Congratulations Doggie!

The following is taken from the Baseball Hall of Fame Website.  Visit the hall at:

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org

Thank you!

"If there's a runner on second base, there isn't anybody I'd rather see walk to the plate than Tony Pérez. He turns mean with men on base."
     — Sparky Anderson

"He was the best clutch hitter I ever saw. Runner on third and two outs, if I can't be up myself then he's the guy that I want up there because he'll drive in the run."
     — Pete Rose

"Tony is probably the coolest man at bat as there is in baseball. He knows what he has to do and he does it. He demands his pitch—[he] refuses to accept substitutes."
     — Sparky Anderson

"With men in scoring position and the game on the line, Tony's the last guy an opponent wanted to see."
     — Willie Stargell

Born: May 14, 1942, at Ciego De Avila, Cuba. Height: 6'2, Weight: 205 lbs. Batted right, threw right.

Seven-time All-Star Tony Pérez was the offensive anchor of one of the greatest dynasties in baseball history, and had more RBIs than any other Latin American player. Pérez, who played 16 of his 23 seasons for the Reds' "Big Red Machine," performed in five World Series and guided Cincinnati to World Championships in 1975 and 1976.

A native of Cuba, Pérez left a job at a sugar cane factory in Havana to sign a minor-league contract with the Reds in 1960. After six years in the minors and two more on the bench, he became Cincinnati's full-time third baseman in 1967. That year he hit a dramatic home run in the 15th inning to win the All-Star Game for the National League. After switching to first base, Pérez — along with Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Pete Rose — formed one of the most awe-inspiring lineups in baseball history. Despite batting behind Bench most of the time, Pérez still managed to amass 954 RBIs during the 1970s, more than any major league player except Bench.

After the 1976 season the Reds traded Pérez to Montreal, a transaction that Reds team president Bob Howsam later lamented as the worst move he ever made. After three years in Montreal and three more in Boston, Pérez signed with the Phillies, where he played in the 1983 World Series with his former Reds teammates Rose and Morgan. Pérez then returned to the Reds for the end of his career, where at age 42, on May 13, 1985, he became the oldest player ever to hit a grand slam. He retired after the 1986 season with career totals of 379 home runs and 1,652 RBIs. Pérez managed the Reds briefly in 1993, and since then has worked in the front office of the Florida Marlins, whom he helped to the World Championship in 1997. Pérez's two sons, Victor and Eduardo, have both played professional baseball, and Eduardo is currently an infielder with the Reds, making Tony the ninth Hall of Famer to have a son play in Major League Baseball.

On behalf of everybody at Campanello's, congratulations Tony!  Thanks for everything!  This honor is long overdue!