always told everybody I
was the first. I was the first one. I didn't know,
I just assumed I didn't. I didn't think anybody pinched
it for Hank Aaron. That's why I thought it was
I was the first one.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Wow. And Eddie Matthews was the one who made that decision.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Right right, unbelievable, right. Yeah. He was a he was
a great manager. He just had some had some other problems.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
That's what I wanted to ask you, Eddie Matthews. You know,
a good baseball mind, good baseball manager.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Oh yeah, everybody loved Eddie Matthews. But you know, but
his issues, they just they couldn't they couldn't handle it.
So they fired him. And I don't even remember who
took his place. I think it was Connie Ryan or
somebody like that.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
All right, Now, I got to ask you about the
Yanks because you know, I'm originally from New York City
nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Yeah, no, seventy But I'm not a Yankee fan. I'm
a Mets fan. Seventy seven.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
You played for Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. How did you,
I mean, what was what was your feeling about playing
for the Yankees. Were you proud or not really to
wear the pinstripes?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Well, yeah, anytime anybody in those days, I don't know.
Now it seemed like everybody goes to the Yankees, But
in those days, you know, they didn't really. There wasn't
really a You've got to understand the team they had,
they didn't have. They didn't have players that they could
They didn't have players that can trade for that can
(21:45):
take the other players, you know from the Yankees' place.
They couldn't take their place. They were just so good.
And for me to go down there and be their
shortstop primarily you know, substitute, uh, you know, to to
play all the positions, which I could, and that's why
(22:06):
they got me. But they had the opportunity to you know,
I was proud of that. Yeah, since you asked me that,
I was very proud of playing for the Yankees. It
just was it just didn't work out, and I'm glad
it didn't. There was two minutes too much other stuff
going on. I was there when when I think I
was there when uh, the right fielder Reggie Reggie Jackson, Yeah,
(22:34):
got in it with Billy Martin. And you know Billy,
he didn't he didn't go for anybody slushing off. You
got to play hard. That kind of deal and sometimes
Reggie you know, he looks like you know, he was
like Andrew Jones. You know, you don't realize that that
(22:55):
they're running, but it doesn't like they're running, you know.
And and when he was running for a flyball, grund
ball whatever it was, you know, it looked like he
was slushing off on it, you know, And he took
him out and they had a big old argument, almost
to fight. Uh. But anyway, I got traded and traded
(23:20):
to Oakland with Doc Allie for I think it was
Ed figure Ow and another player I don't I don't remember.
But I had a good time I had there.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Yeah, I mean that yankee infielder, you know that yankee
infield I was should saying, Yeah, Marty Perez, Greg Nettles,
that third Bucky Dent, Willie Randolph.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I mean that's I mean right.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Yeah, they had the They had the chicken there too.
You remember him Stanley.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Oh yeah, yes, Brett Stanley. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
They called him, yeah, they called him the chicken, the
chicken man. He ran and looked like a chicken when
he ran. He really Yeah, he's a funny guy though.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
And Chris Chambliss, right, he played Chris Chamblis at first,
I think.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Right, right, and White and Roy White, Reggie Jackson, Paul
Blair Rivers in center. Hey, we had, like I said,
we had a great team. That's why they won the
World Service that year. You know, then they had Randolph
who broke his leg, which he's broke his leg after
(24:31):
I got there or after after I left. I mean,
and uh, you know, I would have had a chance
to play all year second base, but they had traded
me already. So but anyway, yeah, that was that was
a good year. And then the next two years they
won the World Series. I believedn't they seventy six, seventy seven,
(24:52):
seventy eight.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, championship championship caliber, and
I got I want to end with this.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I have a couple of minutes left. Wasn't there an
incident with you and John Matt Lack of the Mets?
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Oh my god, yeah, I have one minute left.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I have one minute left.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
Well, there was bases were loaded and I was up
the bat and I don't know, I don't think there
was any outs, maybe one out. He kept throwing me
fastballs away and I kept following him off, and then
he got me at zero and two and then he
thought he struck me out, but you know, he said
(25:32):
it was it was on the black, and I said
it was outside. Finally I said, okay, he's got to
come inside one time, and he came inside. I hit
a ball off his head, off his forehead, and it
took one hop into the Mets dugout, and he was
done for the next three weeks. But I have to
hand it to him.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
He won.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
He was I think he was, came out, came out throwing.
He did very well that year, and I I'm proud
of him for doing that because I scared the heck
out of all of us, including Ron Reid, who was
on third base. He got puked wow, because it looked
like I killed him, So I'm glad I didn't, of course.
(26:15):
But anyway, that's the story. And I think it was
a bases loaded double. I think Chris Baul went and dugout.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Well, Marty, I'm actually out of time, but you know
you have such a long history. I love to have
you back in the near future.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
This was great, good anytime. Just let me know.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Thank you so much, Marty Sar.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
And I appreciate you asking me to get on here
with you.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
You got it anytime.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Marty Perez, fantastic infielder during the nineteen seventies for the
Atlanta Braves. Until next week, Happy collecting to all.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Some happing s. S.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Contenson
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