Salvador Perez, who hit the first home run of his career at Comerica Park in Detroit in 2011, set the Kansas City Royals’ all-time record with No. 318 on Saturday at the same venue.
In the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Tigers, Perez tied the game at 2 in the seventh inning with a 401-foot solo shot to left off right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan.
Perez’s blast broke a tie with Hall of Famer George Brett, who hit 317 homers for Kansas City from 1973-93. Like Brett, Perez has played his entire career with the Royals since debuting in 2011.
“I think for everybody, he’s the type of player everybody wants to be,” Perez said of Brett. “Hall of Famer. Everybody loves George in Kansas City. When you’re around a name like him, it’s pretty special.”
The celebration continued in the dugout, where Perez put on a broadcast headset and was surprised with a recorded tribute from Brett, who is in Cooperstown, N.Y., for Sunday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“You know, we played in different eras, but I think we got a lot in common,” Brett said. “Playing for the name on the front of the jersey. Wanting to be on the field no matter what. And most importantly, hating to lose. So today, I’m as proud as ever to share a spot in Royals history with you.”
The 36-year-old is batting .210 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 98 games this season. He is a nine-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove catcher.
In 1,805 games with Kansas City, Perez has hit .261 with 748 runs and 1,060 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source wkzo.com ’
