Why Royals' Salvador Perez is the real AL MVP
I'm going to give you the stat line of a player in the American League that I think you'll find impressive (league ranking in parenthesis):
- .320 average (1st)
- .912 OPS (6th)
- 41 RBI (3rd)
- 66 hits (5th)
- Top 10 in doubles, OBP, SLG %
Not too shabby, right? Probably even MVP-worthy. I'd venture a guess that you'd think this was the back of a baseball card for Mike Trout or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Believe it or not this guy is a 34-year-old catcher who's been to eight All-Star Games but never finished higher than seventh in the MVP balloting. It is high time Salvador Perez gets some MVP love because the Royals backstop is having arguably the best all-around season of his Hall-of-Fame-caliber career.
The offensive numbers speak for themselves. They always have. Perez won the 2015 World Series MVP Award, and in 2021 he led the league in home runs and RBI in one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a catcher, and yet, he couldn't crack the top five in MVP voting. A pair of things have hampered his stardom: defense and geography.
Pitchers love throwing to him because of his presence and calming influence. While Perez is an adequate thrower and blocker his pitch framing used to be atrocious. The 2021-2023 Baseball Savant's metrics had him as one of the worst framers in the game. This year, he's right in the middle of the pack, which may not seem like much, but it's a monster improvement. All he had to do was move a few inches.
Perez used to set up far behind home plate, meaning the ball had to travel farther to get to him and giving gravity longer to pull pitches out of the strike zone. This year he's moved closer to the batters box and the results have been dramatic. The Kansas City Star talked to Royals catching instructor Paul Hoover about the change:
"He was super far away from the plate two years ago - probably one of the worst," said Hoover. "Now he's up there with the best guys."
Kansas City's retooled rotation is fourth in the league in team ERA and Perez's evolution as a defensive backstop is a big reason why.
As for geography, where you play has a measurable impact on major award voters. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are trending as the AL MVP favorites. They're both putting up fantastic numbers, but they get to play in New York, which certainly helps their candidacy. Unless you're a quarterback or a tight end with a penchant for pop stars, suiting up every day in Kansas City doesn't exactly help make you a household name.
Only one Royal has even won an MVP Award and George Brett had to hit .390 to do it. If Salvy keeps up his pace and the Royals continue to surprise as playoff contenders, it would be a shame if he doesn't become the second.
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