Countdown to 2017 HOF Inductions: Tony Pérez

What kind of player was Atanasio ‘Tony’ Pérez? He kept his teammates loose, he kept it real inside the clubhouse and he kept driving runners home.

Steady and reliable as they come, Pérez totaled 90 or more RBI 12 different seasons and 1,652 overall. His teammates — including fellow Hall of Famers Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench — called him ‘Big Dog.’ For many, he was the key cog in Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine that won the World Series in 1975 and 1976.

As we get closer to Iván ‘Pudge’ Rodríguez’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, we honor a consummate professional and the second Cuban enshrined in Cooperstown. ¡Un guajiro de verdad!