He gets that he’s a defense-first catcher, and admitted as much to T.J. Zuppe of The Athletic, but he’s committed to rounding his game out and showing that he can be the complete package for the Cleveland Indians. The first step toward improvement: less looking at strike one.
It’s just a mindset. Don’t waste an at-bat. Just be ready to hit your pitch and drive it. It’s been working.
It seems he’s on to something. Last season, Perez hit just .191 after falling behind 0-1 with 43 strikeouts (per FanGraphs). Of course, it’s rare that a player does better the deeper in the count they get, as the pitcher is working from a point of strength, and Perez’s Statcast pitch count graph doesn’t really provide us with anything unique.