Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez has hit 48 homers in 2021. Here’s where that ranks
With 48 home runs with four games to go in 2021, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has made history and could make more.
Royals franchise record
Perez needs one more homers to break Jorge Soler’s single-season franchise record of 48 set in 2019.
Perez moved into a tie with Soler on Wednesday night. Mike Moustakas, who set the record in 2017, is in third with 38. Steve Balboni, who held the record for more than three decades, is in fourth with the 36 he hit in 1985. Gary Gaetti is fifth with 35 in 1995.
Most homers in the majors this year
Perez now leads the majors with 48 home runs. Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sits behind him in second place with 46. Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani is in third with 45.
Most homers by a catcher
With his career-high 48 homers, Perez has surpassed Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk’s high-water mark of 37 homers with the White Sox in 1985 as the most for an American League player who played at least 75% of his games at catcher in the season.
However, the Elias Sports Bureau passed along a clarification to the Royals in regards to the official AL record for catchers. The record only counts home runs hit while playing catcher.
Fifteen of Perez’s home runs this season have come as a designated hitter, so 33 of the homers count towards the official record.
In the official record tally, Perez is chasing Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and not Fisk. Rodriguez hit 35 homers, all as a catcher, in 1999. Fisk hit 33 in 1985 while playing catcher.
Unofficially though, Perez became the first catcher since Javy Lopez in 2003 with 40 homers in a season following his two-homer game Sept. 4 against the White Sox.
Perez has also set the single-season home run record for anyone who played at least 75% of his games as a catcher, passing Johnny Bench (45 homers in 1970) and López (43 homers in 2003).
Most career homers as a Royal
Perez won’t reach George Brett’s franchise record of 317 career home runs this season.
With 200 career home runs, Perez passed Mike Sweeney (197) on the Royals’ all-time list. Perez recently passed Amos Otis (193, fourth place) and Alex Gordon, who is in fifth with 190.
Perez is also tied for second in Royals career grand slams with five, which matches Danny Tartabull, and is one behind Royals’ all-time leader Frank White.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 12:52 PM.
