Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez is the AL Player of the Week after historic stretch
Royals catcher Salvador Perez didn’t hit a home run in Tuesday’s game in Houston.
That’s noteworthy because Perez hit a home run in each of the Royals’ other six games last week. Perez batted .357 (10-for-28) in the seven games with six home runs and 14 RBIs. Both of those totals were the best in Major League Baseball.
Perez had a 1.455 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, which also was tops among MLB players with at least 30 plate appearances.
Because of the hot stretch at the plate, Perez was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.
Perez also set a Royals record by hitting eight home runs overall in a 10-game road trip. He also tied Mike Sweeney’s team mark by hitting a home run in five straight games, and that includes two grand slams. He’ll take that streak into Tuesday’s game against Cleveland.
The recent success has led to some emotional phone calls.
“Every time I hit a homer. my mom makes me cry because she calls me and tells me congratulations, I love you and she starts crying,” Perez said after Sunday’s game.
“I thank God and thank my mom for all the sacrifices she (made),” Perez added, “to make my the player that I am right now.”
Adalberto Mondesi was the last Royals player to win the award (Sept. 21-27 of last year).
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
