Roberto Perez probably wasn’t the first catcher the Indians envisioned as the one to help them through a difficult postseason run. And considering the drama of the trade deadline, he probably wasn’t the second, either.
Yan Gomes was the first option as the Indians’ starting catcher when the year began, and the one who has a long-term deal with the club. Then it appeared as though All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy was heading to the Indians before he nixed that deal and instead accepted a trade from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Texas Rangers.
The Indians signed Gomes through at least the 2019 season and were willing to give up four prospects for Lucroy. But after an injury and a vetoed-trade, it’s been Perez who has led the Indians through the stretch of terrific pitching that has stifled the lineups of the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the postseason.
It’s on the defensive side that Perez takes the most pride, and the one that paved his way through the minor leagues and to the majors. Today, he’s one of the better all-around defensive catchers in the league.
At a time in which a great deal of stress has been put on the Indians’ pitching staff, Perez’s abilities as a game-caller and a pitch-framer have never been more needed, along with his above-average arm.
He finished tied for fifth in baseball in Called Strikes Above Average at 0.017, per Baseball Prospectus, indicating his value as a pitch framer. That skill might have led Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista to his dispute with the umpires in the American League Championship Series and his comments about “circumstances” being against the Blue Jays. Every borderline strike the Indians get puts the pitcher in a better spot.
“When you do miss and it’s slightly off, and you can get a strike, that’s a huge benefit,” Indians starter Trevor Bauer said. “It can change an at-bat, which can change a whole inning. A leadoff hitter 1-0 or 0-1, in the playoffs especially, that’s a momentum swing.”
As much as anything, the pitchers value the rapport Perez has with each of them as he calls a game.
“It’s huge. Being a pitcher, I don’t think I can emphasize this enough,” Josh Tomlin said. “We’ve been with Berto and Gomes for a couple years now, so we’re kind of being spoiled as pitchers. But when they put a sign down and you have it in your head already what you want to do, and you see that, conviction to me is a hell of a lot better than stuff.
“You can have stuff all day long, but if you don’t have conviction in the pitch that you’ve got to throw, it can get hit a long way.”
There were others in Toronto who went out of their way to praise Perez’s defensive value. Some think it put Perez right behind Andrew Miller, who was named Most Valuable Player of the ALCS.
“Andrew deserved the MVP, obviously. But Berto was right there with him, in my opinion,” Bauer said. “He caught every inning. He called the game. We didn’t stray from the game plan. He adjusted in-game very well. … It’s very tough to do what he did, being hurt in the middle of the year and come back and play at the level he has defensively.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com.