Royals’ Salvador Perez turns 35 in May, but he says his competitive fire still burns hot
The Royals will honor their 2015 World Series championship team in May at Union Station, and the bash is planned for the day after the team returns from a series in Houston.
That will allow World Series MVP Salvador Perez to take part in the festivities. Perez also could join in any celebration the team might have at Kauffman Stadium, but then he’d have to take the field.
While his teammates from that championship team are now working as MLB general managers and podcasters, Perez is still going strong.
In an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Perez said people have started talking to him about his age but he has no plans to step away from baseball. That competitive fire still drives him.
“Every offseason, I put in my mind that I have to get ready for 162 games,” Perez said. “You know, people are coming to me and telling me about my age. I’m about to be 35, but I don’t feel 35. So I still feel that I can have a lot more years in this game.
“And the way that I love and the way that I like to play this game makes me get ready every day.”
Perez, whose birthday is in May, is coming off a season in which he hit 27 home runs with 104 RBIs. He also set a career record with 44 walks and his 28 doubles tied a career best.
During the interview on SiriusXM, Perez was asked what he does during the offseason and regular season to prepare himself.
“Sacrifice myself, it’s a lot of work,” Perez admitted. “I train with ... a trainer from Venezuela. We’re doing that the last seven years with him. I think everything is starting in the offseason. When you prepare yourself, when you sacrifice yourself, everything’s gonna come after that.”
The clip of Perez talking about his preparation and love of baseball was shared by MLB Network Radio.
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM.
