Pérez a 'natural' at preventing -- and catching -- homers

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Cionel Pérez hasn’t given up a home run in an MLB game that counts since May 31, 2023. The Orioles left-handed reliever has gone 86 2/3 innings spanning 103 regular-season appearances -- as well as two innings over three postseason outings -- without anybody taking him deep.

However, that’s not the homer-related feat most people know Pérez for.

He’s the guy who uses his hat to catch home runs in the bullpen at an unreal rate of success.

“The people who see me now keep talking about that more than my stuff,” Pérez said with a smile. “But I love it, I love it.”

Surely, most O’s fans have seen Pérez’s homer hat catches by now -- whether it’s during the broadcast of a game or on social media afterward. But here’s a recap for anybody who may be out of the loop.

Pérez has spent the past two seasons trying to catch any home runs that land in Baltimore’s bullpen. It would be too easy to use a glove, though. The 28-year-old prefers to try with his hat.

In 2023, Pérez didn’t have a ton of success. But he first caught one on April 22, 2023, when a James McCann homer landed in the southpaw’s headwear.

But 2024 was a completely different story.

How many Orioles home runs landed in Pérez’s hat? Here’s the full list of the whopping seven:

June 11: Jorge Mateo’s three-run homer at Camden Yards
June 27: Colton Cowser’s solo homer at Camden Yards
July 25: Connor Norby’s solo homer at loanDepot park
Aug. 13: Anthony Santander’s solo homer at Camden Yards
Aug. 25: Ramón Urías’ three-run homer at Camden Yards
Sept. 20: McCann’s two-run homer at Camden Yards
Sept. 28: Emmanuel Rivera’s solo homer at Target Field

“He’s a magician out there with the hat. I don’t know how he does it,” bullpen catcher Ben Carhart said. “But once he catches that ball, he’s like a little kid on Christmas.”

Carhart, fellow bullpen catcher Joel Polanco, field coordinator/catching instructor Tim Cossins and a host of Orioles relievers are among those with front-row seats to Pérez’s tricks.

They’ve also learned to get out of the way.

“Before, it was whoever caught the ball, you get some camera time, you show the ball and the guy waves to you rounding second,” Carhart said. “Once he caught the first one in his hat, we kind of were like, ‘There’s no way he can do this again.’ And then, he kept doing it and kept doing it. And then, the one in Miami, when he was sitting down and caught it on the bench, it kind of was like, ‘Hey, maybe this is, like, a thing.’”

Carhart said he’s tried it himself during batting practice. He was unsuccessful.

So, is Pérez practicing this feat during Spring Training? Is he out roaming the backfields trying to snag as many homers as possible?

Is there a secret he’s now willing to share?

“Not really,” Pérez said. “That’s natural.”

Much like Pérez’s ability to keep the ball in the yard when he’s pitching. No relievers get opportunities to make hat catches of their own when he’s on the mound.

Pérez has been a key member of the Orioles’ relief corps over the past three years, recording a 3.12 ERA over 193 appearances. However, his ERA has gone up each of those seasons -- from 1.40 in 2022 to 3.54 in ‘23 and 4.53 in ‘24.

Part of Pérez’s efforts to stop that trend has been the implementation of a cutter-like pitch that he refers to as more of a “hard slider.” He already has a sinker -- a groundball pitch that is a primary reason for his lack of homers allowed -- and a bigger, curveball-like slider.

“I’ve used it a lot in this Spring Training, and I see the positive results. We’re really happy with that,” said Pérez, who has a 3.60 ERA in five innings over five Grapefruit League outings. “The pitch comes in the same line with the fastball. It’s hard.”

Pérez has two goals for the 2025 season:

1. Extend his homerless streak on the mound.
2. Catch as many O’s home runs with his hat as possible.

Clearly, Pérez’s target for the first one is zero home runs. But how about the second?

“Maybe 15 this year? I’ll try,” Pérez said.

If he gets that many chances, nobody is doubting that Pérez could hit that number.

“If they hit 10 in there, I would bet he’d catch at least eight of them,” Carhart said. “He’s getting better at it.”