Gary Peters obit

Gary Peters, 1963 AL Rookie of the Year, dies at 85

 

He was not on the list.

Former Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox pitcher Gary Peters, who won the American League ERA title twice, has died at age 85.

The White Sox announced his death on Thursday but didn’t provide further details. Peters made his major league debut on Sept. 10, 1959, and pitched in just 12 games over four seasons before landing in the White Sox rotation in 1963, when he was named American League Rookie of the Year. That season, the left-hander was 19-8 and led the league in ERA (2.33) while throwing 243 innings in 41 games (30 starts). He had 13 complete games.

He won 20 games in 1964, leading the American League, and also had the league’s lowest ERA in 1966 (1.98). He was selected to the AL All-Star team twice — 1964 and 1967 — with the White Sox. 

The White Sox send our condolences to the family and friends of Gary Peters, who has passed away at the age of 85.

1963 Rookie of the Year

 2x All-Star

Led the A.L. in ERA in 1963 & ’66 and wins in 1964

Ranks 8th in White Sox history with 1,098 strikeouts

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) January 26, 2023

Chicago traded Peters to Boston on Dec. 13, 1969, with Don Pavletich for Billy Farmer, Syd O’Brien and Gerry Janeski, who was later added to the deal.

The Red Sox released Peters following the 1972 season.

In 359 career games (286 starts), Peters compiled a 124-103 record with a 3.25 ERA. He was 91-78 with a 2.92 ERA for the White Sox, and his 1,098 strikeouts remain eighth in team history.

He also was a decent hitter for a pitcher, and his best season came in 1971 with Boston, when he hit .271 with three home runs and 19 RBIs.

The Chicago White Sox signed Peters as an amateur free agent in 1956 after he graduated from Grove City College. After four brief call-ups, he got a pitching job on the White Sox in 1963, winning 19 games (19-8) and the American League Rookie of the Year Award. A left-handed pitcher, he led the American League in earned run average in 1963 and 1966, with the most wins in 1964. In 1965, he was limited by a bad back. Tommy John, who lived with him part of the year, recalled that Peters had to sleep on a mattress on the floor and could not stand up straight in the mornings. He led in fielding average as a pitcher in 1968. He stayed in the White Sox organization through the 1969 season and was traded to the Boston Red Sox, where he spent the last three years of his playing career.

Peters was named to the American League All-Star roster in 1964 and 1967, and finished in the top 10 in the Most Valuable Player voting in 1963, 1964, and 1967. He had a .222 lifetime batting average and hit 19 home runs and 102 RBI. He was frequently used as a pinch-hitter, once winning a game with a pinch-hit home run. On May 5, 1968, Peters hit a grand slam in Comiskey Park, helping the White Sox to a 5-1 victory over the New York Yankees. He was also used as a pinch-runner.

Peters was a big practical joker. Once, when the White Sox went to play the Los Angeles Angels, they found themselves at the same hotel as the Yankees, who had not left for their next destination yet. Obtaining the key to Joe Pepitone's room, Peters snuck into the hitter's room in the middle of the night and started jumping on the bed and screaming, scaring the hitter tremendously until Pepitone finally got the lights turned on and figured out what had happened. Another time, he caught a baby octopus while skindiving and threw it at Ed Stroud in the locker room the next day.

On September 30, 2000, the Chicago White Sox announced that Gary Peters and 26 other former and active White Sox players were members of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team.

In the minors he played for the Holdrege White Sox, Dubuque Packers, Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Davenport DavSox, Indianapolis Indians and the San Diego Padres.