KANSAS CITY -- Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s strong bounce-back year in 2020 was validated once more on Wednesday: Perez was named to the All-MLB First Team as announced on MLB Network.
Perez said on the show, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be named to the All-MLB team. I had COVID, I had the eye issue [in 2020], but I still had the season … I thank you all for voting for me.”
Perez, who missed all of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, missed the beginning of Summer Camp in 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19.
Perez also missed three weeks of the season because of a lingering eye issue that caused blurred vision.
Despite that, Perez hit 11 home runs and 12 doubles, drove in 32 runs, and posted a .986 OPS in 37 games.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore has often said of Perez, “We are a completely different team with Salvy in the lineup. That has always been the case.”
Perez, 30, is entering the final year of his contract with Kansas City.
Perez beat out finalists Travis d’Arnaud of the Braves and J.T. Realmuto of the Phillies for the All-MLB First Team.
The selection process, featuring a star-studded group of nominees, started in early November, with 50% of the vote coming from fans and 50% coming from a panel of experts. Fans were able to vote once every 24 hours until Nov. 13.
Perez earned his third Silver Slugger Award this offseason and is also a six-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove Award winner. His 11 home runs were tied for third most in Major League history by a player who appeared in 37 games or fewer, trailing only Frank Thomas (12 HR in 34 games) in 2005 and Ted Williams (13 HR in 37 games) in 1953 (when he missed most of the season after serving in the Korean War). All 11 of Perez’s home runs came as a catcher, matching Realmuto for the most in the Majors at the position, while Perez’s batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.681) and OPS (1.048) as a catcher were all tops in the Majors (minimum 100 at-bats).