KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Even on his day off, Royals catcher Salvador Perez can’t say no to a game — especially if it’s Wiffle ball with a bunch of kids.
The nine-time All-Star was driving through a neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, on Thursday when he spotted some kids playing in a backyard. Perez stopped the car, jumped out and asked: “Hey, can I play with you guys?”
It took them a moment to realize who was asking in on their game.
The mother of one of the kids, Lesley Lard, posted on social media a clip of Perez — dressed not in his crisp Royals uniform but a casual long-sleeve T-shirt and shorts — taking a mighty swing and then scurrying around the bases.
“One of my friends invited me for lunch, and you know, it was my off day — I say off day and I played like, three innings,” Perez said while sitting in the dugout before Friday night’s game against the Phillies. “I saw them and turned around my car, got out and told these kids, ‘Hey, can I play with you guys?’ And now it’s a highlight.
“They went crazy,” he added with a smile. “They were like, ‘Oh, my God! It’s Salvy! Come hit with us!’”
The 34-year-old Perez, who has spent his entire 13-year big league career in Kansas City, has long been a fan favorite. He often spends extra time signing autographs before games, and his No. 13 jersey is omnipresent among fans at Kauffman Stadium.
“Good for him,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, “because that’s an incredible memories for those kids. We see him out there with a huge smile on his face every night. Now he brought that to those kids as well. So it’s really special.”
Perez, who helped the Royals win back-to-back AL pennants in 2014 and ’15 along with their first World Series title in 30 years, said there were no Wiffle balls growing up in Venezuela. But there were certainly pickup games in the neighborhood.
The kids playing Thursday were actually using a variation of a Wiffle ball called a Blitzball, which is like the traditional white ball with holes punched in it but curves even more. And it turned out to be harder to hit than Perez thought.
“They struck me out one time,” he said with a laugh. “It’s hard to hit that ball. I don’t know. They move.”
Few pitchers are having much success against Perez this season. He was hitting .274 with 22 homers and 85 RBIs entering Friday night’s game, helping the Royals rebound from a 106-loss season and get into playoff position.
They were two games back of Cleveland in the AL Central and 3 1/2 ahead of Boston for the last wild card spot.
“You don’t really get shocked hearing about that because that’s just who Sal is,” Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “He’s just always a people person. I asked him how he did. He said he thinks he got 20 hits. But he enjoyed it. He loves that type of stuff. It’s great to see him do what he does. It brings a smile to everyone’s face.”
Perez, who became an American citizen in 2020, has two sons — Salvador Jr. and Johan — and a daughter, Paulina. And that made his opportunity to put smiles on the faces of some young fans on a Thursday in Kansas City even more special.
“You guys have known me for a long time. That’s what it’s all about: It’s about the kids,” Perez said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do. I love to play baseball, I love to compete. But I always say, we don’t know what these fans or these kids do to get a ticket to come see you. To get that kind of opportunity to play with them, it doesn’t happen very often.”
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