Salvador Perez makes more history, old friend plays hero, MLB The Show

Arguably the biggest headline for the Kansas City Royals this week was the fact that they were officially eliminated from postseason contention after the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday evening.

While this seemed to be a forgone conclusion for some time now, the fact it was still possible was always in the backs of Royals fans’ minds.

Now that Kansas City is set to watch October from home, it’s time to focus elsewhere. The first thing that may come to many minds is the shift to 2026, but there’s still regular season baseball to be played this week and storylines from the final stages to be followed.

Royals News: Salvador Perez continues to make more franchise history

After Perez launched his 300th home run just weeks ago, becoming only the second Royals player to belt as many homers for club, Tuesday night saw Perez climb up the KC’s RBI leaderboard.

Right off the hop in the first inning, Perez lined a single up the middle and drove in Bobby Witt Jr. from second base for RBI number 1,013.

This meant he surpassed Royals legend Hal McRae for second all-time on the franchise RBI leaderboard.

Now, this is probably where road ends for Perez when it comes to making moves up the RBI leaderboard, as he’s now chasing down the great George Brett for top spot at the latter stages of his career. It seems unlikely at this point that Brett’s 1,596 mark is attainable for Perez, given the late stage in his career that he’s in right now.

However, while it’s all but out of reach with four games left, Perez will now have his eyes set on surpassing Brett to become the Royals’ all-time home run leader, as entering Wednesday’s contest his 303 career homers are just 14 shy of tying Brett and his 317.

Royals News: Freddy Fermin punches Padres ticket to the postseason

In case you missed it, a beloved former Royal is making some noise with his new squad and inserting himself into franchise lore.

Freddy Fermin, whom the Royals traded to San Diego at the trade deadline, played an instrumental role in punching the Padres ticket back to the postseason earlier this week.

On Monday, Fermin would come to the plate with one out and runners on the corners in the bottom of the 11th inning and line an RBI single to walk-off the Milwaukee Brewers. The win, provided by his timely hitting, ensured that San Diego did in fact clinch their postseason spot.

Fermin hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since arriving in San Diego, hitting .267 with a .668 OPS and 89 wRC+, but his recent example of coming up in a big moments will ensure Padres fans forget about his below average bat for the time being.

Royals News: MLB The Show surprisingly highlights 2024 postseason hero

Finally, in one of the more shocking stories you’ll hear all week, Garrett Hampson is getting his time in the limelight in one of the largest sports video games on the planet.

Yes, you read that correctly, the recently DFA’d utility man, Garrett Hampson, is set to be a showcased name in MLB The Show.

With the postseason nearing, the video game franchise is releasing it’s “Postseason Past Program” on Friday that spotlights some exceptional postseason performances. And they are set to use Hampson’s ALDS – highlighted by a strong Game 1 showing in last year’s series versus the Yankees – as one of the spotlights.

In said series opening game, Hampson certainly played hero, coming in as a pinch-hitter against reliever Tim Hill in the eighth inning and driving in a pair of RBI.

And while he might have played a limited bench role in the series, he certainly left his mark, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and three RBI.

Hampson’s playable Postseason Past Program card will be available in the MLB The Show at 12pm ET on Friday.