Hall of Famer Johnny Bench congratulates Royals’ Salvador Perez on his breaking record
One of the many people to congratulate Royals catcher Salvador Perez on his 46th home run Monday afternoon was Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.
Perez’s 46th home run, which came in the opener of a doubleheader in Cleveland, set a Major League Baseball record for most in a season by a player who plays primarily as a catcher.
Bench, who held the old record of 45, retweeted multiple messages about Perez’s historic home run, then shared two messages himself.
In the first tweet, Bench wrote: “Un hombre muy fuerte! A great man. Congrats @SalvadorPerez15. Most home runs by a catcher in a season. Catching Royal-ty.”
That Spanish sentence translates to “a very strong man.”
Later, Bench wrote: “As Yogi said #Salvatoreperez @Royals @MLBNetwork I knew my record would stand until it was broken! Congrats. Great guy. Great catcher.”
Perez was touched by the gesture.
“I just got a message from one of my friends saying what he put on Twitter about me,” Perez told reporters. “When you see a guy that’s a Hall of Fame catcher, you just try to be like him.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 8:14 PM.
