How High Does Salvador Perez Rank Among All-Time Royals?
On August 10th, 2011 the Kansas City Royals called up a young man named Salvador Perez: a young catcher loaded with talent ready to make his impact at the major league level. Perez would make his debut against the Tampa Bay Rays, in which he would display his ability to throw out runners on full display. He would also go 1-for-3 at the plate and also drove in a run. Perez would play in 38 more games that season, but his story as a Kansas City Royal was just beginning.
Since the 2011 season, Perez has not only won over fans with his performance and commitment to the Royals but also his fun, loving attitude off the field for his teammates and the community. He led to the "Salvy Splash" being coined — in which the player being interviewed after a big game gets a bucket of water dumped on them. Perez is also responsible for one of the single greatest moments in franchise history.
In the 2014 American League Wild Card game with the score tied 8-8, in the bottom of the 12th inning with two outs, and Salvador Perez was at the plate facing off against Jason Hammel. Hammel threw Perez a slider on the outer third of the plate, causing Perez to reach. Perez would drive the baseball down the third-base line and out of the reach of third baseman Josh Donaldson. This scored Christian Colon, sending Kansas City on one of the most amazing playoff runs in all of baseball's storied past.
In 2015 the Kansas City Royals would return to the World Series and would beat the New York Mets. The World Series MVP? None other than Perez. In the World Series, Salvador Perez stepped to the plate 23 times and got 8 hits while also drawing a walk. His slash line was an insane .364/.391/.455.
Fast forward to the year 2021, and Salvador Perez has been a seven-time All-Star. He has won the Silver Slugger award 3 times. He's a five-time Gold Glove recipient. Perez also participated in the 2021 Home Run Derby, where which he hit a whopping 28 home runs. This was history in the making, as he now holds the record for most home runs by a catcher in the contest.
Perez has continued with the home run-centric theme after the All-Star Game. Currently, Perez is fifth all-time on the Royals home run list with 184, and he does not appear he is slowing down. 2021 will be a year to remember for Perez, and the scariest part is that this may be his best season yet.
In the end, George Brett (statically) will hold a majority of the Royals club records. Brett has 3154 hits, 665 doubles, 137 triples, 317 home runs, a career batting average of .305 and a single-season batting average of .390 on his resume. He's the epitome of what it means to represent Kansas City and be a Royal. He also has his No. 5 retired at Kauffman Stadium and is enshrined in Cooperstown.
I'm not sure that Brett will ever be dethroned as the greatest Royal of all time but with that said, Salvador Perez is no slouch. He will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever put on a Kansas City Royals uniform. He's already there, and the next several years will only bolster his case for that.
