Gaylord Perry was the best spitballer the game has ever seen.
That’s not hyperbole, and it’s not rumor. There’s no need to resort to innuendo when talking about Perry and his array of “illegal” pitches. He called his shot. And he did so with nearly half of his career still ahead of him.
In his autobiography “Me and the Spitter,” published in 1974, Perry admitted that he had been throwing a spitball since 1964. Not coincidentally, Perry’s career as a successful big league pitcher began in 1964.
“I was the 11th man on an
