Kansas City Royals: Six Years of Salvador Perez at the ASG

Salvador Perez was the lone representative for the Kansas City Royals in the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. Perez found himself in the starting spot for the sixth season in a row.

Salvador Perez batted in the ninth spot as the starting catcher. The Kansas City Royals catcher has been in the MLB All-Star game for the past six seasons. This season, he wasn’t voted into the spot. Perez was selected as a reserve, and he was bumped into the starting role when Wilson Ramos suffered a hamstring injury.

If you didn’t watch, the American League took the win in the tenth inning. Salvador Perez was the starting catcher and he went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. We took a look at his other five All-Star appearances, too, to see how they compared to Tuesday’s performance.

2017

The 2017 All-Star Game was another 0-for-2 year for Perez. He first lined out to right in the second inning, and then he popped out to second. In 2017, though, he batted eighth. He was replaced in the sixth inning by Gary Sanchez. The AL also won in 2017, in 10 innings by a score of 2-1.

2016

The American League was once again the victor in 2016, 4-2 the final score. Salvador Perez hit in the eight spot, and he went 1-for-2, with a two-run home run off of Johnny Cueto, scoring Mookie Betts as well. In his second at bat, he grounded out to third. But, overall, not a bad day for Perez. He was replaced by Matt Wieters in the top of the sixth inning.

2015

2015 was also dominated by the American League All-Stars, with a final of 6-3. In this game, Salvador Perez was in the seventh spot as the starting catcher. There were plenty of other Kansas City Royals players in this game in particular, including Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, and Lorenzo Cain. Perez went, just like in 2018, 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. Zack Greinke accounted for the first, and Madison Bumgarner the second.

2014

You guessed it, another year of domination by the American League, as they took the win, 5-3. Salvador Perez batted in the ninth spot. He only appeared at the plate once, bouncing out to third against Clayton Kershaw. His night was cut short, being replaced by Derek Norris in the fifth.

2013

In 2013, Perez was not the starting catcher. He was the backup behind Joe Mauer. But, he did take advantage of the playing time he was given. In his at bat, he singled to right field and then scored on a ground rule double by Jason Kipnis. And, big shocker here, the American League also won this one.

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The American League All-Star team is 6-0 with Perez on the roster. This isn’t to say he’s a good luck charm, but it goes to show that he is a standout player. The Kansas City Royals are smart to keep him around and have him take on a veteran leadership role during the rebuild.