[ad_1]
CLEVELAND – Salvador Perez hit his 46th home run on Monday, breaking Johnny Bench’s home run record by one wide receiver in one season, as the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2.
Perez, 31, hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning, surpassing the 1970 Bench total for the most by a player who has played at least 75% of his team’s games as wide receiver.
“It was amazing,” he said. “I thank God for this. It’s amazing. ”
Perez also came tied for the major league lead in the circuits with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Toronto and leads the majors with 115 RBIs, the first wide receiver with as many RBIs since Mike Piazza in 1999.
It’s been a long road for Perez this season to compete for the home run title. He edged out Shohei Ohtani – the home runner at the time – by 12 at the all-star break and has caught up with the distance by hitting 25 home runs since July 24.
Only Jimmie Foxx in 1935 won the home run title after trailing the leader by at least 12 dingers during the all-star break, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
“To be honest it’s just hard to get a feel for it,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “The long history of this game and the number of great players who have been there. That it does something that no one else has done is amazing.”
Starting again behind the plate – the durable All-Star saw the designated hitter awhile – Perez led a 1-2 pitch from Triston McKenzie into the left field bleachers, a workout that went through 429 feet. Perez pointed at the sky after crossing the plate and was hugged by several teammates as he entered the dugout.
“For a guy who is so respected at this clubhouse, it was different from your normal home run,” Matheny said. “You could see the look on Salvy’s face. He’ll never forget it.”
Perez tied Bench on Thursday night in Kansas City as the Royals played in Seattle. He went 1 for 13 at home plate in the last three games of the series, but felt no pressure to set the record and was more focused on winning.
“Perez is one of those rare people who finds the energy and passion just to keep playing,” said interim Indians manager DeMarlo Hale. “And the offensive year he’s got is even more special. People don’t talk about him in the MVP race, but I’ll tell you, he’s there in my book.”
Perez also scored a single in the first and made his presence known defensively when he threw Myles Straw out trying to steal the second goal late in the inning.
“He’s a great hitter to start with,” McKenzie said. “Second, he’s a great receiver. I threw Straw early in the game, which kind of interrupted our momentum. He’s a guy who can always make you pay for mistakes. he did. He definitely caught fire towards the end of the season. ”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
[ad_2]
Source link