Chasing Cooperstown with KC Royals catcher Salvador Perez

How does Salvador Perez compare to the trio of superb catchers?

Now 33 and preparing for his 13th major league season, Perez has decent offensive stats. He's slashing .267/.300/.459, with 246 home runs, 812 RBI, 1,411 hits, 257 doubles, a .759 OPS, 104 OPS+, 33.0 bWAR, and 15.3 fWAR.

But although he's a five-time Gold Glover, some criticize his defense, probably because of his poor framing; but until last season, he was one of the best in baseball at controlling the running game. He's led the AL three times in caught-stealing percentage and has thrown out 34% of would-be stealers in his career. But that rate dropped to 14% in 2023.

Perez has been to eight All-Star games, was the World Series MVP when the Royals won the 2015 Fall Classic, and owns a franchise-record four Silver Sluggers. He was named the 2021 AL Comeback Player of the Year, and led the majors in RBI (121) and tied for the led the AL home run lead (48) that same year.

Perez won't match Piazza, Rodríguez or Mauer in plate discipline, and his batting average, OPS and WAR will never equal theirs. But Perez hitting a few achievable milestones will help his Hall of Fame case — if he can get to 400 homers, 1,000 RBI, 2,000 hits, and 400 doubles, his chances of reaching Cooperstown go way up. But will they make him an absolute lock?

No, but every bit helps. And if Salvy ultimately falls short, he definitely has a spot waiting for him in the Royals Hall of Fame.

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