Healthy Perez a boost to offense

Tribe catcher Roberto Perez healed up in the offseason and dropped some weight. The difference has shown in his batting statistics so far in 2021.

No one except the catcher himself knew how much pain Roberto Perez played with last season, though, looking back, clues were there.

Perez batted .239, homered 24 times and drove in 63 runs in 2019 while playing in 119 games in his first season as the Indians’ primary catcher. A year later, in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Perez hit .165, homered once and drove in five runs in 32 games.

Perez played the first three games in 2020 and then spent three weeks on the injured list with a right shoulder strain. He was far from 100 percent when he returned.

He was fine behind the plate, but something had to still be drastically wrong when he stood at the plate.

“There is no excuse,” Perez said on April 10 after hitting his second home run of the 2021 season in the 11-3 rout of the Tigers. “Last year was tough. I was playing through the shoulder inflammation or whatever I had.

“I wasn’t using my top hand at all when I was hitting. But 2020 is in the past. Right now I’m focused on 2021 and how I’m going to help my team win ballgames. That’s all I’m worried about.”

Perez has already doubled his 2020 home run total in six games. He is one RBI shy and one scored shy of the six he scored last season. He has a .269 batting average.

And he is still the same defensive catcher his pitchers always praise. He played all of 2019 and 2020 without allowing a passed ball. Ditto so far 2021.

“I watched a lot last year on TV,” said manager Terry Francona, who because of health issues was in the dugout only 14 games last year. “I remember thinking there were pitches he normally would handle that he couldn’t pull the trigger.

“He’s really committed to keeping that rightcenter field approach now. Then he gets a pitch he can handle and jumps all over it. That’s really good. When he gives us offense, that’s a big boost for us.”

Perez lost 25 pounds in the offseason. He strengthened his right rotator cuff by exercising with stretch bands.

The 2020 injury was to his throwing shoulder. Although it hampered him at batting, he still threw out 10 of 14 would-be base stealers. The 71 percent success rate led all Major League catchers. He gave up a stolen base in the 2021 season opener and cut down a runner in the home opener against Kansas City April 5.

“Berto calls the best game in all of baseball in my opinion,” pitcher Zach Plesac said on a Zoom call.

Perez was rested in the April 11 game with the Tigers. Austin Hedges started at catcher. Perez will be behind the plate on April 12 in a road game with the White Sox. Lanky righthander Triston McKenzie will make his 2021 starting debut for the Indians. Left-hander Carlos Rodon is slated to start for the White Sox.