Ron Perranoski started out his Major League playing career with the LA Dodgers in 1961, and was a dependable arm out of the bullpen. He was our go-to guy for much of the early-60's. He lead the league in appearances 3-times, finished 273 games and recorded 101 saves as a Dodger. In 1963, he was an important arm during the Dodgers World Championship run. He won 16 games and saved 21 games as a reliever.
On a side note, he originally came to the Dodgers as a throw-in in a trade with the Cubs in 1960. Via the booklet below:
In many major league swaps, there is a "throw-in" player, demanded by the team bargaining with the strongest hand. Sometimes these throw-ins turn out to be the prize of the package. Ron Perranoski was the Cub throw-in when they wanted Don Zimmer. Outfielder Lee Walls and infielder John Goryl were the offer of record. Buzzie Bavasi countered by asking $27,500 cash and "someone else." That was Ron.He found out about the trade in an unusual way.
If Ron Perranoski were not a newspaper reader, he might have taken weeks to find out that the Cubs had dealt him to the Dodgers. He was in the army then, and read about it in the sports page. Nobody had told him.Below are complete scans of every page from Ron Perranoski's 1961 Union Oil Dodger Family Booklet. Click any pic to embiggen.
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Thanks for posting this. Ron was one of my favorite players in the early 60s. After Larry Sherry, he was on the leading edge of the emerging specialized role of relief pitcher.
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