KC Royals: What A Difference A Decade Makes

Catcher

The Royals have seen a lot of their prized backstop over the past two seasons. Salvador Perez has caught more games in the past two years than any other catcher in history.

2005: John Buck

John Buck was a decent backstop in his time with the Royals. He wasn’t great, and he wasn’t terrible, he was just kind of ‘meh’.

2005 was Buck’s second season in the league and again it was kind of a ‘meh’ performance. He hit 12 home runs but only hit .242 on the year.

John Buck did manage to pick off six base runners that year and was actually slightly more successful at throwing out would be base-stealers. (Though it’s hard to fault Perez for steals when Chris Young in on the hill)

While Buck was a good ‘catch and throw’ guy, he committed three errors in 2005. He was also responsible for -1 defensive runs saved.

2015: Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez draws criticism from national analysts for being a free-swinger and for perhaps being overrated.

Just looking at his numbers, it would appear that they may be right. The problem with that is the numbers don’t show what Perez really means to this team.

Just looking at his numbers, it would appear that they may be right. The problem with that is the numbers don’t show what Perez really means to this team.

Salvador Perez brings a persona to the KC Royals that keeps everyone loose and helps them remember that it’s just a game. He is one of the biggest reasons that the clubhouse chemistry is the envy of the league.

Aside from being the life force behind the team, Perez is a very good defensive catcher. He may not throw out as many runners as people think, but he doesn’t let much get by him. Perez did have one more error (4) in 2015 than Buck did in 2005, but he also had over 300 more chances to make an error.

Salvador Perez was the World Series MVP because of his statistics in the World Series, but he is the MVP for the fans for other reasons.

Next: And This Game Is Tied!