Gary Peters

Gary Charles Peters (April 21, 1937 – January 26, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher

At Mercer High School, he starred in basketball, leading the team to three regional championships. In his senior year in 1955, he was named All-State Pennsylvania. His school did not have a baseball team. In 2024, he was posthumously inducted into Mercer's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Minor league baseball In 1956, the White Sox assigned Peters to the Holdrege White Sox of the Class-D Nebraska State League. As a pitcher, Peters had 10-5 win-loss record and 2.81 earned run average (ERA), striking out 142 batters in 128 innings. As a hitter, he had a .321 batting average.512 slugging percentage, and .872 OPS. He played almost completely in the White Sox minor league system from 1956 through 1962, including three years in Triple-A baseball, two for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League (1960-1961) and a final year for the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association. His respective ERA over these three years were 4.34, 3.59, and 3.69. Peters learned to pitch with control in the minor leagues from White Sox pitching coach Ray Berres. Peters won 19 games with only eight losses (including 11 consecutive wins), with a league leading 2.33 ERA. He also won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. He was eighth in Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting.

In 1964, Peters had an American League leading 20 wins (20-8 record), with a 2.50 ERA. This was the highest win total of his career. but the team batting average was .247, with only 106 home runs. The White Sox finished in second place in the American League (98-64), only one game behind the New York Yankees.

In 1965, Peters fell off to a 10-12 record with a 3.62 ERA. He is also reported as having suffered a groin injury that year. Peters said the groin injury in 1965 affected his pitching delivery. In 1969, Peters suffered an arm injury in spring training (later diagnosed as a rotator cuff injury).

Boston Red Sox Peters played for the Red Sox from 1970-1972, with win-loss records of 16-11 (34 starts) and 14-11 (32 starts) in his first two years. In 1972, he appeared in 33 games, but only started four, ending with a 3-3 record. He was also used as a pinch-runner.

Major League stats YearsGamesWLShOIPCGRERSOERAFld%143591241032320817984775114203.25.966

MLB awards American League All-Star (1964, 1967) American League Rookie of the Year (1963)

MLB achievements American League leader in ERA (1963, 1966) American League leader in wins (1964) American League leader in fielding average as pitcher (1968) American League pennant team (1959) 20-game winner (1964) Chicago White Sox All-Century Team (2000)