Venezuela came a Trea Turner grand slam away from reaching the semifinals in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. They can thank their catcher, Royals veteran Salvador Perez for that. In '23, Perez slashed .429/.467/.929 with a home run, four doubles, and six RBIs -- five of which came in a 9-6 victory against Puerto Rico -- en route to being named to the All-WBC team at the end of the tournament.
Now, Perez will be the face of the team, as he was named the captain on Monday.
This will be the fourth Classic for Perez, who has played in every tournament since 2013 when he was just 23 years old and had yet to be elected to the first of nine Major League All-Stars Games. He's appeared in eight career WBC games and in that time has slashed .346/.393/.808 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
Earlier this year, Venezuela manager Omar Lopez pointed to Perez and yet-to-be-confirmed second baseman José Altuve as the leaders of next year's ballclub, which will try to medal for the first time since a third-place finish in the 2009 tournament.
"Right now, Salvador Perez and José Altuve can serve as the guiding force or standard-bearers for our national team as leaders both on and off the field," Lopez said. "Our strength will be the depth of the team; we will have a great pitching staff for this next World Baseball Classic."
While Perez may be the captain, there is no shortage of great Venezuelan catchers at Lopez's disposal to back him up: William and Willson Contreras, Gabriel Moreno, and Francisco Alvarez are just a few of the backstops who could potentially suit up for the nation in March.
Venezuela will begin its World Baseball Classic tournament in Miami on March 6 against the Netherlands. For more information and ticket information, click here.