Remembering Pascual Perez, the Brave who made us smile
Pascual Perez delivers in Philadelphia in 1984. He could really throw that fastball. (AP photo)
He wasn’t the best Brave (although for 2 1/2 seasons he was pretty darn good), and he wasn’t, goodness knows, the most reliable, but Pascual Perez was the one most apt to make us smile. His enduring gift was that he, without appearing to try, made people happy. He made us happy when he ran from the dugout to the mound, happy when he pitched and won, happy that day in 1982 when he got on I-285 and just kept going.
That was the year a lot of folks fell in love with the local nine, and not just those who lived within spitting distance of Pascual’s Perimeter. It was a time when much of the U.S. first got cable, and the SuperStation staple began the season by winning 13 in a row. Then the Braves started losing, and folks from Montgomery to Missoula started agonizing for this suddenly beset crew, and lo and behold …
Pascual Perez, recently acquired from Pittsburgh and just up from Richmond, was scheduled to start on a Thursday night in August. His new team had lost 19 of 21 to fall four games behind the hated Dodgers. Only just outfitted with a driver’s license, Perez went literally in circles, stopping only because he was almost out of gas. A guy at the service station recognized him and spotted him a splash of petrol — Pascual had forgotten his wallet, too — and by the time he arrived at the old stadium Phil Niekro was on the mound in his stead.
The tension broken by Pascual’s misadventure, the Braves won 13 of the next 15 to reclaim first place. Come the season’s final week, the wayfarer started twice — both games were on the road, so no worries about Atlanta navigation — and won both times to keep the Braves a game in front of L.A., which is exactly where they finished.
Turned out the middling motorist could really pitch. He threw hard and wasn’t afraid to work inside. (The epic 1984 brawl with San Diego was a result of Perez’s plunking of Alan Wiggins and the Padres’ repeated attempts — darned if the agile target didn’t keep ducking out of the way — to nail him in retaliation.) He was 15-8 in 1983, the year of the lost-and-never-regained lead, and 14-8 in ‘84, Joe Torre’s final run as manager.
The Braves fired Torre and replaced him with the overmatched Eddie Haas, who lasted 121 games and succeeded only in breaking a good pitcher’s spirit. Perez’s season had started late because of his arrest on drug charges in the Dominican Republic, and the Braves and Haas set about to rein in his excesses. Being honest, Perez said he’d try to comply but wasn’t sure he could.
By midsummer, the joy was gone. He’d hurt his shoulder, which didn’t help. The eyes that blazed like searchlights from beneath his two-sizes-too-big cap, the jerk of the head toward left field whenever he struck somebody out, the incessant attempts to bunt for a hit … all that went away. The Braves took a manchild and tried to make him just a man, and all they had left was a sad and confused pitcher who went 1-13.
But let’s not remember Pascual Gross Perez, who was killed in an apparent armed robbery in the Dominican Republic, as the broken pitcher who exited this city after being released on April Fool’s Day 1986. Better to recall those happier days, when he helped the Braves win by pitching and helped save a season by, of all things, getting lost. Better to reflect on all the smiles he gave us, and to note that the world’s sunniest smile belonged, fittingly enough, to Pascual himself.
Further viewing: Here’s a link to MLB.com’s video recount of that Perez-inspired Braves-Padres brawl.
By Mark Bradley
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149 comments Add your comment
dtanner
November 2nd, 2012
9:47 am
makes me remember the two joke managers the braves had back then,eddie haas and the ever optimistic,mr. rogers neighborhood joke of a manager chuck tanner,these two fools make freddi g. look like genius by comparasin
Locomo
November 2nd, 2012
9:52 am
Very good job Mark. You were right, he made me smile then, and thinking of him makes me smile now.
Tim
November 2nd, 2012
9:58 am
I miss those days. I miss Skip, Pete (I know Pete has only retired), Ernie Sr., I-285. Our team might not have won much, but they were entertaining.
Rest in Peace Pascual.
GTT
November 2nd, 2012
10:11 am
I had forgotten Eddie Haas broke him, as he did the entire team. Best to forget ol’ Eddie and remember Pascual’s best attributes.
Goober Pyle
November 2nd, 2012
10:19 am
Great memories Mark! Pascual was a hoot to root for and a fine pitcher. I also seem to recall he wore a warm up jacket with I-285 on the back ! lol
Blazerdawg
November 2nd, 2012
10:49 am
Great piece of writing. The 1982 Braves were a special team and you recall the season well. Gals to know so many folks remember PP and that era of Atlanta baseball.
RIP and thank you for the memories and efforts Pascual Perez.
brad komminsk
November 2nd, 2012
11:02 am
some of your best work Mark. made me think fondly of the powder blue uni’s and days by gone. RIP Perimeter Perez!
brad komminsk
November 2nd, 2012
11:02 am
some of your best work Mark. made me think fondly of the powder blue uni’s and days by gone. RIP Perimeter Perez!
Home of the Braves
November 2nd, 2012
11:29 am
My old memory may be failing but I seem to recall that April 1, 1986 became known as “The April Fool’s Day Massacre” in Atlanta after the Braves released Pascual Perez, Len Barker, Rick Camp, Terry Forster, Rick Cerone, and maybe a few other players who were expected to make the team at the end of spring training.
kong
November 2nd, 2012
11:33 am
I remember when he hit a batter, think it might have been a Dodger’s game, and it cleared both benches, started a small riot.
Brave 4 Life D.
November 2nd, 2012
11:35 am
Thanks Mark for the memory. I remember the famous 285 trip also. It’s an unforgettable piece of Brave history. R.I.P. Pascual.
Mark Bradley
November 2nd, 2012
12:01 pm
Thanks again for the kind words, folks. I’m obliged.
Home of the Braves
November 2nd, 2012
12:05 pm
Anyone remember the Pascual Perez poster that was sold at the old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium shortly after the I-285 incident? Here is a copy of one . . .
http://larrykoestler.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/pascual-perez-joe-torre-i-285-poster_small.jpg?w=720&h=540
YoungerThan ThatNow
November 2nd, 2012
12:41 pm
Out of that Braves/Padres brawl there are many no longer with us. I had mentioned homeplate umpire, Big John McSherry earlier and how he was worn to a frazzle in that summer heat. He succumbed to a heart attack in Cincy on opening day in 1996, right on the field. I remember that well… a sad occasion and Big John was a good umpire.
Someone else mentioned Donnie Moore appearing in that game and his unfortunate death is well chronicled. Alan Wiggins, was the first batter that Pascual plunked that Sunday afternoon, and he passed away as well, in January of 1991.
And now Pascual… who was listed at 6′2″ and 162 pounds… he couldn’t have weighed an ounce over 140 pounds! But it was a full 140 pounds of feisty pitcher. I remember if he didn’t like a plate umpire’s strike zone on a particular pitch, he would snatch the return throw from the catcher out of the air and glare at the umpire! It got him more than one reprimand from the men in blue!
Quite a character, and there were many on those good teams of the early 80’s… quite a few memories as well!
Hugh
November 2nd, 2012
12:45 pm
Just 2 words for you Mr Bradley………………………………………….Great Article!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big Crimson 75
November 2nd, 2012
12:55 pm
Good stuff Bradley.
I’ve always favored those early 80’s Braves Teams of my youth.
Hardballtalk at NBC sports has a good video up of the ‘84 Padre game.
Half-way thru Skip Carrey asks PVW if he thinks Bob Horner hurt his right hand again!!
Classic.
Larry
November 2nd, 2012
1:08 pm
Very good article Mark, thank you for reminding me of the memories.
P Rose
November 2nd, 2012
1:18 pm
Great read, Mark. My dad took me to games in the 60s to see Hank Aaron, but it was when the Braves won 13 in a row to start the 1982 season that I became hooked for good. I remember Knucksie’s 4-0 lead being washed away by rainout against the Cards in the NLCS that year. That was a sad end to an otherwise magical season, which was salvaged mid-season by the comic relief provided by the affable Pascual Perez and his wild ride.
BravesGirl
November 2nd, 2012
1:34 pm
Nice article, Mark. Does anybody remember the post-season shows TBS put together back in 82-83 where they would recap the season with highlights, talk candidly with the announcers, and play behind the scenes dugout audio from Torre and all the players? I remember very specifically the show having highlights of Pascual Perez with “Rubberband Man” playing in the background.
RIP Pascual
November 2nd, 2012
1:51 pm
I remember Pascual as the lanky Dominican pitcher on a good Braves team (which was rare in those days). I was a 12-year old youth baseball player and I just had to have that BLUE GLOVE that Pascual sported as I had never seen one before. I still have that glove and my memories of my childhood, which include Pascual. RIP and thanks for good childhood memories!
so
November 2nd, 2012
1:58 pm
I miss those old days… players, ushers and most others were not jerks like they are now. Sit in the outfield for 50 cents, or walk in free after the 4th inning- sit anywhere you wanted to.
Of course MARTA only had buses and it was 15 cents to ride. Baseball seemed a lot more fun back then.
Tap Out
November 2nd, 2012
2:05 pm
This is sad, he was loved by Atlanta fans. I remember during a huge fight with the Padres, one of the SD players went after Pascual. Bob Horner (who was injured, not in uniform and wearing an arm cast) came unto the field to protect the skinny Pascual. He risked further injury to himself by pushing the player away. I remember Pascual thanking Bob for the intervention, instead of trying to act tough. RIP I-285.
Noc-a-Homa
November 2nd, 2012
2:17 pm
As a kid from Atlanta the best memory is of Perez is when he would get to the mound…warm up…turn his back to the plate…get himself psyched up…smack his glove and get the crowd hyped up before he faced his first batter.
pb
November 2nd, 2012
2:46 pm
Yes, Mark, thanks for reminding us of the good ( and bad) times with Pascual. He was a wild one, on and off the field. Never forget him holding that bat, and swinging it,during that fight with San Diego. Think he got escorted off the field for that one. Truly one of a kind… May you rest in peace, Pascual !
BillR
November 2nd, 2012
2:50 pm
I remember PP dancing to ‘Rubberband Man” in a TBS post season production called ‘A Long way to October’. Anyone know how to obtain a copy of this? I have a video of the production done the following year- ‘A Tale of Two Seasons’- which i have transfered to CD- but can’t locate ‘A Long way to October”.
Biff Pocoroba Fan Club President
November 2nd, 2012
2:55 pm
I have been cheering for the Braves ever since we watched them on channel 17 which was WTCG, before Peachtree TV, before TBS, before WTBS.
I have been reading the AJC ever since it came in paper form – the Constitution delivered in the morning and the Journal in the afternoon.
This is a touching tribute not just to Perez but to us long-time Atlantans. I put this article up there with anything Furman Bisher, Celestine Sibley, or Lewis Grizzard ever wrote.
Kudos, Mark.
HDB
November 2nd, 2012
3:32 pm
Well done, Mark!!
Who could forget how the Braves took off after Pascual took the tension off the club by getting lost…..and the San Diego brawl was so good, I remember Bob Horner going from the stands to the clubhouse to change into his uniform….even though he had a broken wrist!!
Raising a beer up in memory of Pascual’s spirit……..
Reid in EAV
November 2nd, 2012
3:45 pm
As the old poster said: “Pascual Perez: Nice to have you around… and around… and around…”
And it was!
Layinlow
November 2nd, 2012
5:00 pm
Good guy.
Mark
November 2nd, 2012
5:19 pm
I have to commend you for this excellent column…I read ajc.com/sports thoroughly everyday and rarely comment on anything; however, last night I logged on to check the latest on my Dawgs and I saw the headline on Pascal..within minutes I was deep into this blog with a lump in my throat and revisiting great memories of Pascal and those ‘82 Braves….an oasis in a childhood of horribly awful baseball seasons. We are blessed to have writers like you and Shultz who have been here long enough to recount players like Pascal who touch the soul of a fanbase. For the first time I read every single blog and enjoyed them all. Nice to see how one skinny, young pitcher could create such good memories for all of us. Thank you again…may he rest in peace.
Mark
November 2nd, 2012
5:26 pm
Great work…I got a lump in my throat reading this. Nice memories of a skinny pitcher who made us laugh and that 1982 team that rescued my childhood from the scars of the late 70s Braves…although it was an oasis that didn’t last long. May he rest in peace…and thank you for being so in touch with the soul of the fanbase.
Jeff Stephens
November 2nd, 2012
5:41 pm
Thank you. Great article and I appreciate someone remembering him. He was a bolt of lightning for a city starved for a winner. Those years were special. Again, thanks Mark.
Jeff
November 2nd, 2012
6:39 pm
Fine column, Mark. Thanks. RIP PP
ssidawg
November 2nd, 2012
8:35 pm
Nice story. RIP Perimeter Perez.
Biff
November 2nd, 2012
9:55 pm
Nicely written but I don’t recall reading anywhere this was drug related. Everything I read said he was killed for his MLB pension check.
fritz
November 3rd, 2012
3:38 am
Funny how you are the only writer who has stated that he was killed in an apparent drug robbery. after reading many of the Spanish language articles as well the english articles no one has stated he was killed in an apparent drug robbery but you. Do you really think that is necessary.
Paco
November 3rd, 2012
5:11 am
After reading your article I find it awful that you can somehow be the ONLY news outlet in both the USA and Dominican Republic to report that he was killed in an “apparent” drug robbery. I also wonder why you failed to mention that he was suffering from terminal kidney disease and that he was going through dialysis treatments 3 times a week.
What a thorough piece of journalism.
Mark Bradley
November 3rd, 2012
10:36 am
The reader is correct. Reports do not indicate Pascual Perez’s death was the result of a drug robbery. I should have said that he died in an “an apparent armed robbery.”
I have made the correction and thank the reader. And I regret, not for the first time, my stupidity.
Elizabeth
November 3rd, 2012
10:06 pm
This is a blast from the past. I used to pore over every inch of the AJC…front page, ed/op, metro, living and especially sports….Bisher, Sibley, Grizzard…Mark Bradley had long curly hair back then!
I didn’t come back to Atlanta until 1985, but I knew about Perez, and could identify! Looking for a job, most of my directions were the malls on the Perimeter…if I had to go inside, I’d be lost for hours! I can see where I wanna be, but can’t get there from here…
RIP Pascual.
Clarkston Dawg
November 4th, 2012
4:08 am
He would stride off the mound while looking down.
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The Dogfather
November 4th, 2012
9:04 am
The best memory of Pasquel was the time he dumped Mattingly(NY) on the head. That old turd got what he deserved. We met pasquel at the braves sring training camp-it Disney- this past spring. He was healthy and we took a few pics. He looked really good
john hoar
November 4th, 2012
12:28 pm
I almost never chime in. I’ve quit years ago because I feel that I can never add a comment of value anymore. Today, it’s different. My commit like all the others is valuable. We miss you Pasquel and maybe somewhere you know that, and it will be our time to make you smile. Thank you for the memories.
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Larvell "Sugar Bear" Blanks
November 4th, 2012
5:45 pm
It’s Sunday and I finally get around to reading the sports page. That’s how times have changed since 1982.
Thanks Mark for taking me back to a hot summer night, sitting on the last row of the lower bowl of old Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, with my parents (may God rest their souls) who had driven in from NC to see ole “I-285″ pitch.
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