On Friday, Pool D will begin play in loanDepot Park. It’ll be Team Venezuela “welcoming” the Netherlands. One crucial piece to that team is Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who was named captain of the team. He will be hitting fifth and is the designated hitter in Venezuela’s lineup.

“I’m super happy to be the captain for Venezuela,” Perez told reporters on Thursday. “I think every time we represent our country, it’s a different feeling. I’m happy to be here. I’ve said this before, and I will always say it, but we are all captains. The difference is that I have a ‘C’ on my jersey. The guys are focused, and we are surrounded by hard workers, and we will give the best we’ve got every day.”

For the Venezuelan catcher, playing in the World Baseball Classic, representing his country, is like playing in Game 7 of the World Series.

“Players need to be here and feel the emotion,” Perez said. “When you hear that anthem, the fans and the Venezuelan’s who are rooting for you. One of the best games I’ve ever played in was in 2023 between the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Since we were taking BP, the stadium was completely full.”

Perez, 35, will be participating in his fourth World Baseball Classic, having competed in the 2013, 2017, and most recently, 2023 editions of the tournament. Last season with the Royals, Perez played in 155 games, slashing .236/.284/.446/.729 with 30 home runs, 100 RBI, and a 95 wRC+. Despite his age, Perez continues to be a mainstay in the Royals lineup and will serve as a crucial piece for Venezuela.

Despite being a nine-time All-Star, 2015 World Series champion, World Series MVP, five-time Gold Glove winner, and five-time Silver Slugger, Perez believes that there are still things he can work on.

“I think that is going to make the difference when it comes to the type of baseball player you wanna be in MLB,” Perez said. “I’ve always said that the sacrifice is dedication and how much you want to get better day-by-day. For many, some may think that for Salvador Perez, he won’t be playing for much longer, but I don’t see it from that point of view.”

The biggest game of the tournament will take place on March 11th when Venezuela and the Dominican Republic will clash in Miami. It’ll be Sandy Alcantara on the mound for the DR, but no starter has been announced for Venezuela. Perez, who has experienced that matchup before, spoke to it 

“I’ve always said that any team in the WBC can surprise people,” Perez said. We need to come out and play hard, give our best every day, no matter who we are facing. Everyone knows that the Dominican Republic is a great team, and they are extremely talented, but we will wait for that day to come, and we will see what happens after the game.”

Prior to the biggest game of the pool-play round, Venezuela will take on the Netherlands on Friday and Israel on Saturday, and after Monday’s off day, they take on Nicaragua.

Kevin Barral is on-site in Miami, covering the World Baseball Classic for DiamondCentric.