Tom Veryzer - Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

Larvell Blanks won the starting shortstop job out of Spring training 1978, but inconsistent fielding led to his being replaced by Veryzer at the start of May. With Duane Kuiper at second and Buddy Bell at third, the Indians boasted one of the better fielding infields in the American League, however, light hitting relegated them to a sixth place finish in the American League East. For his part, Veryzer batted .271 with one home run and 32 RBIs. His most memorable moment of the season may have come on September 13 when he drove in the winning run of the Indians' 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox with a successful suicide squeeze bunt, knocking the Red Sox out of first place.

His offensive numbers slumped to .220 with no home runs and 34 RBIs, but he had his finest season with the glove in 1979. Veryzer figured in ninety double plays while logging a career high .974 fielding percentage in a career high 702 chances. Tendinitis caused Veryzer to miss two weeks at the start of June, and a month of play in the second half of the 1980 season. He was at his best when healthy, however, batting .271 and putting up a .971 fielding percentage.

Likewise, injuries caused Veryzer to miss two weeks toward the end of the 1981 season. On May 15, 1981, Veryzer made a brilliant play on an Alfredo Griffin ground ball up the middle to record the first out of the day's match-up with the Toronto Blue Jays. From there, Indians pitcher Len Barker retired the next 26 batters he faced for the first perfect game in the majors since 1968. During the off-season, he was traded to the New York Mets for pitcher Ray Searage.