Ron Perranoski, former Dodgers star reliever and coach, dies at 84

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers have lost another postseason hero from the franchise’s past.

Former reliever and pitching coach Ron Perranoski died Friday night at his home in Vero Beach.

Perranoski, 84, is the third former Dodger to die in the past week, joining Jay Johnstone and Lou Johnson.

One of the best relief pitchers in the franchise’s history, Perranoski was a bullpen ace for the Dodgers’ World Series teams in 1963, 1965 and 1966. Signed by the Chicago Cubs out of Michigan State, Perranoski spent the first eight seasons of a 13-year big-league career with the Dodgers, registering 100 saves even in the days before the closer role became standard.

Dodgers pitcher Ron Perranoski, seen in April 1965 when he was one of the Dodgers’ greatest lefthanded relievers of all-time, died at the age of 84 on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/File)

He went 16-3 pitching exclusively out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in 1963 and led the National League in appearances (69) while registering 21 saves and a 1.67 ERA. Perranoski led the NL in appearances three times with the Dodgers and led the American League in saves twice with the Minnesota Twins (31 in 1969 and 34 in 1970).

Following his career, Perranoski was the Dodgers’ minor-league pitching coordinator from 1973 to 1980 and the Dodgers’ pitching coach from 1981 through 1994 under manager Tommy Lasorda, participating in four more National League pennant-winning teams and World Series championships in 1981 and 1988.

As an instructor with the Dodgers, he worked with future Cy Young winners and Hall of Famers like Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, Dave Stewart, Bob Welch and Pedro Martinez.

“Ron Perranoski played a major role in the success of the Dodgers as a great reliever and a mentor to many great young pitchers over his 30-year career in the organization,” Dodgers President and CEO Stan Kasten said.

San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker, left, jokes with coach Ron Perranoski on Feb. 17, 1995, during the first day of training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, as the baseball strike continued. (Photo by Chris Wilkins/AFP via Getty Images)

Perranoski made the unusual move to the rival Giants after leaving the Dodgers and served as their minor-league pitching coordinator for two seasons before joining the major-league staff as bench coach in 1997 and pitching coach in 1998 and 1999 under manager Dusty Baker. Perranoski was a special assistant to GM Brian Sabean after that.

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