The Perez File
Team: Kansas City Royals
Height: 6-3
Weight: 255
Birthday: 5/10/1990
Average Exit Velo: 91.4 mph
College: N/A
Draft: N/A
Contract: Signed a 4-year, $82 million extension before the 2021 season
WAG: Married to Maria Gabriela
Children: Salvador Jr., Johan, Paulina
Betting Odds: +10000 to win AL MVP, +8000 to lead the league in RBI, +20000 to lead the league in HRs
Record/Accomplishments
- Seven All-Star selections, 2013-2018, 2021
- One World Series championship, 2015
- One World Series MVP, 2015
- Two All-MLB First Team selections, 2020, 2021
- Five Gold Glove Awards, 2013-2016, 2018
- Four Silver Slugger Awards, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021
- Won the American League Comeback Player of the Year award, 2020
- Led MLB in HR, 2021
- Led AL in RBI, 2021
- Holds the record for most home runs in a season by a catcher, 48
Just how good is Salvador Perez?
Have we let our assumptions get the best of us? Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez has been the face of the franchise for a decade now. He’s a lock for the Royals Hall of Fame, has seven All-Star selections to his name, and has won five Gold Gloves. He’s also brought home four Silver Slugger awards.
It’s easy to let him check the boxes his accolades suggest and bend our perception of him to be an elite defensive catcher with ridiculous pop. I mean, he did lead the American League with 48 home runs and 121 RBI in 2021.
However, I have a gripe with some of these awards, and you should too. We’ve seen less than elite defenders win them in bunches before (hi Derek Jeter) and it at times feels like a consolation of some popularity contest. The year of Perez’ last Gold Glove, he posted a negative defensive WAR via Fangraphs.
He has also hovered around league-average or worse offensively for much of his professional career. Whether it be a lackadaisical approach to voting for a referendum of the league’s catchers, the meaning of the Silver Slugger award doesn’t mean as much when he’s winning them with a wRC+ below 90 (10% below league average).
All I ask is that we dig a little deeper before crowning award winners as the elite of their position.