Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez Fourth All-Star Game Start

Kansas City Royals backstop Salvador Perez is arguably the greatest catcher in the game of baseball. America appears to agree. Salvy was just selected to start his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, as the catcher for the American League.

This All-Star selection will mark the Kansas City Royals‘ catcher’s fifth career appearance in the Mid-Summer Classic. All five of them coming in the last five years.

Salvy’s first ASG appearance was in his first full season as the Kansas City Royals backstop in 2013.  That yeare he caught Mariano Rivera in Mo’s final ASG  (do yourself a favor and watch that video). In 2014 Perez wound up starting the game after Baltimore Orioles star Matt Wieters was injured and did not participate. Perez was voted the starter in 2015 and 2016. He has now been voted the starter for the American League for a third year in a row.

Sheriff Sal has been on a tear this year, ranking first among all MLB catchers in home runs (16), RBI (48), doubles (16), and slugging percentage (.532). Only Buster Posey has a better batting average among qualified catchers than Salvy.

Salvador Perez more than deserves the recognition he has gotten this year. He is the face of this Kansas City Royals team. His performance has brought forward a question that piqued my interest.

Given his current pace, is Salvador Perez currently on a path to the MLB Hall of Fame?

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It’s a question that has popped into my mind before. One that I had never really given much thought toward because Salvy is so young. Curious, I looked up the stats of every catcher in the MLB Hall of Fame and compared them to Perez and his current pace.

There are currently 13 catchers in the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Of those 13 only Johnny Bench has more Gold Glove Awards.

The HOF catcher with the lowest number of hits is Roy Campanella with 1,161. Perez has 772 and is only 27 years old. In his first four full seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Perez averaged about 140 hits per year. At that rate Salvy would only have to play about six more seasons in which he averaged 140 hits to catch Campanella.

Salvy also already has more home runs than four current Hall of Famers. He has a chance to pass a fifth this season, if he continues his current pace.

The average number of hits for a HOF catcher is 1,773. Given the previously discussed average of 140 hits per year, Salvy would only need to play into his age 34 season to get to 1,773 hits.

The average number of home runs by a HOF catcher is 197. Salvy already has 103 in his somewhat brief career. He will almost certainly reach 197 home runs in his career, barring some kind of catastrophic injury.

Salvy also has the DH working in his favor. Playing in the AL he doesn’t have to catch 145 games/year in order to continue playing. Eventually the Royals can move Sal to first base or DH and utilize his power after his catching days are over.

Granted that most of Salvy’s value is behind the plate, the Royals probably won’t look to move their backstop any time soon. But as far as Salvy’s journey to the Hall of Fame goes…

Salvador Perez has something to his name that not even Johnny Bench has.

Perez won the 2015 World Series MVP. Salvy hit .364 in the World Series with two doubles and three runs scored. Perez was the first catcher since Pat Borders (1992) to win the World Series MVP.

In my opinion, Perez winning this award epitomized what he means to this team. He is the heart of the Kansas City Royals. The “Salvy Splash” captures the awe of Royals faithful every time they win. He is constantly cheering on his teammates for their successes. Look at him in the ALDS in 2014.

Look at this man. Not many players capture the hearts of their fans like Perez. This group of Kansas City Royals do not have one individual leader or captain, but I imagine that if he played for one of those mid-2000s teams he probably would have worn the captain’s “C” on his chest.

The 2015 World Series was full of memorable moments. Alcides Escobar lead the series off in the most bizarre way you could ever imagine. Alex Gordon hit a moon shot over the wall in center field to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth in game one. Edinson Volquez threw two games after the passing of his father.

But Perez stayed steady the entire time. Starting all five games, Perez put his consistent professionalism on display for the entire world to see.

Next: The Royals in 2018

Salvador Perez has certainly made a permanent impression on Kansas City, and really the rest of Major League Baseball. His infectious smile captures the hearts of baseball fans across the world. The “Salvy Splash” has become iconic among Royals fans.

Sal will be the American League’s starting catcher for the fourth consecutive year in next week’s All-Star Game. His march to the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, rolls on.