‘He can do damage on bad pitches’: Salvador Perez moves up Kansas City Royals’ HR list
Kansas City Royals All-MLB catcher Salvador Perez climbed over a franchise legend as he moved up another rung on the team’s home run list Saturday night.
Perez, now in his 10th season, launched his ninth home run of the year — his second in a two-day, three-game span — to move past Royals Hall of Famer Frank White and take over sixth place on the Royals career home run list with 161.
Hal McRae (169), Alex Gordon (190), Amos Otis (193), Mike Sweeney (197) and George Brett (317) sit above Perez on the leaderboard.
“Keep moving forward,” Perez said. “I’ve got a lot of years to play. Thank God. Thanks for the opportunity and all the people that supported me, helped me be on that board for the rest of my life.
“It’s a big thing for me, very important for me and for my family too. Hopefully, I can play for another 10 more years and see what happens on my last day in the big leagues.”
Perez also ranks among the franchise’s top 10 in runs batted in (ninth, 561), total bases (10th, 1,736) and extra-base hits (ninth, 352).
A six-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and three-time Silver Slugger honoree, Perez also recorded his 1,000th career hit earlier this season.
In a fitting display of his free-swinging nature, Perez’s homer in Saturday night’s 5-1 win came on a 96 mph fastball that was both above the strike zone and off the outside corner from Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodón.
Perez’s opposite field homer traveled an estimated 359 feet and came off the bat at 102 mph.
“He’s got a lot of Vladimir Guerrero in him,” Royals infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield said. “He gets extended so well. He can hit bad pitches. He can do damage on bad pitches. Well, I guess technically good pitches. It depends on what side you’re looking at it.
“When a pitcher throws a ball out of the zone, that’s not necessarily out of Salvy’s wheelhouse just because he gets extended so well. His hands and his forearms and his wrists are so strong. He can do damage anywhere in the zone. That’s what makes him dangerous when he’s on time and gets his barrel on anything.”
Perez came out of Saturday’s game after the seventh inning because of tightness in his left groin. His status is considered day-to-day.
Perez said he’d felt “a little tight” for several days, but he felt it running to first base on Saturday night. He thought it was best to get treatment from the training staff and give himself a chance to be back in the lineup on Sunday.
“It’s smart to take two innings, work with the trainers and see how you wake up (Sunday) and see what happens, try to be in the lineup (Sunday),” Perez said. “If you’re not, Monday is off and that’s another 48, 72 hours you can rest and be ready for Tuesday at home.”
The Royals have Perez slated to serve as the designated hitter in the lineup posted Sunday morning.
