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Salvador Perez furthered his mark as a Kansas City Royals all-time great on Wednesday. All he needed was one swing to make franchise history.
With a two-run shot that got the Royals on the board in their 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants, Perez tied the player most regard as the greatest Royal ever on the team's home run list.
Salvador Perez ties George Brett for the most HRs in Royals history
Perez's 14th home run of the season was the 317th of his career, tying George Brett for the franchise record.
Perez, 36, is now one more blast away from being alone at the top, and he put up his total in far fewer games. Perez, who has been with the Royals since making his MLB debut in August 2011, is in the midst of his 15th MLB season — he missed all of 2019 with an elbow injury. He hit his 317th career home run in his 1,802nd game.
Salvador Perez hit his 317 HRs in far fewer games
That's in contrast to Brett, who spent his entire 21-year career with the Royals and played in 2,707 games from 1973-1993. But Brett did far more than just bring power to third base. He also finished his career with 3,154 hits, 1,596 RBI, 1,583 runs, 201 stolen bases and a .305 batting average.
George Brett's overall resume remains unmatched for the franchise
Accolade-wise, Brett has 13-time All-Star selections, three-time Silver Slugger awards, the 1980 American League MVP, a Gold Glove honor and leading the Royals to the organization's first World Series championship in 1985 on his resume.
Salvador Perez still deserves respect for his career in Kansas City
As for Perez, in addition to being on the precipice of owning the most home runs with the Royals, he also has 1,059 RBI, 746 runs scored, 1,790 hits, 334 doubles and a career slash line of .261/.299/.452. So far in 95 games in 2026, Perez has 14 home runs, 43 RBI despite only hitting .211.
A nine-time All-Star in his own right and having played a key role on the 2015 team that brought another World Series title to Kansas City, Perez has done enough to earn his respect and be beloved by Royals fans forever.
However, even when he passes Brett, it's safe to say that won't signal a changing of the guard in terms of who most will still regard as the greatest Royal of them all. That will forever be Brett, franchise home run king or not.
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