Peters, Gary C.
Baseball
b. April 21, 1937, Grove City, PA
A 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-handed pitcher, Peters appeared in a total of 12 games with the Chicago White Sox from 1959 through 1962. In 1963, his first full year as a starter, he was 19-8 with a league-leading 2.33 ERA to win the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Peters led the league in victories with a 20-8 record in 1964, when he had a 2.50 ERA. Arm troubles began to bother him in 1965, but he had the league's best ERA again in 1966, at 1.96, though his record was only 12-10 that season.
After a 16-11 mark and 2.28 ERA in 1967, Peters slumped to 4-13 in 1968 and 10-15 in 1969. He was then traded to the Boston Red Sox and had a 33-25 record with them before retiring because of recurring arm problems after the 1972 season.
In 359 games, Peters had a 124-103 mark with 23 shutouts and a 3.25 ERA. He struck out 1,420 hitters and walked 706 in 2,081 innings.
A good hitter for a pitcher, Peters had 19 career home runs and was often used as a pinch-hitter. While with the White Sox, he once batted sixth in the order rather than the pitcher's traditional ninth spot.