Salvador Perez’s incredible chase of the single-season home run record for a catcher has essentially been the lone reason to watch the Kansas City Royals this year. The Royals are out of playoff contention and well into a long rebuild. So, you’d think that Perez’s pursuit of the record would dominate every Royals broadcast.
Think again.
Perez went into Monday’s doubleheader tied with Johnny Bench with 45 home runs, and that historic moment would finally come in the fifth inning when the All-Star catcher launched a two-run home run to left field off Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie.
It was the kind of moment that every broadcaster looks forward to being a part of, which made it especially strange to hear Royals announcers Rex Hudler and Ryan Lefebvre completely ignore the historic nature of that home run.