The first pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues is the 82nd inductee into the Baseball Hall of Immortals.
Gaylord Perry won the Cy Young Award for the Cleveland Indians in 1972 and then for the San Diego Padres in 1978. He won more than 20 games five times. He won 175 games in the National League and 141 in the American League. He was an All-Star in both leagues.
Yet despite all those accomplishment, Perry is perhaps best known for allegedly being the last pitcher to successfully throw the spitball.
Perry has always denied throwing it. Whether he did or not, the idea that he might be throwing it was enough to throw some batters off their game.
Regardless of what he threw, Perry was one of the great pitchers in the last 50 years. When he retired in 1982 he had 314 wins (good for 19th all-time), 5,340 inning pithed (6th all-time), and 3.534 strikeoutes (8th all-time).
The man who psyched out batter by touching the bill of his cap is an Immortal.
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
