Salvador Perez He has not yet decided when his last game will be, but “retirement” is no longer too far a word. After 17 seasons in the Major Leaguesthe Venezuelan receiver is guaranteed one more year with the Kansas City Royals. After 2027 you will have to talk to the manager to find out what options exist, although your intention is to continue.
“I want to play a couple more years,” he said.
His 2026 season also reflects a different stage. Perez has had less of a load behind the plate and has taken on more responsibilities in other positions. Even so, he maintains his offensive production: he reaches the final stretch with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Beyond the numbers, Pérez himself recognizes that his body needs attention and that he wants to take advantage of the rest to prepare. But he still has a motivation that keeps him looking forward. Play again in October with Kansas.
Pérez already knows what it means to be a champion. In 2015 he was one of the figures of the Royals who conquered the World Series. Now he wants to play a “Fall Classic” again and have the opportunity to win it again.
“I want to get back to the playoffs, try to have the opportunity to play in a World Series again, try to win it,” he said.
For him, achieving it would be an ideal way to close his career. “I think that would be something very nice and something to retire well, with God’s favor,” he added.
The Hall of Fame on the horizon
In the midst of this reflection on the end of his career, another question appears: what will happen five years after his last game?
Pérez knows that there is a possibility that his name will be considered for the Hall of Fame. It does not take for granted that it will end in Cooperstown. He simply recognizes that it is a natural aspiration for a player who has built a career like his.
“Every player in the Major Leagues would like to get to the Hall of Fame,” he said. “Who doesn’t want to be immortal?”
The conversation will have to wait. You must first finish your degree and then the waiting period will come.
“Let’s wait to see what happens when I retire. Let’s wait five years and let it be what God wants,” he said.
In the meantime, you can look back. Pérez said that he recently published a photograph with some of his achievements and that seeing it allowed him to measure everything he had achieved.
“You don’t realize how much you’ve done on the ball,” he explained.
The list includes a World Seriesthe prize of Most Valuable Player of that classic, nine Star Games, five Golden Gloves and four Silver Bats. In 2021, he also led the Major Leagues with 48 home runs and 121 RBIs. This year he added the scepter of World Baseball Classic to his record.
“Seeing all those triumphs, all those awards, everything that God has given me in this beautiful sport, makes me proud of myself,” he said.
Venezuela, the last chapter
If Kansas City represents practically his entire professional life, Venezuela It is the place where Pérez wants to write the last chapter.
When asked if the possibility of retiring in his country was open, he responded without hesitation. “It’s super open.”
His wish is to play one more year in Venezuela before retiring. Recent experience with Lions of Caracas He reinforced that intention, although first he wants to rest and prepare his body after a 17-year career.
But when Pérez imagines his retirement, the scene goes beyond baseball. You see yourself on the beach, on a boat, at home. She sees herself taking her children to school, accompanying them to a graduation and enjoying a summer with them.
“People really watch us during the two and a half hours of a game, but through that we have lost time even with one’s family,” he explained.
So when the time comes to say he won’t play anymore, he wants to stop. “I don’t want to get out of the ball, but I do want to take some time off, a year, two,” he said.
He still wants to play. He wants to get back to the playoffs and look for another World Series. But he also knows that the end will come. And when it arrives, Salvador Pérez wants it to be in Venezuela, close to his family and with time to enjoy a life that he had to wait for 17 years.
