Oliver Pérez

BIOGRAPHY

Óliver Pérez was born August 15, 1981, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

On July 31, 2006, Pérez and Roberto Hernández were traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Xavier Nady. The Mets assigned Pérez to their AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. He was recalled to the Mets' major league roster on August 26, 2006. After two subpar starts, Pérez threw a complete-game shutout against the Atlanta Braves in the second game of a doubleheader on September 6.

After the Mets lost two starting pitchers to injury in the final week before the playoffs started, they were forced to use Pérez in the playoff rotation. His first playoff start came in Game 4 of the NLCS, in which he picked up his first career postseason win. His second playoff start came in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS vs. the Cardinals. He pitched six innings in, allowing one ER, and was on the mound for Endy Chavez's famous catch.

On June 2, 2018, Pérez signed a major-league deal with the Cleveland Indians. He contributed to a notable oddity on June 29, when he recorded a relief appearance with a walk and no pitches. This is because, under recent MLB rules changes, it was no longer necessary to actually pitch four balls in order to grant an intentional walk. After Perez had been brought into the game by manager Terry Francona to pitch to left-handed batter Dustin Fowler, Oakland Athletics' manager Bob Melvin sent right-handed batter Mark Canha to pinch hit. Francona then ordered an intentional base on balls, and Canha was awarded first base with no pitches being thrown. Melvin then had Chad Pinder (right) pinch-hit for Matt Joyce (left), so Francona countered by replacing Pérez with right-handed reliever Zach McAllister, thus making Pérez the first MLB pitcher to officially pitch in a game without actually throwing any pitches.

The Indians re-signed Pérez to a one-year contract on January 25, 2019. The deal includes a vesting option for the 2020 season. For the 2019 season, Pérez finished with a 3.98 ERA in 67 games.