Indians Catcher Roberto Perez looks Strong for the Season
By: Natalie Turk
Two-time Gold Glove winner Roberto Perez showed up to Arizona a little leaner. The 32-year-old catcher hired a personal trainer during the off season. He lost 25 pounds and worked to regain his strength. Perez, fondly nicknamed “Bebo” suffered through a few injuries last season.
A lingering shoulder issue crept in last summer and Perez suffered a right wrist contusion in the Wild Card game. He was hit by a pitch in Game 2 against theYankees.
Perez was the backup catcher for five years behind Yan Gomes. In 2018 Gomes was traded to the Washington Nationals and Perez eagerly assumed the role.
He struggled offensively in 2020 with a batting average of .165 with 97 at bats but defensively Perez was lights out. He led all catchers in the majors in caught stealing percentage. According to Stat LLC he holds the highest career caught stealing rate of 38.3% of all active catchers.
Not only is he a threat to base stealers, but Perez is also almost flawless at the backstop. He carries a 126-game errorless streak. Bebo hasn’t been charged with catcher’s interference or a passed ball in 256 innings.
One of the most important pieces of Perez’s work behind the dish is his rapport with the pitchers. He is a veteran player and that is important for the young guys on the mound. His ability to frame the ball as well as guide the pitcher is integral.
Perez is enjoying a good spring training. He’s batting .333 with two homeruns one of those being a grand slam. He knows what’s at stake this season and he’s up for the challenge with this to say “I've got a big responsibility this year in my hands. Looking forward, it's going to be a fun season. … There's a lot of people out there counting us out, but we're going to surprise a lot of people.”
The Indians also have backup catcher Austin Hedges. He came over from San Diego as part of the Mike Clevinger trade. Hedges is also a good signal caller behind the plate. However, his bat is lacking as he carries only a career .198 batting average. Unfortunately, Hedges is showing more of the same in spring training as he’s 2/25 with 14 strikeouts. He also had a pair of errant throws to the outfield thus far. His ability to work with the pitchers does make him valuable despite the lack of offense.
Perez will be the main wheelhouse behind the platewith Hedges for back up. These two men will lead one of the best pitching rotations in the American League.
You won’t want to miss our Indians watch party tomorrow 04/03/21 at Slim and Jumbos in Garrettsville, Ohio! Tons of giveaways and a live show from CLE TRIBECAST!
