Dan Petry confronted 644 totally different batters throughout the 1979-1991 seasons, and whereas he actually doesn’t bear in mind all of them, his stage of recollection is spectacular. Now 67, the previous All-Star right-hander proved as a lot when he grew to become the most recent pitcher-turned-broadcast analyst to deal with one my a matchup-focused profession quizzes. As did David Cone, Mark Grant, Mark Gubicza, and Jeff Montgomery — these items might be discovered right here, right here, right here, and right here — “Peaches” reached into his private reminiscence financial institution to take a stab at answering my questions, and to supply entertaining anecdotes whereas doing so. Our dialog came about at Fenway Park this previous weekend.
I started by asking him which batter he confronted essentially the most occasions.
“It must be any individual within the American League East,” replied Petry, who performed the majority of his profession with the Detroit Tigers and is now Dan Dickerson’s main companion within the crew’s radio sales space. “I’ll say Robin Yount.”
It was certainly Yount, who stepped in towards Petry 89 occasions. I proceeded to ask which participant recorded essentially the most hits off him.
“That is likely to be a trick query, as a result of possibly it’s Robin Yount,” mentioned Petry, earlier than going with a unique reply. “However I feel lots of my solutions are going to be George Brett, so I’ll say George Brett.”
He ought to’ve trusted his preliminary intuition, as a result of Yount was the reply once more. The Corridor of Famer logged 24 hits in 83 at-bats towards the right-hander, who went 119-93 as a Tiger and 125-104 general, whereas tossing 2,080 1/3 innings over 370 large league outings.
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“He’s a man who I’ve all the time, to at the present time, have a lot respect for,” Petry mentioned of the Milwaukee Brewers icon. “I bear in mind when he was simply an adolescent. At the moment [when Yount was in the majors at age 18], I used to be an adolescent additionally, and enthusiastic about whether or not I might ever get that chance to play, like he was doing. So, simply attending to face him was amongst my best moments.”
How concerning the batter to whom he surrendered essentially the most residence runs?
“Once more, I might most likely need to guess George Brett,” replied Petry, naming the participant who, with six, is tied with Greg Walker for the second-most gophers off him. “However Mark McGwire was a man the place it appeared like he both hit a house run off me, or I walked him.”
Massive Mac, who had three residence runs and three walks in 16 plate appearances, wasn’t the right reply. Fred Lynn has that distinction, having taken Petry deep seven occasions.
“I bear in mind some in Tiger Stadium, with the overhang in proper subject, however I wouldn’t have thought that,” admitted the erstwhile hurler. “I bear in mind giving up residence runs right here [at Fenway Park], however extra so to Dwight Evans and Jim Rice, not a lot to Fred Lynn. Once more, a pair at Tiger Stadium, and never seven of them.”
Lynn by no means did go deep towards Petry at Fenway Park, nor did he achieve this whereas enjoying with the Purple Sox. Three of the homers got here at Tiger Stadium, three extra at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, and one at Anaheim Stadium.
The batter he walked essentially the most occasions?
“Oh boy. How about Wade Boggs?” Petry replied, nailing the right reply. “That jumped proper to my thoughts. He didn’t thoughts hitting with two strikes — he most likely hit .400 with two strikes — and he took lots of pitches. I additionally walked lots of guys.”
Boggs drew 21 walks, whereas Evans, with 16, had the subsequent highest whole. I requested Petry concerning the latter, who slashed .368/.500/.649 with 4 residence runs in 74 plate appearances towards him.
“He had an ideal strategy,” Petry mentioned of the arguably Corridor-worthy outfielder. “He knew that I used to be going to throw lots of sliders, and I bear in mind him not chasing fairly often. He was very disciplined towards me; he would spit on lots of good sliders that I might throw to him. He was one other a kind of Purple Sox gamers who, once you got here to Fenway — and Fenway is a troublesome place to pitch, anyway — was a problem. You consider that lineup that they had: Evans, Lynn, Rice, Carlton Fisk… it was an ideal lineup.”
The batter he struck out essentially the most occasions?
“The primary title that jumps into my head is Reggie Jackson, however I don’t suppose that’s proper,” responded Petry. “Someone from the Texas Rangers. Oddibe McDowell?”
That certified as the published analyst’s largest miss. Petry dominated McDowell to the tune of permitting simply 4 hits in 21 at-bats, however he fanned him simply 4 occasions. There have been two appropriate solutions, with a dozen strikeouts every: Todd Cruz and the aforementioned Mr. October.
Why did Petry have a lot success towards Jackson, who went simply 8-for-46 (.174) towards his choices?
“I really advised a narrative to Dan Dickerson about Reggie Jackson yesterday,” Petry mentioned. “I went the longest time in my profession with out giving up a house run to him, and eventually he bought me — late in his profession, and late in my profession. That may have been an ideal bragging piece, that I by no means gave up a house run to Reggie Jackson.”
Which batter went 2-for-3 with a pair of residence runs towards him? I wasn’t positive if that will be a simple one to reply, or a particularly troublesome one. It turned out to be somewhat of each.
After initially saying Ken Phelps, then including, “No, I confronted him greater than 3 times,” Petry was far more assured when he answered: “Oh, Kevin Maas.”
The Maas guess was a superb one — the flash within the pan Yankees slugger went 1-for-2 with a stroll and a house run — nevertheless it wasn’t the fitting reply. A touch elicited an instantaneous nailing of the right title.
“Cecil Fielder,” Petry replied after being advised that one of many hits was a grand slam. “It was right here. I pitched for Boston for about six weeks. The Tigers got here to city, I got here out of the bullpen, and he hit one up into the web, proper down the left-field line. He was laughing all the best way across the bases. This was in 1991, and I had performed with the Tigers earlier within the yr earlier than getting traded to Atlanta, after which right here, so I knew Cecil very nicely. My boys performed with Value [Fielder]. Prince would come over to the home and run round with my children.”
The batter he placed on base with a hit-by-pitch 4 occasions proved to be a simple query.
“Brian Downing,” Petry promptly replied. “He stood proper on the plate and leaned his arms over. I used to be by no means afraid to pitch inside, as a result of I wanted to open up the skin a part of the plate for my slider, and he would lean into it. This was earlier than hitters had all of the padding. I by no means drilled him; he was simply form of sticking his arms on the market to get on base. And he had large arms. I really performed with him for 2 years with the Angels, so there was no animosity. It was simply a part of the sport.”
A query that did show troublesome was the participant with the best batting common amongst those that logged 15 or extra hits off him.
“I imply, I all the time say George Brett to all the things, as a result of he was so good,” mentioned Petry. “However… I don’t know if he bought 15 hits towards me, however how about Don Mattingly?”
Shut, however no cigar. The New York Yankees legend went 21-for-47, for a .447 common, which was second-highest mark. Petry then surmised Cecil Cooper, who went 19-for-54, for a .352 common. The right reply was yet one more left-handed hitter, one whose .537 common got here by way of 17 hits in 30 at-bats. Petry rattled off the title shortly once I advised him that it was a Seattle Mariner.
“Oh, that’s proper. Alvin Davis,” he mentioned. “You already know, the Mariners had been a kind of groups that… and Phil Bradley (10-for-25) was one other one. He was a right-handed hitter. They had been powerful outs. Alvin Davis was a troublesome out for all of us, so it wasn’t simply me. However left-handed hitters gave me bother, as a result of I couldn’t all the time throw a changeup. If I had a superb changeup, I used to be in nice form, nevertheless it was flip a coin if I used to be going to have a superb changeup.”
Yet another query appeared so as. As he introduced up Brett a number of occasions, does Petry have a favourite story concerning the batter towards whom he yielded 20 hits in 58 at-bats?
“I don’t have a favourite one, however there’s one that also form of haunts me somewhat bit,” Petry advised me. “I hit Willie Wilson [with a pitch] within the cheek at Royals stadium. I bear in mind strolling in as he was on the bottom, and [Brett] and I had been standing subsequent to one another. I mentioned, ‘I didn’t imply to do this.’ He didn’t say a phrase. I feel these had been the one phrases I’ve ever spoken to him in my life. There was simply that face-to-face interplay, which I bear in mind to at the present time. It was a scary second. However George Brett was simply so good. He was so, so good.”
