Hallmark’s Salvador Perez ornament is a hit — find out which Royal is next at bat

Looks like Hallmark Cards hit a home run with its Keepsake Ornament of Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez.

The nearly 5-inch figurine, which was released in October, is sold out at many Kansas City-area stores.

It’s still available online for $17.38 — oops, we meant $17.95 — and, according to Hallmark, it’s outselling a similar Keepsake Ornament honoring San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who got Salvy to foul out in the final seconds of the 2014 World Series.

Hallmark spokeswoman Emiley McCambridge says Salvy might be outselling MadBum because the Royals’ 2015 World Series win is more recent. Then again, there’s something about Perez.

“He’s just so likable across the entire country,” McCambridge says.

The miniature Salvys have been spotted as far away as Hawaii: On Tuesday, Royals backup catcher Drew Butera shared a photo of one on Snapchat while vacationing on Maui.

The Salvy ornament has been such a hit that Hallmark has decided to release another Royals-themed Keepsake Ornament in October 2017. Don’t get your hopes up, Hos fans: Sluggerrr is on deck.

The Sluggerrr ornament, which is still in the early stages of development, will be the first Hallmark ornament modeled on a Major League Baseball mascot.

It’s typical for the Keepsakes team to spend up to two years developing a creation, but Hallmark made an exception for Salvy’s ornament, which shows the catcher standing, ready to throw a baseball. His eyes look determined, but there’s the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

“If you think about what Salvy’s really good at, it’s throwing people out when they’re trying to steal a base,” McCambridge says.

Plus, she adds, it’s more fun to see him throwing from a Christmas tree than crouched and covered with a face mask.

McCambridge says Perez approved the initial concept, the sculpture and the paint. She didn’t say how paws-on Sluggerrr would be in the creation of his ornament.

Other sports figures who got their own Keepsake Ornaments this year include Green Bay Packers wide receiver (and Kansas State University alum) Jordy Nelson and former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who announced his retirement a month after winning the 2016 Super Bowl.

Hallmark also sells plush Itty Bitty toys that look like Perez. Those cost $6.95 each at hallmark.com and are currently buy one, get one half-off. The company also sells Royals glass ornaments for $15.95, diamond-shaped Royals personalized ornaments for $19.95 and a 1,000-piece “Blue Sea in KC” puzzle depicting the 2015 World Series victory parade for $19.95.

Hallmark’s limited-edition Kansas City Royals 2015 World Series ornament is sold out online and in stores. Chicago Cubs fans can get their own version of that ornament starting Friday.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Hallmark’s Salvador Perez ornament is a hit — find out which Royal is next at bat."