Salvador Pérez gave joy to children in Kansas City (+Video)

Salvador Pérez, catcher for the Kansas City Royals, feels identified with the American city that hosts the Major League Baseball (MLB) club and for that reason, he tries to share with its citizens in his free time.

Last Thursday he gave Kansas City children a pleasant surprise when he got out of his car and played some impromptu baseball games with them in the backyard of a house.

The action, one of the most curious in Pérez’s career – who this year also gave sports equipment to a baseball player from Africa named Dennis Kasumba – went viral on social media, as the young Cameron Lard, 9 years old, published a video about the catcher’s visit to his house on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, and made it clear that both he and his friends were extremely excited to share minutes with a World Series-winning catcher.

Happiness

Lesley Lard, Cameron’s mother, told the Kansas City Star that Perez’s arrival in the neighborhood became one of the most impactful events for the Kansas City community in 2024, because he is a well-loved player.

“It’s just incredible. This happens and it’s impressive. ‘Salvy’ (nickname by which the home plate defender is known) is simply on another level,” confessed the lady who did not reveal the location or the name of the neighborhood, where the national catcher gave a moment of joy to the children who dream of being big leaguers and previously shared with another player from the Kansas City Monarcas, a team not affiliated with MLB. The woman wanted to keep the identity of the other athlete anonymous.

“We have a Kansas City Monarchs player who lives with a host family in our neighborhood as well. He came to play with the kids a few weeks ago and we couldn’t believe it. But Perez’s experience is unique,” he added.

Decorated baseball player

Pérez, an athlete of Carabobo origin who intends to lead the Royals to the postseason in 2024, is an established star in the Big Top, since apart from his ring won in 2015, he was also elected Most Valuable Player (MVP) of that October Classic.

In his showcases, so far, he has five Gold Gloves and four Silver Bats. In addition, he participated in nine All-Star Duels in a career of 13 seasons, in which he only wore the Royals jersey. That generates a lot of admiration in the Lard family.

“Today (Friday) my boy will be telling the story to all the kids at school. My son said no one will believe him, so I sent the picture to his teacher so she could show that this unexpected visit from Perez really happened,” said Lesley Lard about a native who is part of a Kansas City team that with a 71-56 record shared with the Minnesota Twins the second place in the American League Central Division before the August 23, 2024 round.

Valencia / Joseph Ñambre