Career timeline: Salvador Perez

Sept. 27, 2006: Salvy signs

Perez was a 16-year-old infielder in Venezuela when former scout Orlando Estevez asked him to throw from behind the plate. The rest, as they say, is history

Aug. 10, 2011: A memorable debut

Perhaps a sign of what was to come, Perez put together an all-around impressive MLB debut with a single, a sac fly and a pair of pickoffs

Aug. 29, 2011: 1st Salvy Splash

It wasn’t into the fountains at The K, but Perez still made an impression with his first career home run, taking a Max Scherzer fastball deep during a 3-for-4 game

July 16, 2013: First ASG

In his first of seven All-Star Games, Perez didn’t start the 2013 Midsummer Classic at Citi Field, but when he came in for Joe Mauer, he made an impact, going 1-for-1 in the AL win

Sept. 30, 2014: The Hit

Perez became the hero of one of the wildest Wild Card Games when he pulled a pitch from Oakland’s Jason Hammel past a diving Josh Donaldson for a single that scored the winning run in 12 innings

Oct. 12, 2015: ALDS homer

Perez hit a massive homer that gave the Royals a lead in Game 6 of the American League Division Series against Houston, a game they ended up rallying for a 9-6 victory to force Game 5

July 12, 2016: An All-Star home run

Two plays after Perez watched teammate Eric Hosmer tie the 2016 All-Star Game with a home run in the second inning, he clubbed a two-run shot to give the AL a 3-1 lead.

Sept. 20, 2021: Historic homer

Of Perez's franchise-record 48 homers in 2021, none were bigger than No. 46, which topped Johnny Bench for the most HRs in a season by a primary catcher

Aug. 1, 2022: Power surge

Statcast measured this homer at 452 feet, Perez’s third homer of 400 feet or farther in the four games he’d played since returning from thumb surgery -- a nod to his superhuman strength and willpower