R.I.P. Pascual Perez

In the midst of racism in the news, conspiracy theorist Tila Tequila, the American elections, and the continuing saga of corruption in Québec politics, one subject fell through the cracks: the death (murder) of Pascual Perez, one of my favourite Montréal Expos pitchers.

The former All-Star was found dead at his Dominican Republic home:

Some of the reported details of Perez's death are gruesome, but they also have yet to be confirmed. One report says robbers waited for Perez, a terminally-ill kidney patient with five children, to receive his $2,000 major league pension check before surprising him at his home.

I couldn't describe him better than this if I tried to:

A brother to Melido Perez and Carlos Perez, both of whom also had substantial major league careers, Pascual Perez could follow a 95 mph fastball with a sleepy eephus pitch — just for fun. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 162 pounds, Perez was all arms and legs on the mound with a Jheri- curl mullet hairdo on top.

His rainbow pitch was a marvel to witness. It flew 15 feet in the air and looked like an easy, Little League pitch that was certain to get knocked outside the park - except it never was.

He, like many Expos, had a pretty bad cocaine problem, twice going into rehab in his three-season stint in Montréal. His brother Carlos also played here, and Éric Gagné mentioned him in his autobiography, saying ''he always had two things on him: a million dollars in cash, and a loaded gun''. Freak family, but beautiful to watch play.