Remembering Dodgers Bullpen Ace Ron Perranoski

The 1960s were the decade when the relief specialist became an essential part of a winning team's pitching formula. While starting pitchers were still expected to complete the game they started, managers in the 1960s began to realize the efficiency of building the relief function around a dedicated closer.

For the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first half of the 1960s, that closer was a left-hander named Ron Perranoski. Signed off the Michigan State University campus by the Chicago Cubs, he was traded to the Dodgers in 1960. (While attending Michigan State University, Perranoski was a teammate of Dick Radatz, the ace reliever for the Boston Red Sox in the mid-1960s.)

Perranoski made the Dodgers' squad in 1961, appearing in 53 games (only 1 a start, the only start of his career), and going 7-5 with 6 saves and a 2.65 ERA. He established himself as the Dodgers' closer in 1962, appearing in 70 games and finishing 39 of them, with 20 saves and a 2.85 ERA.

In 1963, as the Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant and the World Series against the New York Yankees, Perranoski had a career year, with a 16-3 record and 21 saves with a 1.67 earned run average. He appeared only once in the World Series, shutting down the Yankees in the bottom of the ninth to earn a save in preserving a 4-1 victory for the Dodgers and Johnny Podres. (Every other game was a complete-game victory for the Dodgers' starter.)

Over the next 4 years, Perranoski appeared in 256 games for the Dodgers, saving 54 victories while going 23-27 with a 2.73 ERA. Following the 1967 season, he was traded with Bob Miller and John Roseboro to the Minnesota Twins for Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles. Perranoski saved 65 games for the Twins over the next two years, leading the American League in that category both seasons. His performance tailed off sharply after that, and Perranoski retired in 1973 after 13 seasons. His 179 career saves made him the all-time leader among left-handers at that time. Today his save total still leaves him ninth on the all-time list among left-handed relievers. His 16 wins in relief in 1963 tied him with Philadelphia's Jim Konstanty for the second highest total in a season. (Roy Face set the record with 18 in 1959, a record that still stands.)