Salvador Perez is chasing Royals history, but he will never touch one George Brett record
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is shut sufficient now that the countdown has grow to be unattainable to disregard. Every Salvy swing with carry pulls him nearer to MLB Hall of Famer George Brett’s franchise house run record, the type of milestone that may solely deepen his place among the most important players in Royals history.
Perez entered this West Coast highway journey with 307 profession house runs, simply 10 shy of tying Brett’s membership record of 317. On the Royals’ all-time leaderboard, that chase has grow to be a two-man story. Brett is nonetheless first. Perez is second. Everyone else, together with Mike Sweeney, is already nicely behind. At this level, Perez turning into the Royals’ all-time house run king feels sensible. It could even really feel inevitable. But one other quantity tells a a lot totally different story.
George Brett’s whole base Royals record will not be touched anytime quickly.
Perez additionally sits at 2,998 whole bases, simply two away from turning into the fifth participant in franchise historical past to achieve 3,000. That is a larger achievement, and it deserves to be handled like one. Total bases are a greater measure of offensive quantity than house runs alone, and reaching 3,000 with one franchise says loads about Perez’s sturdiness, consistency, and endurance. It additionally shows the true size of Brett’s shadow.
George Brett’s hitting prowess was unmatched in Royals historical past
Brett completed his Royals profession with 5,044 whole bases. That leaves Perez 2,046 behind, a spot equal to virtually 68% of Perez’s total present profession whole. The house run record is a dash now. The whole bases record is one other profession. That is the place Brett separates himself. Home runs reward energy, and Perez has loads of that. Total bases reward all the things. Singles depend. Doubles matter. Triple issues. So do well being, lineup presence, contact ability, and year-after-year manufacturing.
Brett had all of it. He has performed 2,707 video games for Kansas City and logged 10,349 at-bats. Perez is at round 1,735 video games and 6,585 at-bats. Brett has practically 1,000 extra video games and virtually 3,800 extra at-bats baked into that record earlier than the comparability even will get to manufacturing.
Then the extra-base numbers widen the hole. Brett had 3,154 hits, 665 doubles, 137 triples, and 317 homers. Perez’s energy stacks up superbly, particularly for a catcher, but Brett’s full offensive resume lives on a special degree. The math makes the record really feel even safer. At Perez’s profession tempo of roughly 1.73 whole bases per sport, he would want about 1,184 extra video games to catch Brett. That is greater than seven full 150-game seasons. Even if he someway repeated his career-best 337 whole bases from 2021 yearly, he would nonetheless want a little bit greater than six seasons.
That is not a knock on Perez. It is the purpose.
Salvy can go Brett within the stat that rewards energy. He will not go him within the stat that rewards all the things. And that distinction captures each legacies completely: Perez is nonetheless constructing a Royals profession worthy of historical past, whereas Brett’s whole bases record stays one of the most secure marks the franchise has.
