We remember today Atanasio (Rigal) Perez, the pride of Ciego de Avila and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Tony broke with the Cincinnati Reds in the summer of 1964. He went on to have a wonderful major league career: 2,777 games, 2,732 hits, 379 HR, 1,659 RBI and a very good .279 career batting average.
Tony’s career was more than numbers. He was the steady bat in a Reds’ team that won 4 NL titles and the World Series in 1975 and 1976.
Willie Stargell spoke for many of his fellow players: ““With men in scoring position and the game on the line…Tony’s the last guy an opponent wanted to see.””
Tony had many big hits for the Reds Machine in the 1970s. He is best remembered for a big homer in game 7 of the 1975 World Series: