Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez an All-Star due to previous success

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 10: Kansas City Royals Catcher Salvador Perez (13) behind the plate during a MLB game between the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals on July 10, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN.The Royals defeated the Twins 9-4.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Kansas City Royals had to have one representative in the 2018 All-Star Game and it was Salvador Perez who got the nod for the boys in blue. He likely got voted in due to how good he’s been in the past.

I want to start by saying that this is not a post knocking Salvador Perez. Kansas City Royals fans love the guy, but we need to be honest about something this year… He’s batting .221 and obviously isn’t at his best offensively this year. He’s great defensively, which is wonderful, but the All-Star Game usually is for the players who are hot at the plate.

Look I get it… The Royals had to have somebody in the All-Star Game and the team isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire right now. I wrote about how Brad Keller was the only realistic option to represent the Royals, but ultimately I understand why he was not selected.

Whit Merrifield is the name a lot of people are saying was snubbed, but when it came down to it, we all knew Jose Altuve was going to be the man at second base. The reserves deserved to be there more than Merrifield too.

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That left Salvador Perez, who has been to the All-Star Game every year since 2013. He was initially put into this year’s game as a reserve, but with Wilson Ramos about to hit the disabled list, he’ll be unable to start. That now puts Perez in the starting catcher’s role for next week’s game in D.C.

Ramos most definitely earned his starter’s status and it’s safe to say that had Gary Sanchez of the Yankees been healthy, he’d have been either the starter or the backup. That’s honestly kind of the problem with baseball is that there aren’t a lot of GREAT catchers to choose from when it comes to the All-Star Game.

Perez’s offensive numbers aren’t good this year, but when looking at the other catchers’ numbers, it’s not shocking that Salvy was picked as the backup catcher. He’s not having a Perez-like season that we’re used to, but when push comes to shove, he’s better than most of the league at his position and that’s what got him into his sixth straight All-Star Game.

Sure, the All-Star Game normally celebrates players and their current season, but catcher is a different animal when it comes to that. After Ramos, there really wasn’t an American League catcher that fans thought “Wow, that guy deserves to go to D.C. and be an All-Star!”

So, yes… Salvador Perez might not have deserved his All-Star nod this year, but fans know who he is and that’s what got him into the dance. Sometimes it’s all about popularity, kids.

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