Chasing Cooperstown with KC Royals catcher Salvador Perez

Checking out 3 great catchers when considering Salvador Perez

Mike Piazza was elected to the Hall on his fourth try in 2016. A strong pitch framer not particularly known for his defense, his career caught-stealing percentage was only 23%, and he finished above 30% just once. However, many regard Piazza as the best offensive catcher in major league history, with the possible exception of Josh Gibson. Piazza slashed .308/.377/.545 with 427 home runs, 1,335 RBI, 2,127 hits, and 344 doubles, He had a .922 OPS, 143 OPS+, and a 59.5 bWAR and 62.5 fWAR. Over 16 seasons, he made 12 All-Star Games and won 10 Silver Sluggers.

Iván Rodríguez, on the other hand, was elected on the first ballot in 2017 after 21 big league seasons. No slouch at the plate, "Pudge" won seven Silver Sluggers and slashed .296/.334/.464 with 311 homers, 1,332 RBI, 2,844 hits, 1,354 runs, and 572 doubles; he had a .798 OPS, 106 OPS+, 68.7 bWAR, and 69.0 fWAR. He was also as good as it gets behind the dish — he won 13 Gold Gloves, led the majors in caught-stealing percentage nine times, regularly at a better than 50% rate, and finished at 46% for his career.

Rodríguez was also an excellent framer and great at managing pitching staffs. He was a 14-time All-Star, an American League MVP, and a National League Championship Series MVP.

On the Hall ballot for the first time this year, Joe Mauer was a nemesis of the Royals throughout his 15-year career with Minnesota. He appears to be a good bet for induction, and how voters judge him could be a good indicator of how they'll assess the latter part of Perez's career when the time comes. Salvy will likely see less and less time behind the plate the older he gets, and Mauer moved to first base for the final five years of his career as concussions took their toll. But while he was behind the plate, Mauer definitely hit his marks.

Mauer led the AL in caught-stealing percentage twice, and finished with a 33% rate for his career. He played in six All-Star Games, was the 2009 AL MVP, won five Silver Sluggers, and was a three-time AL batting champ. He slashed .306/.388/.439, had 143 home runs, drove in 923 runs, had 2,123 hits, and posted a .827 OPS, 124 OPS+, 55.2 bWAR, and 53.0 fWAR.

So, how does Perez compare to those three excellent backstops?