Fernando Perez
Fernando Perez CC'04 is a professional baseball player. He performed well as a rookie for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008; selected for the postseason roster, he scored the winning run against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALCS en route to winning the pennant.
A Creative Writing major while at Columbia, it appears that Perez took his poetry composition skills to the baseball dugout. [1]
Baseball Prospectus 2009 had this to say of him:
"Perez is so cool. Even if this whole baseball thing doesn't work out for him, he'll be just fine - he spent three years at Columbia University studying creative writing, and when one scout was asked about his ultimate upside, his response was 'President of the United States.' He's pretty good at this silly game too, with speed, on-base skills, and the ability to play all three outfield positions. When either newly acquired Matt Joyce or Gabe Gross wins the right-field job this spring, the Rays will need a platoon partner against left-handers, and Perez will be the perfect fit. In a different organization, he'd get the chance to start in center."
In January 2011 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs with Matt Garza for prospects. He was released in July and signed a minor league contract with the Mets soon afterwards. He finished the season with the Mets' triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons.
Perez appears not to have played in professional baseball for the 2012 season, suggesting that he either was injured or that he retired.
