The term “sure fire Hall of Famer” and the name Salvador Perez, have been linked for years – but is that accurate? Should they be?

As I mentioned in my previous article about Zack Greinke making the Hall of Fame, bad teams need to find a way to sell tickets.

One popular way to do this for an MLB team to anchor their marketing efforts to their best player, and spew hyperbole.

Sure, this wouldn’t work if the player wasn’t good. But when a player gets longer in the tooth, has a prolonged run of success, or just plays for a really long time, “sure fire Hall of Famer/or, “next stop, Cooperstown” practically roll off the tongue.

Just like the weatherman in your neck of the woods, no one remembers his prediction from yesterday, let a lone a week ago.

Because, who is going to fact check?

I am.

And that’s why this article exists – to explore the Baseball Hall of Fame candidacy of Royals catcher, Salvador Perez, aka SALVY.

I will be using the exact criteria the Baseball Hall of Fame uses. Here is the fine print from Baseball Hall of Fame website:

Voting: Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.

It is definitely a nebulous definition. So let’s break each one down in the case of Perez as best we can.

Player’s Record: As of this writing (7/10/25), Salvador Perez is playing in his 14th season (he missed all of 2020 due to injury, when people thought he was cooked).

During those 14 seasons, Perez has accumulated 286 home runs, 970 runs batted in, 1,656 hits, and a career .266 batting average.

Perez appeared in the 2014 World Series where the Giants bested the Royals in seven games. The Royals won the World Series in 2015 and Salvy was named World Series MVP.

But how do you quantify his effect on games as a catcher? We will get into that later.

Playing Ability:

– 9× All-Star (2013–2018, 2021, 2023, 2024)
– World Series champion (2015)
– World Series MVP (2015)
– 2× All-MLB First Team (2020, 2021)
– All-MLB Second Team (2024)
– 5× Gold Glove Award (2013–2016, 2018)
– 5× Silver Slugger Award (2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024)
– AL Comeback Player of the Year (2020)
– Roberto Clemente Award (2024)
– MLB home run co-leader (2021)
– MLB RBI leader (2021)
– Most home runs by a catcher, single season (48 in 2021)

Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character: I’m lumping all of these together because it is a bunch of word-salad/synonyms your third grade English teacher would be proud that you knew were synonyms.

Have you ever seen Salvy on the baseball diamond without a smile on his face? Gregarious.

Every time he plays, looks like the best moment of his life. Pure joy. Laughing with teammates, coaches, opposing teams, and even the umpires.

Which is really saying something because the Royals have had 5 seasons in his 14 where they finished at or above .500. And made the postseason just three times.

For further perspective, the Royals have lost 100+ games in three seasons during that same span. The Royals’ combined record in 2018 and 2019 was 117-207.

If he was ever going to complain, it would’ve already happened. He’s never complained about his contract or held out. He’s never gotten into any off-field trouble.

Nebulous as it may be, Salvy checks all the boxes in the “Integrity, Sportsmanship, Character” section.

Contributions to the Team: Is there another MLB player more synonymous with his team? Salvy IS the Royals.

The only player that’s even close is Aaron Judge/Yankees and that’s because of NYC’s standing as the largest media market. And he’s never once suffered through a sub-.500 season.

Salvy has played in three postseasons, a total of 37 games. He’s accumulated 32 hits, 6 home runs, 15 RBI, and hit .229. Plus, the 2015 World Series MVP award in a winning effort.

His 286 career home runs are second in Royals’ franchise history only to Hall of Famer George Brett (317). 970 RBIs are 4th behind Amos Otis (992), Hal McRae (1,012), and Brett (1,596).

His 19 multi-homerun games is a club record. 28.6 offensive WAR is 5th highest in franchise history. His 34.8 position player WAR is tied for 5th with Frank White. His defensive WAR of 13.7 is second only to Frank White (21.9). His 680 runs scored is eighth most.

Also, how do you quantify his status as “The Captain?” How many pitchers has he made better – for one AB or for an entire career?

How many times has his baseball intelligence and attention to nuance led to a positive outcome that would not have otherwise occurred?

This is the effect a great catcher has above and beyond any other position on the baseball field.

Salvador Perez Hall of Fame Player Comparisons

At this point it is clear – Salvador Perez clearly a top-10 player in Royals history, and probably top-5.

But how does he stack up historically, against the best catchers in MLB history?

– He is 8th all-time in home runs (286) and is 21 behind “The Kid” Gary Carter (307).
– He is 15th in RBI (970) and is 20 RBIs behind Ernie Lombardi (990).
– He is 21st all-time in games (1,641).
– He is 19th all-time in runs (680).
– He is 17th in hits (1,656).
– He is 14th in doubles (309).
– 4th in hit by pitches (88).
– 6th in strikeouts (1,252).

There are 20 catchers in the MLB Hall of Fame. Which is the second fewest by position players, second only to third basemen (19).

I am going to use the next sentences to compare Salvy to the Twin’s Joe Mauer.

Mauer played 15 seasons – one more than Salvy’s current 14th/2025 season. So about the most apt comparison we can get.

Mauer was the most recent catcher inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (2024).

Actually I was wrong, all it took was one graphic. Is Salvador Perez really a Hall of Famer? Based on this graphic comparing him to Mauer, YES.

Prior to Mauer, Ted Simmons was inducted to the HOF in 2020. For Salvy fans this is a little more sobering.

Simmons had an outstanding career that spanned 20 seasons. Not bad for a guy from Omaha, Nebraska who went to Millard South High School, which is about 1.5 miles from where I am typing this right now.

If Salvy dropped dead right now, he’d have the edge on Simmons in the most important categories – dingers, slugging, team accomplishments, and success. I was joking about slugging.

As it stands, and you went Simmons vs. Salvy head to head with other Baseball Sickos, you’d probably see that vote split 50/50.

Salvy has extended his career by becoming a legit first baseman. Watching him this season, it is easy to estimate he will play at least two more seasons.

If he does that, he will begin accumulating more and more offensive stats.

Which voters love and people can easily point to as another “yes” factor, thanks to catcher being viewed as historically low on offensive numbers in the context of other positions.

But when you lump in Mauer, who legitimately lowered the bat…err, bar for catcher Hall of Fame inclusion, that makes Salvy an absolute no doubt Hall of Famer.

If you want your mind completely blown apart, take a look at “Carlton’s Fisk”:

MY GOD LOOK AT HOSE NUMS!!

In closing, YES, Salvador Perez should be in the Hall of Fame.