Perez admits a kid struck him out in Wiffle ball
Salvador Perez took a seat on a bench in the Royals dugout Friday afternoon and mentioned his inability to rest Thursday, even though his team didn’t play.
“It was my off-day but I played like three innings,” Perez said with a laugh. “So I’m tired a little bit.”
Those three innings weren’t on a baseball diamond. They were played in the backyard of the Lard family in Kansas City, Kansas. Perez had lunch with a friend that afternoon and spotted kids playing Wiffle ball as he was driving home.
Perez asked to join the game and video of the gleeful scene went viral.
“You guys know me for a long time,” Perez said. “So that’s what it’s about. You know, it’s about the kids and it’s one of my favorite things to do. I love to play baseball. I love to play hard. I like to compete. But I always said that we don’t know what this fan or what this kid did to get a ticket to come to see you (in a game).
“So to have that kind of opportunity to play with them, that’s not going to happen very often. I think God put me in the right spot just to make these kids happy for a little bit.”
For the kids, it was a memory that will last a lifetime. The parents also got a thrill out of watching one of the best players in Royals history and a ninetime All-Star swing a plastic bat.
One boy in particular got bragging rights on Perez.
“By the way, they (struck) me out one time,” said Perez, who had never played Wiffle ball in his life. “It’s hard to hit that ball, I didn’t know about the way it moves.”
The boys were playing with Blitzballs, which travel farther than Wiffle balls of yore.
Perez’s backyard ball hearkened back to the famous scene of baseball legend Willie Mays playing stickball with kids on the streets in New York City, a point made by 96.5 The Fan’s Josh Vernier.
That Perez spent part of his day off playing ball with kids came as no surprise to anyone in the
Royals clubhouse.
“You don’t really get shocked hearing that, just because that’s just who he is,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “The type of guy he is, he’s just always a people person. I asked him how he did and he said he thinks he got 20 hits. He enjoyed it. He loves that type of stuff and so it’s great to see him just do what he does. It just brings a smile on everyone’s face.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro has played Wiffle ball with his sons George and Leo, and he loved the gesture by Perez.
“That was really cool to see,” Quatraro said. “It doesn’t surprise me at all, but good for him, because that’s an incredible memory for those kids, and Salvy is a big kid, right? We see him out here with a huge smile on his face every night, and now he brought that to those kids as well. So really special.”
Lesley Lard, the mother of one of the boys who played with Perez, shared a second video of the game on Friday.