-
Jeff Passan, ESPN
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez won the Roberto Clemente Award, Major League Baseball’s prestigious honor awarded annually to the player whose humanitarian efforts exemplify off-the-field service.
The 34-year-old, who has spent all 13 years of his major league career with Kansas City, is the first Royals player to win the award and was lauded for his generosity not only in his adopted hometown but in Valencia, Venezuela, where Perez grew up, and Colombia, where his contributions honor a minor league pitcher who died of cancer.
“When we do something, we do because it’s coming from my heart,” Perez said. “I don’t like to do things because somebody ask me to do it. When I sit with my mom and want to do something, we just do. We don’t have to post anything on social media. I don’t like that. If I do, I do it for my heart. I want to make people happy.”
Perez, the Royals’ captain who is one of the most beloved athletes in Kansas City sports history, played on Roberto Clemente Day this year in Pittsburgh, where the Hall of Fame outfielder spent each of his 18 seasons. Perez later donated his catcher’s gear from that day to the Clemente Museum. Clemente, the Hall of Fame outfielder for the Pirates, died in a plane crash trying to deliver aid to Nicaragua after a devastating 1972 earthquake. Clemente, esteemed for his philanthropy across Latin America — including his native Puerto Rico — was 38.
“I’ve read a lot [about] Roberto Clemente. I know he was an amazing player, but he was even better outside the field,” Perez said. “So that made him super special and made this award super special.”
Perez said he is proudest of his work in Venezuela, a country ravaged by political instability and food insecurity. Along with his mother, Yilda Diaz, who raised him alone, Perez distributes food and kitchen supplies to nearly 2,000 houses near Valencia every year and has provided aid to more than 10,000 families in the area. In recent years, a youth league Perez owns has provided baseball for 220 children, offering free gear and clinics that promote education and safety.
“Everything starts where you’re coming from,” Perez said, “so you make it to this level, you have opportunity to help people.
“Venezuela is part of my heart, too,” he continued. “That’s the country that give me opportunity. And I started playing baseball when I was 4 years old, so it means a lot to me. But political and all that, it’s kind of hard to talk about that. Things happen for a reason. I believe in God, and I think one day everything’s going to change for the good way.”
Venezuela’s neighbor to the west, Colombia, has been helped by Perez as well through the Carlos Fortuna Foundation. Fortuna, a pitcher from the Dominican Republic in the Royals organization, died in 2013 of liver cancer at the age of 22. Monica Ramirez, the Royals’ education/ESL & Latin American initiatives coordinator, helped create the foundation to foster parental education, particularly in low-income Latin American countries. She met Perez when he was 16, shortly after he signed with the Royals. Perez calls Ramirez “my second mom” and when she asked him to assist in the foundation’s efforts, he said he jumped at the opportunity.
Across Kansas City — where Perez is known for his postgame watercooler showers of teammates affectionately referred to as the Salvy Splash — he is a consistent figure in the community. From his $1 million donation to the city’s Urban Youth Academy, to his work with local ALS and childhood cancer organizations, payment for surgeries to repair cleft lips in children and donations to local police, Perez hopes his wide swath of service can inspire other players to be charitable.
“Sometimes you want to rest,” he said. “Even if you think one day every month, just one day every month. That’s it. One day every month try to make some kid happy. Do something. Even get your social media, make people happy. Have a picture with somebody. Just one day every month. I think that’s going to change the world.”
A nine-time All-Star, Perez has won five Gold Gloves and was MVP of the 2015 World Series.
He posted typically strong numbers this year, leading the Royals to the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons and hitting .271/.330/.456 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs. Over his career, Perez is batting .267/.303/.459 with 273 home runs and 916 RBIs in 1,552 games.