There have been hundreds and hundreds of catchers throughout baseball history. Only a small handful have ever hit 40 home runs in a season. And only one has done so while playing for an American League team.
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His name is Salvador Perez, and he's been on an absolute tear in the second half of the 2021 MLB season. On Saturday night, he reached the 40-homer threshold with a pair of blasts against the White Sox. Mind you, this came the day after he was hit in the neck by a foul ball and was ruled unable to suit up behind the dish... but that apparently didn't hinder his abilities on the offensive side.
Perez now joins Johnny Bench — the single-season record holder for catcher home runs, with 45 — Javy Lopez, Todd Hundley, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza as the only catchers with a 40-HR season, though he's the only one, as previously mentioned, who did so while playing in the American League. The previous AL record was held by Carlton Fisk, who belted 37 for the White Sox in 1985, though Perez passed that a while back and is now legitimately threatening Bench's MLB record.
If he keeps playing at his current pace, he should get there without too much of an issue. Perez has 14 home runs in the 31 games he's played since the beginning of August. With 27 games left on the schedule — including a rematch with the White Sox on Sunday — he has plenty of time to hit six more. And sure, he might cool down... but it's also worth noting that no player in baseball has hit more home runs in the second half of the season as Salvy has (via Stathead).
It's Salvy's world right now, and we can't wait to see what else he can accomplish before this magical season is over.
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