Former Los Angeles Dodgers standout relief pitcher Ron Perranoski died late Friday night at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 84.
No cause of death was given.
Perranoski, who was also the Dodgers pitching coach for 14 seasons until 1994, was so successful as a relief pitcher, he finished fourth in National League MVP voting in 1963, 12th in 1970 and 13th in 1969. He also finished seventh in Cy Young Award voting in 1970.
The veteran of 13 seasons, he went 16-3 with a 1.67 ERA over a NL-leading 69 relief appearances in 1963. He also had a career-high 34 saves in 1970 after recording 31 saves in 1969.
Perranoski finished his career with a 79-74 record and had a 2.79 ERA in 737 appearances, with just one of those a start that came in his rookie season of 1961. He played for four teams: Dodgers (1961-67, 1972), Minnesota Twins (1968-71), Detroit Tigers (1971-72) and California Angels (1973).
Perranoski eventually became the Dodgers’ pitching coach under manager Tommy Lasorda.
Upon leaving the Dodgers he moved on to become the San Francisco Giants’ minor league pitching coordinator in 1995 and was the team’s major league bench coach in 1997. He was the pitching coach in San Francisco the next two seasons. He has been a Giants special assistant to the general manager since 2000.
