Gaylord Perry was known for the spit ball, but don't forget the 'puff ball'

Gaylord Perry was not only one of the best pitchers in baseball throughout his 22-year career, he was also a legend when it came to doctoring the baseball, mastering the spit ball and introducing another (now banned) pitch: The Puff Ball.

Perry died in December at the age of 88 due to natural causes. He remains one of the most fascinating players (and characters) in modern baseball history.

While Perry was well known for using the spit ball throughout his career, he was never actually ejected for throwing one until the 1982 season after he had already played 20 years in the league. But while his career became synonymous with the spit ball, his most creative endeavor may have been the forgotten "puff ball."

The trick there was to coat the baseball in rosin, so that when he released it there would be a cloud of smoke (or puff) exploding out of his hand. That creation would also get banned by Major League Baseball under rule 8.02 which prohibits any player from coating the ball in rosin. 

And that was just part of what made Perry one of baseball's great characters during his career. 

Along with being one of the best pitchers of the 1960s and 1970s, Perry was also infamous for his ability to torment hitters and doctor the baseball, sometimes to a comical degree. He would even go so far in messing with hitters that he would jokingly touch different parts of his face and hat so nobody would ever know if he was actually doing something to the ball or not. 

He was so well known for using foreign substances on baseballs, that he once told ESPN that he approached Vaseline for a sponsorship only to be told "it was for babies," while former manager Gene Mauch once said that when Perry was inducted into the Hall of Fame he should have "a tube of KY jelly attached to his plaque." 

Perry played for eight different teams in the Major Leagues, compiling a 314-265 record to go with a 3.11 ERA. He also struck out 3,534 hitters and won the Cy Young award during the 1972 and 1978 seasons.