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Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez etched his name in the record books<\/a> on Monday afternoon against the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perez belted his ninth home run of the 2026 season in the sixth inning. As he rounded the bases, he also climbed toward eventual National Baseball Hall of Fame glory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With his 136th homer at Kauffman Stadium, Perez tied Royals legend George Brett for most home runs at the venue that opened for Major League Baseball\u2019s 1973 season.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And Perez did so in a familiar way. He blasted a 91.6 mph sinker over the wall in left-center field off Yankees starter Will Warren. The homer traveled 422 feet and tied the game at a critical moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perez\u2019s solo shot also pushed him past Hall of Famer Ivan \u201cPudge\u201d Rodriguez for the seventh-most home runs<\/a> by a primary catcher in MLB history. With 312, Perez trails only Mike Piazza (427), Johnny Bench (389), Carlton Fisk (376), Yogi Berra (358), Lance Parrish (324) and Gary Carter (324).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d Perez said. \u201cI hoped we won today to celebrate that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI just tried to do my job. It\u2019s good when they announce your name around a Hall of Famer. You know, that\u2019s one of the goals. If you don\u2019t think that way, I think you are in the wrong sport. I\u2019m going to continue to do my job, prepare myself every day, work hard and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Monday afternoon\u2019s home run also gave Perez another distinction: He now owns the most home runs in MLB all-time by a Latino catcher.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I believe in the guy,\u201d Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. \u201cI mean, look what he\u2019s doing. He\u2019s done it for a lot longer than I\u2019ve been here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd you know, he doesn\u2019t hang his head when things aren\u2019t going his way. He doesn\u2019t pout. He keeps working. And to tie George at anything is remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There aren\u2019t many players like Perez. He has carried the organization for 15 seasons \u2014 winning World Series MVP in 2015 \u2014 and is showing no signs of slowing down<\/a>. The Royals follow his lead at every turn and that is part of why they continue to celebrate him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEvery time you come to the yard, it\u2019s special being able to play with him and be able to call him a teammate and the captain,\u201d Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. \u201cAnd so, it\u2019s just an honor. It\u2019s awesome to see him kind of surpassing all those guys. And it\u2019s like you could show up and what\u2019s next? He\u2019s starting to get hot and it\u2019s fun to watch him when he\u2019s going.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n