Roberto Andrés Pérez...Pérez and his wife, Dianis, have three sons: Liam, Sebastian and Roberto Andrés. They make their offseason home in Orlando, Fla...Was born in Mayagüez, P.R...Went to Eugenio Maria de Hostos high school in Mayagüez before attending college...Was selected by the Dodgers in the 29th round of the 2006 draft out of high school but did not sign...Originally drafted by Cleveland in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft out of Lake City Community College (now called Florida Gateway College)...Did not learn English until he was in college at age 17 when he moved to Florida. Pérez felt language was very important to be a pro catcher so he went back to college and mastered the language. He says speaking English helped him take charge and be a leader as a catcher...Suited up for Puerto Rico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Pérez appeared in one game during the tournament.
2022
Only appeared in 21 games for Pittsburgh after signing there in the offseason...Went down with a left hamstring strain on May 7 and was transferred to the 60-day injured list four days later on May 11...he did not play the rest of the year after undergoing surgery on the hamstring...Had a 102 wRC+ in his brief time with the Pirates.
2021
Spent 13th and final season in the Cleveland organization... Spent majority of season with the Indians, but missed 89 game due to injuries... Made 43 starts behind the plate and threw out three of the 19 runners attempting to steal against him...His passed ball on 7/19 was his first since 9/4/18 and snapped a streak of 184 games without one; the longest such streak since John Flaherty went 203 games without a PB in 1993-1996...Also made first career appearance at first base on 7/20 at Houston; played the final 2.0 innings there... Produced two multi-hit games; had two hits on 7/10 vs. Kansas City and two hits on 9/19 at New York (AL)... Homered on Opening Day on 4/1 at Detroit...Scored a career-high four runs on 4/10 vs. Detroit...Recorded second Major League stolen base on 4/26 vs. Minnesota - his first since 8/11/18... Was on injured list with a fractured right ring finger from 5/5 to 7/2... Went 2-for-15 in seven rehab games with Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron from 6/23-7/2...Returned from rehab and was reinstated from 60-day injured list on 7/3... Homered in three straight games from 7/8-16...Was also on the I.L. with right shoulder inflammation from 8/4 to 9/13...Went 6-for-23 (.261) in eight rehab games with Akron and Columbus from 8/31 to 9/12...Returned from rehab and was reinstated from I.L. on 9/14.
2020
Captured his second straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award, just the second catcher in franchise history (Ray Fosse, 1970-71) to garner multiple Gold Gloves...Led all Major League catchers in SB/caught stealing pct., throwing out 9-of-13 (69%) of would-be base stealers... Carries a career-best 126-game errorless streak into 2021 and has not been charged with a passed ball since Sept. 4, 2018 (158 games), the longest such streak by an MLB catcher since 2005 (Dan Wilson, 180 games)...Was a repeat winner of a Fielding Bible Award (Baseball Info Solutions) in 2020, finishing third in the American League in Defensive Runs Saved (6) as the staff posted a 3.23 ERA over his 32 games behind the plate...Became the first repeat winner at catcher since Buster Posey in 2015 and 2016...Offensively, he was limited much of the season with a right shoulder strain, hitting .165 (16-for-97) during the shortened campaign...Was the sixth-lowest average in the league (min. 100 PA)...His longest hitting streak was 3 games and his longest on-base streak was 5 contests... Was on the 10-day Injured List w/a right shoulder strain, July 29-Aug. 17, that lingered the remainder of the year...Was 5-for-last-38 (.132) over his last 13 games (9/11-on)…1 XBH, 0RBI last 17 games.
2019
Had an outstanding year in his first season as the starting backstop, recording the 3rd-highest WAR among all Major League catchers (3.9), the highest single-season mark by a Tribe catcher since Yan Gomes in 2014 (4.0)...Collected career-highs in numerous offensive category and his 23 home runs as a catcher ranked tied for 5th among MLB catchers and were the 2nd-highest single-season total in franchise history (hit one at DH)...Became the first Indians catcher to earn a Rawlings Gold Glove since Sandy Alomar in 1990...Also earned a BIS Fielding Bible Award and was named Major League Defensive Player of the Yearby Wilson...His 30 Defensive Runs Saved outpaced all other Major League catchers by at least 17 runs and was tied for the highest total by a catcher since Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) began tracking the metric in 2003...Overall appeared in a career-high 118 games at catcher, making 114 starts as the club went 68-46 (.596) in his starts and posted a 3.58 ERA with him behind the plate (395ER/993.2IP)...Compiled a franchise record .997 fielding percentage (3 errors/1137 total chances) and did not record a passed ball in 118 games and 993.2 innings behind the plate, just the fourth catcher since at least 1930 with at least 118 games caught without a passed ball...Indians pitchers hurled the second-fewest wild pitches (42) in the American League and the third-fewest stolen bases (53) allowed in MLB, the fewest in the AL..Threw out 20 of 49 (40.8%) potential base stealers on the season, best mark in the AL...The Tribe yielded only 17 stolen bases in 28 attempts in 74 second half games...Batted .256 (52-for-203) with 16 homers and 36 RBI (.872 OPS) in the first half before falling back to a .220 (41-for-186) mark after the break (.666 OPS)...He turned it back on in September, batting .344 (21-for-61) with one 2B, three HR and 13 RBI over his final 19 games of the season...Ranked 8th in the AL in batting average in September... From July 12-Aug. 31, he batted .160 (20-for-125) with 3 2B, 5 HR and 14 RBI in 37 games before breaking loose in September...Recorded a pair of 6-game hit streaks in 2019...Raised his batting average .071 points in 2019 from 2018 and his OPS went from .519 to .774...Homered in a career-high four straight games, June 4-8... In his one start at DH on June 8 vs. NYY, he went 2-for-4 with a 2B, HR and 3 RBI...Batted .250 (25-for-100) with RISP and led the team in two-out RBI with 29... Enjoyed his first career two-homer regular season game July 31 vs. Houston (homered twice in G1 of the 2016 WS)...Was 3-for-7 in extra innings.
2018
Defensive stalwart behind the plate made 55 starts (58 games overall) at catcher, as the club recorded a 35-20 (.636) record and a 3.76 ERA (199ER/476.2 IP) with Pérez calling the signals...Threw out 9 of 36 (25%) potential base stealers...Recorded four hits over his last three games (4-for-12, 2 2B, 5 RBI) to raise batting average from .156 to .168, still the lowest recorded average in the A.L. (min. 200 plate appearances)...Hit .250 (7-for-28) in September with 3 2B, 1 HR and 11 RBI to raise average from .152 to .168....Enjoyed career game on Sept. 8 at Toronto, recording HR, 2B and single-game career-high 4 RBI, becoming first Indians player to collect four RBI and six total bases in a single inning (top of 5th) since Matt Williams on August 27, 1997 at Anaheim...Played better offensively in second half, recording an OPS of .617 compared to first half OPS of .454...Was 13-for-78 (.167) with runners on and 6-for-26 (.231) with RISP & two outs...Was 4-for-7 (.571) with the bases loaded...Was tied for fourth in A.L. with team-high 7 sacrifice bunts....Recorded a .368 on-base pct. vs. LHP...After the season batted .333 (23-for-69) for Licey in 24 games in Dominican Winter League (4 2B, HR, 11 RBI, .853 OPS).
2017
pent the entire season on the active roster, signing a long-term extension in spring training and was a force with men on base while guiding the staff to a 3.22 ERA behind the plate...Season got off to a rough start offensively, hitting .143 (12/84) over his first 26 games (2 2B, HR, 12 RBI, 26 games)...From that point on thru the remainder of the season he batted .248 (33/133) with 10 2B, 7 HR and 26 RBI over his final 47 games of the season...From August 19-end of the season he hit .270 (20/74) with 4 2B, 7 HR and 21 RBI over his final 25 games of the season...During the Indians' historic 22-game winning streak, Perez hit .378 (14/37) in 12 games (10 starts) with four doubles, four homers, and 13 RBI. Drove in 38 runs on 45 base hits and teamed with Yan Gomes to drive in 94 runs, the 5th-highest total among MLB catching tandems...the 94 RBI by Tribe catchers marked the club's second-highest output from a collective position (Designated Hitter - 112)... Appeared in 19 games behind the plate in September/October, starting 17 of the club's final 30 contests (caught 146.0 of 270.0IP Sept/Oct innings)...On the year the club was 44-22 (.667) in his starts at catcher. Member of Team Puerto Rico in the WBC (appeared in 2 games backing up Yadier Molina)…On the year he made 66 starts at catcher, appearing in 71 games overall...Threw out 39.2% (11/28) of potential basestealers and combined over the last two seasons has thrown out 22 of 52 would-be base runners (42.3%)... First home run of the season came off Clayton Kershaw on June 13...On the year he batted .268 (19/71) with runners in scoring position and hit .257 (9/35) with RISP-2outs...Was 4-for-8 (.500) with the bases loaded and hit just .170 (19/112) with no one on base... Had 14 extra-base hits out of 26 total hits (53.8%) after the All-Star Break…5 HRs in 50 ABs (10.0 AB/HR) at home after the All-Star Break.
2016
Spent the entire season between Cleveland and the disabled list after suffering a broken right thumb and ligament damage on a tag play at home plate on April 30 at Philadelphia…Played in only 4 games (15 plate appearances) in April due to rain outs and off days before being injured against the Phillies and placed on the 15-day Disabled List on May 1…Underwent right thumb surgery (Dr. Thomas Graham) on May 6 to repair an avulsion fracture in the thumb...Rehabbed in Goodyear, AZ until beginning rehab stints in Arizona, Lake County and Columbus from July 3-17…Rehab concluded prematurely when Yan Gomes was forced to the 15-day D.L. with a shoulder injury on July 18 (activated)… Got off to a slow start off the D.L., starting the year a combined 0-for-16 (8 walks) before notching first hit on July 24...Offensively got going on August 26 at Texas, collecting a career-high 4 hits that raised his season average from .104 to .146… From August 24 thru the end of the season he batted .263 (21-80) with 7 R, 3 2B, 3 HR and 13 RBI in 31 games to conclude the season… Walked in 23 of his 179 plate appearances to leave his season on-base pct. at .285…Appeared in 61 games (53 starts) at catcher for the Indians, throwing out 11 of 24 (45.8%) runners attempting to steal and compiling a team-record of 33-20 (.623) in his starts…Threw out KC's Terrance Gore on Sept. 21 in the 9th inning to preserve a 4-3 win, the first time in 18 attempts Gore was caught stealing in the regular season (also threw Gore out on Oct. 2 at KC)...Hit just .123 (10-81) at home…Hit .188 (13-69) with runners on base and .293 (12-41) with runners in scoring position...Started all 15 games in the Postseason, hitting .186 (8-43) with a double, 3 home runs and 7 RBI...With his 2 home runs and 4 RBI in Game 1 of the World Series became first player from Puerto Rico and first 9-hole batter to homer twice in one WS game (3rd Indians player all-time in PS game, Ramirez/Thome)…Fifth catcher to hit 2HR in World Series game; first since Gary Cater in 1986 Mets at BOS (G4)...Tied the franchise record for RBI in a World Series game with four (Sandy Alomar Jr. 1997 Game 5 and Elmer Smith 1920 Game 5).
2015
Spent his first full season at the Major League level and was the primary back-up to Yan Gomes for most of the season save a six-week stretch from April 12-May 23 as the starter when Gomes was on the D.L...Despite not playing every day he ranked T6th among American League catchers in walks (33) and enjoyed a pair of 3-walk games... Set a new career-high with 3 RBI on May 25 vs. Texas and scored a career-high 3 runs on April 29 vs. Kansas City...Had a pair of 3-hit games to equal his single-game career best, the last of which came on 4/29 vs. KC...Started 61 games at catcher (69 overall games), 1 start at designated hitter (Sept. 23 @MIN) and hit safely in 30 of his 62 starts with 10 multi-hit games...Led the Majors with a 39% caught stealing percentage (min. 40 SB attempts), as he threw out 16-41 runners attempting to steal...The Tribe staff recorded an 3.71 ERA with Roberto behind the plate...The Tribe were 16-14 when Perez recorded one-or-more base knocks, as the Puerto Rican native hit .316 (24-76) in wins...Recorded an OPS of .841 vs. LHP (.413/.429) and a .323 OPS vs. RHP (.323/.393)...Hit .186 (13-70) with runners on base, compared to .254 (29-114) with the bases empty...Went 28-for-105 (.267) when he resumed his back-up duties from May 25 thru the end of the season, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with 4 doubles, one home run and 3 RBI against LHP over that stretch...Hit .314 (16-51) for Mayaguez of the Puerto Rican Winter League (16 games) this winter.
2014
Split the season between AAA Columbus and Cleveland in his first taste of Major League action in his sixth professional season ... Was with Cleveland from July 8 thru the remainder of the season... Hit .305 (53-174) with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 8 home runs and 43 RBI in 53 games (.405/.517/.922) at Columbus...At the time of his July 8 selection onto the Cleveland roster he was 11th in the International League in RBI (6th most in the organiz ation) desp ite missing over two weeks, May 13-28, with a strained left hamstring...Had 16 RBI over last 13 G from June 21-July 7) ... For the year at Trip le-A he batted .308 (37-120, .962O P S) off right-handed pitching, .412 (35-85) with runners on base and .440 (22-50) with RISP. Made his Maj or League debut on July 10 vs. New York-AL, going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, a homer and 2RBI ... Collected first hit off David Phelps in the 6th inning and hit his first Major League homer/RBI off Jim Miller the next inning...O verall ap p eared in 29 games at catcher for Cleveland, making 25 starts (Indians were 17-8 in his starts)... Caught 10 of TJ House's 18 starts (2.59 ERA, 16 E R/55.2 IP )...Indians p itchers compiled an E RA of 2.60 (232.1IP , 203H, 67ER) with Roberto behind the plate as he threw out 7 of 21 (33%) of the runners attempting to steal off him ... Hit .340 (17-50) when batting 9th in the batting order (8 R, 16 games) ... Collected a career-high 3 hits on Sept 19 at Minnesota (3-4, R, 2B) and over his last 8 games (9/7-on) he was 8-for-his-last-24 (.333, 3R)....Hit .333 (10-30) when behind in the count .... Played in 29 games for Mayaguez in the P uerto Rican League this p ast off-season...Named 15th-best p rosp ect in the Indians system entering 2015 (Baseball America).
2013
Hit a combined .200 (56-280) with 18 doubles, 2 home runs and 34 RBI in 99 games, drawing 54 walks for an on-base pct of .337...Started the year in Akron and spent time in Columbus in April and then from June 13 thru the end of the season...Drew 32 walks in 32 games for AA Akron...Played for Mayaguez after the season in the PR Winter League after the season...Tossed out 34.9% of the runners attempting to steal off him (37-for-109)...Named by Baseball America as the best defensive catcher in the system entering 2014...Played for Mayaguez in PR Winter League after the season.
2012
Spent the entire season at Class-AA Akron of the Eastern League, appearing in 95 games...Hit .242 (15-62) off LHP with 7 2B, 1HR & 6RBI (.737OPS)...Did not hit above .228 in any month of the season...Threw out 41% (35 of 86) of the baserunners attempting to steal off him...Hit .229 (30-131) with runners on base and .241 (20-83) with RISP...Drove in 4 runs on June 6 vs. New Britain...Hit .269 (7-26) with 1 2B & 2RBI in all 9 playoff games for the Eastern League champion Aeros...Played for Mayaguez after the season in the PR Winter League, hitting .286 (17-59) with 8RS, 2 2B, 4RBI and 11 walks in 19 games (.400OB).
2011
Spent the entire season at Class-A Kinston of the Carolina League where he recorded an on-base % of .365 (owns minor league career on-base % of .373)...Had a pair of 4-walk games in 2011 for Kinston...Was 6th in the Carolina League in walks (62) despite playing just 94 games and his .365 on-base % would have been 2nd in the league with enough plate appearances...Hit .244 off RHP and .192 off LHP...Hit .309 (21-68) in June...Average in the 2nd half was .195 (26-133)....Threw out 36.4% (44 of 121) of the runners attempting to steal off him...Played for Mayaguez in PR and in the Arizona Fall League after the season...In the AFL hit .226 (12-53) w/a 2B, 4HR, 11RBI, 13BB, .382OB, .854OPS.
2010
Spent season at A Lake County...Was 7th in the league in walks (80)...Had OB pct of .360...Named to the Midwest League all-star team...Hit .228 off RHP and .171 off LHP...Threw out 40% (50-125) of runners attempting to steal.
2009
Ranked 2nd in the rookie Arizona League in on-base pct. (.438), 4th in avg (.351) and 4th in OPS (.949).
