Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had a breakout day at the plate in Thursday’s doubleheader-sweep over the Colorado Rockies.
The 34-year-old catcher also joined some elite company in the process.
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After going 5-for-8 with four doubles in the two games, Perez’s career OPS in doubleheaders moved to 1.159. That’s good enough for second in AL/NL history according to a post from Dave Holtzman, the Royals Baseball Information and Communication Strategist, via Sport Radar.
It’s also thousandths behind leader Luis Gonzalez and ahead of the Sultan of Swat himself, Babe Ruth. Mark McGwire and Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams, a two-time winner of the triple crown, are fourth and fifth on the list.
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But the unique stats following Perez’s performance don’t end there.
Per OptaSTATS, the official ‘X’ page for statsperform.com’s United States sports coverage, since the start of the 2024 season, there have been two instances of an MLB player having multiple extra base hits in each game of a doubleheader.
Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez (13) singles in the seventh inningPeter Aiken-Imagn Images
Both were by the Royals’ Salvador Perez.
First on August 26, 2024, when he hit two doubles and two home runs in a double-dip sweep over the Cleveland Guardians; and yesterday. As a result, he’s the first player to accomplish the feat two years in a row since the legendary Willie Mays, who did it in 1960 and 1961.
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Thanks to his performance Thursday, Perez raised his batting average 35 points from .185 to .220 on the season. 10 of his 22 hits have gone for extra bases, and his 14 RBI are second on the team behind Vinnie Pasquantino (15).
Perez and the Royals next host the Houston Astros tonight, with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET. Unfortunately for Perez, they do not have another doubleheader scheduled this season.
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