'You want to try to be like him': Salvy following in Clemente's footsteps

PITTSBURGH -- When the Royals signed a 16-year-old catcher named Salvador Perez out of Venezuela back in 2006, they didn’t know at the time that their franchise would be changing forever. Nine All-Star appearances, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series title and MVP Award later, Perez’s impact on the field as the fourth captain in team history has been nothing short of invaluable.

His work in the community has had just as much of an impact.

On Monday, Perez was named the team's nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award -- the most prestigious individual honor a Major Leaguer can receive. The Clemente Award recognizes a player who best represents baseball through character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

• VOTE NOW: 2024 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One

Perez has earned countless awards across his 13-year career. The Clemente Award would mean more than any of them, and Perez recognized how special it was Sunday to honor Clemente’s legacy by being able to play in Pittsburgh on Roberto Clemente Day.

“This is one of the big ones,” Perez said. “One of the best ones I’d like to win because of what it means, not because I want the award. It would mean a lot to me, to my family, to my community, to Kansas City.

“Everybody knows what [Clemente] did for his community. It’s amazing. It’s a model to follow. You want to try to be like him, help your community, help as many people as you can. Try to do some good. It’s pretty cool to be nominated.”

Perez’s work runs deep in both his native country of Venezuela and in Kansas City:

• Every offseason, Perez and his family distribute bags of food and kitchen supplies to upwards of 2,000 homes in the neediest parts of his hometown in Valencia, Venezuela. He knocks on doors and often goes to the pharmacy for those who need medicine. Over the past decade, he has directly impacted over 10,000 families.
• Perez has paid for dozens of surgeries for kids with cleft lips, annually gives more than 1,000 toys to children’s hospitals and supports police officers with car repairs, computers, office renovations and more.
• He travels to Colombia to assist the Carlos Fortuna Foundation in helping adults be the best parents they can be, even in 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdown when the country set strict travel guidelines. Perez crossed the border on foot to help families.
• Perez has partnered with organizations fighting against ALS, most notably Sarah’s Soldiers that supports Royals superfan Sarah Nauser and her fight against the disease.
• Perez works closely with Braden's Hope for Childhood Cancer in Kansas City, providing donations and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for kids fighting cancer.
• Perez owns a youth baseball league in Venezuela and provides well-kept fields and professional coaches. At the beginning of each season, players are given bags with cleats, running shoes, jerseys, gloves and financial support for their families.
• When the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy opened in 2018, Perez made a $1 million donation to help the facility and its programs empower Kansas City youth through baseball and softball, as well as academic and social opportunities. His donation matches the largest in the UYA’s history.

This summer, Perez hosted over 100 kids from Kansas City for a baseball clinic at the UYA and provided funding for each kid to go home with a backpack filled with school supplies for the upcoming year.

“To play this game, to have the shoes and bats and gloves, it’s expensive,” Perez said. “Some people don’t have that, and that means they can’t play the game. And any kid should be able to play the sport that they want to play.”

“And also, coming from Venezuela, growing up, it wasn’t the best. It was hard. I understand that part of life. People who don’t have money, don’t have food. So to be able to help where I can, I thank God for giving me the opportunity.”

Perez often uses baseball as a jumping-off point for his community work; he’ll talk about the game all day long, but he also makes sure to talk to kids about building successful lives off the field.

But he also has a lot of fun simply growing the game. Last month, he joined a backyard baseball game with some neighborhood kids. At this year’s All-Star Game, he gifted a young Ugandan player his catching gear during a memorable moment.

Even in a season in which Perez is doing everything he can to get the Royals back to the postseason -- with his teammates doing everything they can to get Perez back to the postseason – Perez has made time to help off the field and give back to the community that’s given him so much.

“The young kids who support us give me more energy to keep doing my thing,” Perez said. “They make me super happy. I love coming to work every day, it’s my job to play, but I like to see kids happy. And if I can help them be happy, that’s what I’m going to do.”