On the first pitch the Royals catcher saw Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, a first-inning fastball on the outside corner of the zone from Indians right-hander Zach Plesac, Perez demolished it 439 feet to straight-away center field and into history.
With his 48th home run of the season — a day after hitting his 47th — Perez tied Jorge Soler for the Royals single-season home run record. Soler hit 48 in 2019 and recently told Perez during a phone call to “go get” his record, according to Perez.
The crowd at Kauffman Stadium erupted as Perez jogged around the bases and celebrated with his teammates. They would not sit down when he entered the Royals’ dugout and got louder with every second he didn’t pop out for a curtain call.
When he did step out to the warning track dirt for his second curtain call in as many days, Perez had a huge smile on his face, pumped his arms to the crowd and tipped his helmet.
The joy of Perez’s 48th home run quickly turned into confusion and concern when he was helped into the dugout after the top of the second inning. Trainers assisted Perez, still wearing his catcher’s gear, into the clubhouse. When it was time for Perez to go into the on-deck circle in the bottom of the inning, he didn’t come out right away, and it looked like manager Mike Matheny went down to check on Perez. Moments later, Perez came out with a bat and hit for himself.
After Perez struck out to end the inning, backup catcher Cam Gallagher went out to warm up Royals starter Daniel Lynch but was called back to the dugout to put on his full catcher’s gear to sub in for Perez, who walked straight down into the tunnel after his at-bat.
The Royals haven’t provided an update on Perez’s status.