Fritz Peterson, longtime Yankees pitcher, dead at 82

NEW YORK — Fritz Peterson, a staple of the Yankees’ starting rotation for nearly a decade who famously swapped wives with a teammate before the 1973 season, has died, the team announced. He was 82.

Fred Ingels “Fritz” Peterson, who hailed from Chicago, made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 1966 and spent parts of the next nine seasons with them, pitching to a 109-106 record and a 3.10 ERA.

The left-hander served as a bright spot during a dark era of Yankees baseball. Though he never made the playoffs in pinstripes, Peterson represented half of an enviable starting tandem with ace Mel Stottlemyre.

Peterson won at least 15 games four years in a row from 1969-72, including in 1970, when he posted a career-high 20 victories in his lone All-Star season.

“A known prankster and wellliked among his teammates and coaches, Peterson had an outgoing personality and inquisitive nature that brought lightheartedness to the clubhouse on a regular basis and belied his prowess on the mound,” the Yankees said in a statement. “Peterson will be greatly missed by the Yankees, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Susanne, and the entire Peterson family.”

It was during spring training in 1973 that Peterson and teammate Mike Kekich, also a lefthanded pitcher, announced they had swapped wives, children and dogs.

While Kekich and Marilyn Peterson didn’t remain a couple for long, Peterson and Susanne Kekich married in 1974 and stayed together.

“I could not be happier with anybody in the world,” Peterson told the Palm Beach Post in 2013. “‘Mama’ and I go out and party every night. We’re still on the honeymoon and it has been a real blessing.’’

Peterson also pitched for Cleveland and Texas during his 11-year MLB career, which he finished with a 133-131 record and a 3.30 ERA. He was known for his elite command, walking only 426 batters over 2,218.1 innings.

LARRY C. MORRIS/THE NEW YORK TIMES Mike Kekich, left, and Fritz Peterson in the New York Yankee’s locker room in New York on Sept. 17, 1971. Peterson, who was a stalwart pitcher for the ineffectual Yankees of the late 1960s and early 70s, but whose lingering renown derived more from one of baseball’s most notorious ‘trades’ — his exchange of wives with a teammate— has died. He was 82.