Three hours before first pitch, Royals catcher Salvador Perez grabs a couple of his wooden bats and carries them to the hitting cage behind the Kauffman Stadium home dugout. Over the ensuing half hour, Perez and several teammates cycle through their pregame routines, taking swings at live pitching.
Except Perez’s batting practice regimen comes with a quirk. After hitting waist-high pitches down the middle of the plate, Perez asks his coaches to throw him pitches outside the strike zone.
Off the plate. Above the hands. And most importantly, pitches just a foot off the ground.
“I have to (practice) hitting it because I don’t take that pitch,” Perez said.