Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez passes Johnny Bench with 46th home run of year
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has surpassed Johnny Bench’s mark for power-hitting excellence by a catcher.
Perez, the perennial All-Star who entered the day tied with Bench for the most home runs hit by a primary catcher in a single season, hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning of the first game of a doubleheader Monday afternoon against the Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland.
“That was unbelievable,” Perez said of his reaction when he hit the home run. “I was thanking God. I don’t know if you guys read my mouth, my lips, but I was thanking God for this. It was amazing. I’ve said it before, I never hit 30 in my career. I was looking for 30 and 100 RBIs so that was a dream, a dream coming true. It’s an unbelievable season for me. Thank God.”
The Royals beat the Indians 7-2 in the early game, getting home runs from Perez, Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Dozier.
“Every home run is special, but that’s just hard to get your head around to be honest,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “The long history of this game and how many great players have come through. For him to do something that nobody has done, it’s amazing. For a guy that’s so respected, loved in this clubhouse, it was different than your normal home run. You could see the look on Salvy’s face — I’ll never forget it — once he started towards first base.”
Perez’s 46-homer total (and counting) is the new standard for catchers. He’s also now just two homers shy of matching the single-season franchise record set by Jorge Soler in 2019.
Bench’s record of 45 home runs stood since 1970, the most by any player who’d played at least 75% of his games as a catcher.
Perez, who caught the first game of the doubleheader, had sat in a tie with Bench since Thursday.
Bench tweeted multiple times to congratulate Perez right after the game. In one tweet he posted, “Un hombre muy fuerte! A great man. Congrats @SalvadorPerez15. Most home runs by a catcher in a season. Catching Royal-ty. #MLB @Royals”
Perez and Bench met when Perez won the first of his five Gold Glove Awards in 2013. Bench has been viewed by many for years as the best catcher in the history of Major League Baseball. He spent 17 seasons in the majors.
Bench later referenced the ever-quotable Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra in another tweet to Perez, saying, “I knew my record would stand until it was broken! Congrats. Great guy. Great catcher.”
Perez said a friend sent him what Bench had tweeted about him breaking the record between games.
“When you see a guy, a Hall of Fame catcher, you just try to be like him,” Perez said. “You’re just gonna compete. I’m going to prepare myself and see what happens after 10 years. I don’t know what’s going to happen after 10 years, but I’m going to try my best. to be one of these guys, Ivan Rodriguez, Johnny Bench, Yadier Molina.
“They’re the greatest catchers in the game, so I just try and do my best and compete like these guys compete in the past. and try to be like them. Yaddy is still doing that. Twenty years, nineteen, eighteen years in the big leagues, still catching. Why not, why I cannot do it? I need to prepare myself, and God keep me healthy and keep going.”
Perez’s record-setting homer came on the first game of a road trip. After having tied Bench on Thursday, the final three games of the recent home stand were full of anticipation.
Over the weekend at home, the roar started to build as soon as he took his first step from the on-deck circle towards the plate, almost reaching a high before he’d even been announced. Each swing came with bated breath and any ball put in play elicited a collective gasp of excitement and wonder from the home crowd.
Perez admitted that he’d hoped to set the record at home, and it perhaps provided added pressure over the weekend series — he went 1 for 13 with six strikeout against the Seattle Mariners.
“To be honest with you, I was kind of thinking about that at home the least series against Seattle,” Perez said. “We got here, I talked to Terry [Bradshaw], I talked to Pedro [Grifol]. Just try to do your job. Try to hit the ball hard. Try to swing at strikes. It’s hitting, it’s up and down. You guys know about that. It’s hard to stay (level) all season. Pitching is kind of hard to hit too.
“My family was in Kansas City too. Maybe a little excited, pressure a little bit too to get it in Kansas City, but that series is over so I got it today in Cleveland. It feels the same.”
Perez also credited everyone from his coaches, batting practice pitchers, and teammates to the training and strength and conditioning staff to the soon to retire vice president of media relations Mike Swanson.
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. Lopez hit 43 in 2003.
In the official record count per the Elias Sports Bureau, Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez holds the American League record for single-season home runs by a player while in the lineup as a catcher with 35 homers in 1999.
Bench hit 38 of his homers in 1970 while playing catcher. The official major-league record is 42 set by Lopez in 2003.
Fifteen of Perez’s home runs this season have come as a designated hitter, so 31 of the homers count towards the official record.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 5:14 PM.
