Fastball

Kansas City Royals Star Joins Several Hall of Famers in Elite Baseball History

Salvador Perez of the Royals just joined a bunch of baseball's best catchers in elite history and there's a chance it could help lead him to Cooperstown himself one day.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals first baseman Salvador Perez (13) hits a double against the Detroit Tigers in the seventh inning at Comerica Park on Aug 2.
Kansas City Royals first baseman Salvador Perez (13) hits a double against the Detroit Tigers in the seventh inning at Comerica Park on Aug 2. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
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The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 9-2 on Friday night at Comerica Park. The win moved Kansas City to 62-49 on the year as they now hold the No. 2 spot in the American League wild card picture. They are seeking their first playoff appearance since the 2015 season, which is also when they last won the World Series.

In the win, longtime catcher Salvador Perez went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a homer and two RBI. Though he was playing first base in this particular game, he joined several Hall of Fame catchers in elite baseball history with the performance.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

most seasons with 20+ HR, catchers (min 50% games at C each szn):

Mike Piazza: 11
Johnny Bench: 11
Brian McCann: 10
Yogi Berra: 10
Gary Carter: 9
Salvador Perez: 8
Jorge Posada: 8
Carlton Fisk: 8

Piazza, Bench, Carter, Berra and Fisk are all in the Hall of Fame, so that's a great list for Perez to be a part of. And given his resume, he may one day join them in Cooperstown.

The 34-year-old is one of the most impactful catchers of the last decade, hitting 266 career home runs to this point. He's also a nine-time All-Star, a five-time Gold Glover, a four-time Silver Slugger, a World Series champion and a World Series MVP.

He's hitting .282 this year with the 20 homers and 75 RBI. He pairs with Bobby Witt Jr. and pitcher Seth Lugo as major reasons for the Kansas City turnaround this year.

The Royals and Tigers will play again on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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