Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
, to Cuban-born parents, Perez lived with his family in Brooklyn, New York, and eventually moved with his family to West Windsor, New Jersey, where he attended elementary and middle school and played little league. Perez played youth travel soccer for the Pirates and the West End Warriors of
Mercer County, New Jersey
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
, winners of several state cup championships during his tenure. Perez attended the
Peddie School
The Peddie School is a college preparatory school in Hightstown, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a non-denominational, coeducational boarding school located on a campus, and serves students in the ninth through twelfth gr ...
, a private high school in
Hightstown, New Jersey
Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,Columbia University where he studied American Studies with an emphasis on creative writing, training he later used to become the first Major League Baseball player published in '' Poetry'' magazine. Perez is a fan of poets Robert Creeley and
John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic.
Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...
, as well as author
Tom Miller Tom Miller may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Tom Miller (broadcaster) (1940–1993), American radio personality and emcee
* Tom Miller (artist) (1945–2000), American artist
*Tom Miller (travel writer) (born 1947), travel writer from Tucson
* ...
.
At Columbia University, he played baseball for three years. In 2002 Perez batted .286/.315/.529 in 70 at bats with three steals without being caught, in 2003 he batted .305/.368/.437 in 151 at bats with 13 steals in 16 attempts, and in 2004 he batted .317/.370/.423 in 123 at bats with 18 steals in 19 attempts and was second team All- Ivy League. He was then selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 7th round (195th overall) of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, and signed for a
signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Midwest League in 2005 and 2006. The club began play in 1995 and was previously known as the Michigan Battle Cats and the Battle Creek Yankees. They played th ...
Single-A team, he batted .289/.361/.406 in 522 at bats while leading the league with 13 triples and 57 stolen bases (the third-most ever in a season for a Tampa Bay minor leaguer), with 93 runs (2nd in the league), and 58 walks (7th). He was named the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays Player of the Year.
In for the Visalia Oaks, Perez led the league with 123 runs (which also led the minor leagues, and set the Devil Rays' minor league record) and 9 triples. He batted .307/.398/.397 in 541 at bats with 33 stolen bases (4th in the league), 78 walks (2nd), and 8 sacrifice hits (5th). He was named the team MVP.
In for the Montgomery Biscuits, he batted .308(9th in the league)/.423(3rd)/.481 in 393 at bats, with 84 runs (2nd), 10 triples (2nd), 32 stolen bases (4th; a team record), 76 walks (3rd). Perez was named a Southern League Post-Season All-Star and a ''Baseball America'' Double-A All-Star.
Perez was playing for the Triple-A Durham Bulls in (for whom he batted .288/.361/.393 in 514 at bats with 86 runs (2nd in the league), 11 triples (2nd), 43 stolen bases (3rd), and 58 walks (8th)) when he was called up to the majors on August 31. From April 4-October 4, 2007, he wrote a journal for milb.com.
In his five season in the minors through 2008, Perez batted .289 with a .403 slugging percentage.
In the majors
Perez was called up by the Tampa Bay Rays on August 31, 2008. In his first major league at bat, on September 5, Perez recorded a single off Toronto Blue Jays closer
B. J. Ryan
Robert Victor "B. J." Ryan Jr. (born December 28, 1975) is an American baseball coach and former relief pitcher. He played college baseball at Louisiana, where he played for coach Tony Robichaux in 1997 and 1998. He also played in Major League Bas ...
. His first major league home run came in front of his hometown fans on September 14, at Yankee Stadium. In 60 at bats, he batted .250/.348/.433 with five steals in five attempts.
He contributed to the Rays reaching their first World Series by scoring the winning run as a
pinch runner
In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...
in Game 2 of the
ALCS
The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
against the Boston Red Sox, tagging at third and scoring on a short fly ball by B. J. Upton in the bottom of the 11th inning.
During 2009
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
, Perez injured his wrist on March 10 during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays after trying to make a diving catch. He left the game, and missed significant time during the 2009 season.
He was activated from the
disabled list
In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL).
General guidelines
...
and was called up in the roster expansions and filled in for the injured B. J. Upton in September. Perez was one of six Ivy Leaguers on major league rosters at the beginning of the 2009 season.
On defense, in his major league career he played 23 games in center field, 13 games in left field, and 3 games in right field, and had a 1.000 fielding percentage.
Back to the minors
Perez spent the 2010 season with the AAA Durham Bulls.
Chicago Cubs system
On January 8, 2011, Perez was traded to the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...
and seeing no time in the majors in 2011.
New York Mets system
Perez signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on July 18, 2011, and was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Independent minor leagues and retirement
Perez became a free agent after the 2011 season and did not sign with any team, eventually taking the 2012 season off.
In 2013, he played for the Sugar Land Skeeters and the Lancaster Barnstormers of the independent Atlantic League. He retired from baseball in 2014.
Major league coaching career
Ahead of the 2021 season, Perez was hired by the San Francisco Giants as a video coach, and as of 2022 was the director of video coaching.
Baseball analyst
In 2015 Perez signed on as a baseball analyst with MLB.com. Perez contributes a column called "Recovering Ballplayer" to ''
Vice Sports
Vice Media Group LLC is an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. , the Vice Media Group included five main business areas: VICE.com (digital content); VICE STUDIOS (film and TV production) VICE TV (also known as VICELAND); ...
''. While injured during the 2009 season, Perez also wrote a baseball blog for '' The New York Times''.