Former Dodger Odalis Perez Dead At 44
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Former Major League Baseball pitcher Odalis Perez has died at 44.
He reportedly suffered a blow to the head after falling from a ladder at his home in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Perez's major league career began in 1998 as a member of the Atlanta Braves. While a rookie in Atlanta, Perez would become the first player in Major League history to earn a playoff victory without ever winning a regular season game. He is also one of the few pitchers in the history of the league to win a 1-0 game while hitting the game-winning homer, his lone Major League home run.
He would remain with the Braves until 2001 when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with pitcher Andrew Brown and outfielder Brian Jordan, in exchange for Gary Sheffield.
He would earn his lone All-Star appearance while with the Boys in Blue in 2002, when he registered 15 wins while sporting a 3.00 ERA. He also struck out 155 batters over 222.1 innings pitched.
Perez finished his Dodger career in 2006 when he was traded to the Kansas City Royals.
In his time as a Dodger, he was 45-40 with a 3.94 ERA and 531 strikeouts in 772 innings total.
He wouldn't last long in Kansas City, when the team declined his option and paid him a buyout of $1.5 million.
Perez signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals the following year in 2008, earning a spot on the big league roster to start the season. One of his most memorable moments would come as a National, when he became the first player to throw a pitch at Nationals Park, and the first player to give up a home run at the stadium.
He was released in 2009 when he failed to report to Spring Training after signing another minor league deal with Washington.
Throughout his entire career, Perez was 73-82 with a 4.46 ERA and 920 strikeouts over 1,335 innings pitched.
