Eduardo Pérez talks about nearly ruining Ozzie Smith's farewell game on 'Old Baseball Cards'
Eduardo Pérez doesn’t lack for baseball knowledge or personality, which is probably why he’s been around the game for so long. The current ESPN analyst and ex-big league player — who spent 13 years playing for the Angels, Reds, Cardinals, Rays and others — is this week’s guest on “Old Baseball Cards” and proved himself to be quite animated.
From imitating Phil Plantier’s swing and Jesse Orosco’s delivery to telling the story of how he almost ruined Ozzie Smith Day in St. Louis, Pérez is a lot of fun. He even finds the pitcher against whom he got his first big-league hit. What are the odds?
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Pérez’s roots run deep in Latin American baseball. He’s the son of Hall of Famer Tony Pérez, and as you can tell watching this episode, he knows just about every Latin ballplayer we come across. He’s been a coach in the big leagues for the Astros and Marlins, a front-office guy for the Indians, a manager back home in Puerto Rico and since 2014, he’s been an analyst on ESPN for MLB games and on “Baseball Tonight.” You can also hear him on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.
If you’re new to “Old Baseball Cards,” welcome aboard. Every week, we open packs of cards from the ’80s and ’90s — most of which aren’t worth anything — with baseball players, coaches and famous fans. It all started with cards sitting in my garage that my grandma bought back in the day, hoping they’d be worth enough to pay for college one day. They aren’t, but they do make for good fodder for stories and memories. We’ve got plenty of great episodes below for you to check out.
If you like this episode, you’ll probably also like our episodes with Felipe Alou and Aaron Boone.
Previously on Old Baseball Cards
MUST-SEE EPISODES: David Ross | Dave Winfield | Tim Raines | Thomas Ian Nicholas aka Henry Rowengartner | Mike Krukow | Gary Vee | Randy Johnson | Felipe Alou | George Brett | Torey Lovullo | Pedro Martinez | Bronson Arroyo | Eric Davis | Dusty Baker | Hank Azaria | Alex Rodriguez | Scott Boras | A.J. Ellis | Bernie Williams | Chase Utley | John Smoltz | Best trades of 2017 | Best finds of 2017 | Best Guests of 2017 (Part 1) | Best Guests of 2017 (Part 2)
CROSSOVER EPISODES: The Miz | Metta World Peace
STARS FROM BACK IN THE DAY: J.J. Putz | Luis Gonzalez | Duane Kuiper | Edgar Martinez | Ryne Sandberg | Frank Thomas | Sandy Alomar Jr. | Delino DeShields | Cliff Floyd | Dan Plesac | Aaron Boone | Bobby Bonilla | Andre Dawson | Ivan Rodriguez | Jack Morris | Jeff Nelson | Mark Teixeira | Rick Ankiel | Kevin Millar
MANAGERS/COACHES: Terry Francona | Joe Maddon | Bruce Bochy | Clint Hurdle | Buck Showalter | Brad Mills | Bob Melvin | Dave Roberts | Gabe Kapler | Alex Cora | Dave Martinez | Ron Gardenhire | Scott Servais
CURRENT PLAYERS: CC Sabathia | Curtis Granderson | Noah Syndergaard | Kyle Hendricks | Clayton Kershaw | Todd Coffey | John Axford | Dee Gordon | Adam Eaton | Rajai Davis | Brad Ziegler & Tyler Clippard | Buster Posey, David Price & Anthony Rizzo
CELEBS: Kurt Busch | Bill Nye | HQ’s Scott Rogowsky | Mr. Belding | Alyssa Milano | Josh Duhamel | Joel McHale
ETC: Chris “Mad Dog” Russo | Josh Kusnick | Jeff Passan | Ken Kendrick
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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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