By MATT PIKE
In 2023, Venezuela came a Trea Turner grand slam away from reaching the semifinals in the World Baseball Classic.
They can thank their catcher, Royals veteran Salvador Perez for that. Perez slashed .429/.467/.929 with a home run, four doubles, and six RBIs, five of which came in a 9-6 victory against Puerto Rico, en route to being named to the All-WBC team at the end of the tournament.
Now, Perez will be the face of the team, as he was named the captain ahead of the World Baseball Classic in 2026.
This will be the fourth Classic for Perez, who has played in every tournament since 2013 when he was just 23 years old and had yet to be elected to the first of nine Major League All-Stars Games. He's appeared in eight career WBC games and in that time has slashed .346/.393/.808 with two home runs and eight RBIs.
While Perez may be the captain, there is no shortage of great Venezuelan catchers at manager Omar Lopez's disposal to back him up: William and Willson Contreras, the latter of which moved to first base this past season for the St. Louis Cardinals, Gabriel Moreno, and Francisco Alvarez are just a few of the backstops who could potentially suit up for the nation in March.
Venezuela will begin its World Baseball Classic tournament in Miami on March 6 against the Netherlands.
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