Former Red great meets fans

LANCASTER - National Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Red Tony Perez broke into a huge grin when asked about the home run he hit in Game Seven of the 1975 World Series against Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee.

The Reds were down 3-0 when Perez hit his sixth-inning two-run blast, which helped lead the Reds to their first World Series title since 1940. Boston outfielder Carl Yastrzemski later flew out to center fielder Cesar Geronimo for the final out of the series.

"That was great because a lot of people thought we were going to lose that series," Perez said. "And when (Will) McEnaney got Yastrzemski out with the last out and Geronimo caught it, we started celebrating."

Perez spoke about that historic moment and others during his career as he met fans and signed autographs Wednesday at the new Ollie's Bargain Outlet at 1277 N. Memorial Drive.

Perez was one of the main cogs of the 1970's Big Red Machine that won the World Series in 1975 and 1976 over the Red Sox and New York Yankees, respectively. He also played with the Reds during their 1970 series loss to the Baltimore Orioles and their 1972 series loss to the Oakland A's. His teammates included Pete Rose and fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan.

The Reds traded him after the 1976 season to the Montreal Expos for pitchers Dale Murray and Woody Fryman  to make room for Dan Driessen at first base. Perez said the Reds thought he was getting old.

"It hurt me because I didn't want to leave the Cincinnati Reds," Perez said. "I didn't want to leave the team. The last year I played in '76, it was great because we won. But I didn't play as many games as I wanted to. Driessen played a lot of games for me, and I didn't like that. I liked to play every day."

Therefore, Perez said he asked the Reds to trade him.

"Lot of people got mad at me because I asked for a trade, but I don't want to stay in the clubhouse and not play the way I want to," he said.

Perez also played for the Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies before returning to the Reds for three seasons in 1984. He also managed the Reds for a brief time in 1993 before being elected into the Hall of Fame in 2000. He managed the Florida, now Miami, Marlins in 2001.

Perez was elected into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1998 and was honored with a statue outside Great American Ball Park in 2015.

Perez is now a special assistant for the Marlins. He works with the players and also in the community. He has been with the Marlins for 24 years, but he is still a beloved figure in Reds country.

"Everybody knows what the Big Red Machine was and Tony Perez and all the other guys," he said. "Everywhere you go around here, they give you a lot of emotion and bring you back a lot of memories."

He said the Big Red Machine was one of the greatest teams in baseball history because the players played together as a team.

"We've got eight guys who go out there and play hard every day and know what to do on the field to win ballgames," Perez said. "And we've got pitching that supported us and did the job. That's why we won so many games. And we've got a manager (Sparky Anderson) who understands everybody and a great coaching staff."

The current Reds have traded away stars such as Todd Frazier, Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman as they build for the future and are a long way away from the success of the '70s teams.

"They're trying to get young and get players for a long time, a few years," Perez said. "I hope it works. I hope they play better because the fans in Cincinnati and Ohio need a good team."

Two of those fans, Susie Poulin and Donna Fey, drove the two hours from Cincinnati to see Perez. They were decked out in Reds garb.

"He's awesome," said. "We've met him before, and he's a wonderful man. He was a great ballplayer, and we got to see him play in Cincinnati because we're old. But it's pretty neat. Pretty neat."

Fey said seeing Perez was worth getting up at 4 a.m. and driving two hours.

"Absolutely," she said.

Fey said it was exciting watching the Big Red Machine and that she has a lot of memorabilia from the team.

Pickerington resident David Lindsey brought a bat for Perez to sign. The bat contained numerous other Hall of Famers' autographs, including Bench, Morgan, Jim Rice, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk and Ralph Kiner.

Lindsey said he is a memorabilia collector and has met Perez before.

"It was nice," he said of adding Perez's name to the bat that he bought a couple years ago at Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron