The 50th Anniversary of Gaylord Perry's Moonshot is Approaching

Pitchers, historically, have not been the best hitters. After all, they are signed due to the ability to pitch and not necessarily swing a bat. Some pitchers, however, are below average even for pitcher hitting. Gaylord Perry fits into that latter group.

The righty began his career with the Giants in 1962. Perry, a two-time Cy Young winner with career accomplishments including 300 wins and 3000 strikeouts, was not known for his hitting. He was actually more known for his spitball usage rather than his hitting skills. The story goes that Perry was taking batting practice one day when his manager, Alvin Dark, remarked how “they’ll put a man on the moon before [Perry] hits a home run.”

1969 rolled along, with it being the final year to live up to JFK’s promise to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. The mound was lowered, the Miracle Mets were playing, American troops were still in Vietnam and Woodstock is coming for the summer. Dark’s quote still rang true and it appeared there was little possibility of that changing, as Perry’s last extra base hit was in 1967. Perry was 30 years old and still going strong as he faced the Dodgers on July 20.

On that same July 20th, NASA had their Apollo 11 mission sent into space and was prepared to land on the moon. Perry was facing Claude Osteen, the 1968 NL leader in losses, and the Dodgers. Run support was most likely not going to be a problem, with the top of the lineup featuring 30/30 man Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays and 1969 MVP winner Willie McCovey.

Perry did not start off strong, giving up 3 runs in the top of the first to Maury Wills, Manny Mota and Wes Parker. Perry later settled down, only allowing a single to Wills in the second, and had a 1-2-3 third inning. Osteen retired the first 8 batters he faced. By now, Neil Armstrong had taken his one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind on the Moon’s rocky surface. And Gaylord Perry had not hit a home run.

Gaylord Perry stepped into the box with 2 out in the bottom of the third to face Osteen, who led the National League in hits given up for 1969 but won 20 games (Editor's Note: pitcher wins don't matter). Perry took an Osteen offering deep and beyond the fences in Candlestick Park. Gaylord Perry had finally hit a home run, coincidentally right after Armstrong stepped on the surface of Earth's moon.

Osteen was clearly rattled by the home run, walking Bonds and eventually throwing the ball away, with Barry's father scoring another run. Perry pitched 8 shutout innings after his disastrous first inning, picking up his 12th win of the year. More importantly, he hit his first home run.

He still lost the bet.

May your pennants fly forever.

-Prentiss