Michael Pérez #4

Michael Perez Mendez attended Francisco Oller High School and Colegio Vocacional Para Adultos in Puerto Rico. Grew up watching Iván Rodríguez and Yadier Molina and aims to uphold the legacy of Puerto Rican-born catchers in the majors...Yadier and José Molina hail from the same hometown (Bayamon, PR) as Pérez...Also looks up to his countryman Roberto Clemente....His pregame routine consists of swinging a bat 10 times with his left hand, then switching and taking 10 more swings with his right, followed by a few normal swings; he created the routine in 2016 to help prepare him mentally for the game....Has three children: two daughters and a son...Both of his daughters are involved with gymnastics and he helps them practice by performing moves like splits and jumps with them around the house....Has had two very eventful birthdays as a professional player...On Aug. 7, 2019, caught a combined no-hitter for Durham (AAA) in Buffalo...A year later, drove in the only run of the Rays' 1-0 win over the Yankees with an eighth-inning sac-fly....Has played in the Puerto Rican Winter League seven times, including appearances for Carolina (2011-12), Manati (2012-13), San Juan (2014-15) and Santurce (2018-23)... Also played in the Dominican Winter League in 2019-20 and 2022-23.

2022

Homered in each of his first two games of the season for Pittsburgh, May 8 at Cincinnati and May 9 vs. Los Angeles-NL... Had the best game of his career on June 30 vs. Milwaukee, going 4-4 with three home runs, five RBI and three runs scored... Acquired by the Mets in a mid-season trade and appeared in six games for New York from Aug. 15-21.

2021

Set career highs in every offensive category, including games, homers and RBI...Made 58 appearances (57 starts) behind the plate and also played 1.0 inning at first base on 7/5 vs. Atlanta; his fourth career appearance there...Threw out six of the 20 runners attempting to steal against him (30%), had three errors, two passed balls and posted a 5.40 catcher’s ERA (488.1ip/293er)...Committed his two passed balls in the third inning on 9/23 at Philadelphia, snapping Pittsburgh’s Major League record of 193 straight games without a PB...Collected all 21 RBI off right-handed pitchers...His lone extra-base hit off a LHP came in his final game on 10/3 vs. Cincinnati (double off Reyver Sanmartin) - his first such hit since 4/5/19 (double off SF lefty Travis Bergen)...Snapped an 0-for-11 start to the season with a single as a pinch hitter on 4/15...Connected off Michael Pineda for his first home run and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle on 4/24 at Minnesota...Also tied his career-high (third time) with three hits on 4/24; entered the game with one hit in his first 18 at bats...Went hitless in his next 26 at bats before homering on 5/22 at Atlanta...Connected off LA’s Nate Jones for first career pinch-hit home run on 6/8...Hit safely in five straight games from 7/10-24 (7-for-20, .350)...Collected his first big league triple on 7/24 at San Francisco...Went 2-for-4 and hit a two-run homer off Philadelphia’s Ian Kennedy on 8/1 at PNC Park...Went hitless in his next 27 at bats thru 8/29... Went 7-for-76 (.092) in his final 25 games, dating back to 8/3. 

2020

Spent entire season on Tampa Bay’s active roster, making 38 appearances (27 starts) behind the plate and one appearance at first base (9/27 vs. Philadelphia)... Threw out six of the 19 runners attempting to steal against him (31.6%)...Was a member of the Opening Day roster for the second straight season...Hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to give the Rays a 1-0 win vs. New York (AL) on 8/7 (also his 28th birthday)...Became the 13th player since 1901 to record the only RBI of a 1-0 win on his birthday (according to Baseball Reference)...Entered the game on 8/9 vs. New York (AL) as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning and recorded his first hit of the season; a two-out, walkoff single off Zack Britton...His lone home run (second career) was a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning off Baltimore’s Mychal Givens on 8/26...Tied career high with three hits on 9/5 vs. Miami...Went hitless in his final 11 regular season at bats... Went 2-for-7 in eight postseason games...Went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI while starting Game Three of the A.L. Division Series against the Yankees; hit a two-run homer off Chad Green in the sixth inning of Tampa Bay’s 8-4 win... Was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh on 10/30.

2019

Appeared in 22 games and made 15 starts over three stints with the Rays: Opening Day-June 9, which included a stint on the 10-day IL, July 26-27 and Sep 1 through season's end...Was on the 10-day IL (right oblique strain) from May 8-June 9 and optioned to Triple-A Durham after his reinstatement given the presence of Travis d'Arnaud and Mike Zunino...Made his first Opening Day roster...Hit .245/.338/.495 (45-for-184) with a career-high 13 HR and 42 RBI for the Bulls, including 6 HR in 22 games following his July 27 option...On Aug 7 vs. Syracuse (Mets), celebrated his 27th birthday by catching a 9-inning no-hitter while going 1-for-3 with 1 2B and 1 BB at the plate…the Bulls used four pitchers, including a rehabbing José Alvarado, for their first 9-inning no-hitter since July 16, 2016 at Syracuse…eight of the nine hitters, plus a 9th-inning pinch-hitter, in the Mets lineup had major league experience...Played for the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League and the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

2018

Was acquired from the D-backs on July 25 and took over as the starting catcher…appeared in 24 games, including 22 starts at catcher, before a season-ending hamstring injury...Caught AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in 4 starts, and Snell pitched to a 0.82 ERA (22-IP, 2-ER) in those games...On July 26 vs. BAL, made his major league debut after 572 games over eight minor league seasons…doubled off Alex Cobb in his second at-bat for his first career hit...On Aug 7 vs. BAL, struck out in the 9th inning after coming within inches of his first career homer-the ball landed three seats over from Dan Johnson's game-tying, 9th-inning homer in "Game 162" on Sep 28, 2011 vs. NYY…would have become the first player in the majors to hit a walk-off homer on his birthday since CWS Andruw Jones on April 23, 2010 vs. SEA, and would have become the second player in major league history to have his first career homer go for a walk-off on his birthday, following CLE Carroll Hardy in 1958...On Aug 10 at TOR, hit his first career home run, a 2-run shot off Marco Estrada in the 3rd inning...On Aug 24 vs. BOS, recorded a career-high 4 RBI, on a 2-run double in the 2nd inning and 2-run single in the 3rd…his 4 RBI matched the most by a Rays catcher over the last three seasons, and were the most by a Rays rookie catcher since Luke Maile on Aug 16, 2016 vs. SD...On Aug 28 at ATL, suffered a season-ending left hamstring strain after a slide from Adam Duvall at the plate in the 8th inning…was placed on the 10-day DL on Aug 31...Played in Triple-A Reno until the trade, throwing out 34.8 pct. (16 of 46) of attempted base stealers there…hit .284/.342/.417 (62-for-218) with 6 HR and 29 RBI in 58 games...Played 7 games for the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League.