Jerry Crider, ex-major leaguer from Sioux Falls, dies

The Argus Leader 4/13/2008

Jerry Crider, a Washington High School graduate who pitched in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox, has died.

Jerry Crider retired from pro baseball in 1974 and moved to Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, where he was a hunting and fishing guide for 17 years until retiring in 1991. In recent years, he lived in Phoenix.

Crider grew up in Sioux Falls and graduated from Washington in 1959.

He played 13 years of pro baseball, including two seasons in the big leagues.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1962. He had brief stays with the Twins in 1969 and the White Sox in 1970, going 5-7 with a 4.51 ERA in 119 innings.

His best season was with Denver in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1968 under Manager Billy Martin. He went 18-10 and tied for the most wins in the minor leagues.

In Sioux Falls, Crider pitched on three state champion American Legion teams (1957-59) and was an all-state lineman in football as a junior and senior. In 1961, he pitched and batted Humboldt to its only state amateur baseball title.