KANSAS CITY, Missouri, USA – In retrospect, the Chicago White Sox probably had to concede the ball base to Salvador Perez with the first vacant base in the first inning of a no-run game on Sunday, even if this had gone against any traditional strategy.
Instead of congesting the bases, they saw how the Venezuelan receiver of the Royals cleaned them.
On Dylan Cease’s second launch, a straight 99 miles per hour off the plate, Perez made the kind of contact that sounds like the explosion of a rocket. The ball shot out into the afternoon sun, traveling what seemed like an eternity to the fountain at the top of right garden – a bat on the opposite side that traveled about 448 feet.
“Most of us couldn’t stop in the right yard with a‘ fungus ’(a bat for practice) and give it a go,” admitted Royals manager Mike Matheny, shaking his head. “After contact with the bat, it looked different. I don’t know what to say.”
It’s hard to put into words the season Perez is having.
Even when the Royals are out of competition – 17 games behind the White Sox, leaders of the Central Division of the American League, before Tuesday’s game against Baltimore – their 31-year-old catcher is getting this streak to be some unmissable thing.
With the home run against the White Sox on Sunday, he reached 41 in the campaign and is second in the league, behind Angelino star Shohei Ohtani, and four behind Johnny Bench’s record he set in 1970 for a player who was a receiver in at least 75% of matches.
It stands at 7am behind the franchise record set by Jorge Soler a couple of years ago.
Even when Perez doesn’t connect quadrangulars, he still responds at crucial moments. With his single tug for the draw on Monday in the eighth and which helped the Royals beat the Orioles 3-2, he reached 103 driven this campaign – a personal limit.
“It’s just a big number,” said Matheny, who was a catcher for 13 seasons but only added 67 homers in his career. “Being able to achieve that, even with every blow one gets behind the plate and the kind of player he’s been all season, offensively and defensively, we’re witnessing something special.”
It’s even more special when one considers the path Perez took to get here.
He had long ago left his mark as one of the best receivers, with six consecutive appearances in the All-Star Game and in which he only failed to win the Golden Glove on one occasion. He had four consecutive campaigns with at least 20 home runs and 80 consecutive seasons towed in 2017 and 2018, numbers never seen before for a catcher.
Then the unthinkable happened. The following year, Perez was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his arm with which he throws in spring training and led him to miss the entire season.
Perez was poised to reappear in the abbreviated season due to the 2020 pandemic. He had the best average of his career of 333, with 11 homers and 32 RBIs, foreshadowing what would be this season.
Beyond this 37-game sprint, Pérez prepared to the max during the winter months.
Always obsessed with his craft, Pérez emphasized achieving better physical condition. He started a healthier diet and added more stretching work and flexibility to cope with the rigors of a full season.
“That means a lot,” Perez said. “I’m aware of all my hard work last winter, from October until the day I came to Arizona for spring training. If you work hard, you’re going to have good results. You have to be consistent. I took care of myself. my body and power in the ideal conditions to play “.
And go for it. Perez has participated in 136 of the 137 games this campaign, 108 behind the plate, where heat, protective equipment and crouching spend a huge physical cost on a player.