The Kansas City Royals have been surprisingly good this season.
They entered play on Wednesday with a 31-19 record, much better than anticipated even after their winter spending spree.
The Royals are just 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead, and currently hold one of the American League’s Wild Card spots with an eye on the postseason.
They have been so good in large part thanks to the leadership of Salvador Perez.
The catcher/first baseman has been magnificent this year, hitting line drives and homers left and right.
A famous MLB insider gives him credit for the Royals’ excellent performance so far and goes as far as predicting a Hall-of-Fame election for him.
“The @Royals hold a playoff spot, and Salvador Pérez has a .969 OPS. Earlier this season, Pérez, 34, joined Johnny Bench and Iván Rodríguez as the only @MLB catchers with 250+ HR and 5+ Gold Gloves. Two members of the @baseballhall — and one who will join them,” Jon Morosi tweeted.
The @Royals hold a playoff spot, and Salvador Pérez has a .969 OPS.
Earlier this season, Pérez, 34, joined Johnny Bench and Iván Rodríguez as the only @MLB catchers with 250+ HR and 5+ Gold Gloves.
Two members of the @baseballhall — and one who will join them.@MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 22, 2024
Even if his .766 career OPS is not that high, it’s very solid for a catcher.
If we add that up to his excellent defensive reputation (five Gold Gloves isn’t for everyone) and to his game-changing power from the catcher position (255 career long balls), then Perez definitely has a chance.
When the combination of power and defense you boast gets you in a group with Bench and Rodriguez, it means you are doing things the right way.
This is Perez’s case, without a doubt.
He still has some time to pad his stats and improve his Hall-of-Fame case, one that also has a World Series ring and a WS MVP award, both in 2015.
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