Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez gave his bat to a young fan — then hit a home run
In her job as Major League Baseball’s replay technician for the umpire reviews at Kauffman Stadium, Sarah Blattner sees many things that Royals fans never know about.
Most involve player interactions with fans, and Blattner doesn’t usually share on Twitter what she sees. But during the Royals’ 10-5 win over the Pirates on Monday, she couldn’t resist.
After Royals catcher Salvador Perez crushed a two-run homer in the fourth inning, a young boy was cheering his heart out. Perez apparently took notice.
Before he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning, Perez made that kid’s night one he won’t forget. The boy got a fist bump and a bat from Perez, who then hit his second home run of the night. Here is what Blattner tweeted:
“It all happened right in front of me. Kid had pine tar all over his hands,” Blattner wrote in a Twitter message. “Absolutely adorable.”
The Royals also tweeted photos of the interaction:
“I know players don’t do those things for the recognition but Salvy is a one of a kind player and person,” Blattner wrote in a Twitter message, “and I thought people should know.”
It was a cool moment.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 9:02 AM.
