Salvador Perez joins George Brett as only Kansas City Royals to win Lou Gehrig Award
Kansas City Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez has won this year’s Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, sponsored by the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, the team announced on Tuesday.
Phi Delta Theta presents the award annually to a Major League Baseball player who “best exemplifies the giving character of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig.” Gehrig was a member of the fraternity’s Columbia University chapter. The award was first presented in 1955.
“Salvy is what all of us want baseball and baseball players to be,” Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said in a release from the team. “We often say there isn’t anyone who loves playing baseball more than him, and we’re proud that this award recognizes that nobody enjoys helping people more, too.”
Past recipients of the award include Stan Musial, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Willie Stargell, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn, Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter.
Perez, who will receive the award prior to the game against the Houston Astros on June 3, is the second Royals player to win the award. Hall of Famer George Brett also won the honor in 1986.
The release announcing the award cited Perez’s community involvement both in his native Venezuela as well as in the greater Kansas City region.
In his native Venezuela, Perez annually sponsors more than 200 kids for participation in a baseball academy, funds dozens of free baseball clinics throughout the country, donates over 1,500 toys to children’s hospitals, sponsors and pays for 30 surgeries for children with cleft lip, distributes over 1,500 meals to families in need, donates $50,000 to sponsor families of police officers in Venezuela.
Last year, he also coached a clinic for kids through the Carlos Fortuna Organization in Bogota, Columbia.
Perez’s $1 million donation helped develop the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy, and he continues to speak and work with underserved youth at the facility. He has also worked with Teach for America Kansas City and donated $10,000 to Teach for America.
Perez has worked with Sarah’s Soldiers by supporting local police officer Sarah Olsen’s battle against ALS. He also partnered with Brayden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer.
He has also mentored and helped support international minor-league players.
