Earlier this season Indians fans booed closer Chris Perez -- and now the Royals aren't too happy with him, either.
The animated and outspoken Cleveland right-hander has taken several shots at the Royals this season and then further angered Kansas City players when he made a gesture by waving his hand in front of his face after striking out Jarrod Dyson in the ninth inning on Monday.
Note that Perez didn't do it toward the Dyson or the Royals bench, but to his own players (He also nearly faceplanted after recording the final out, but caught himself). The gesture is from professional wrestler John Cena and is supposed to mean, "You can't see me."
Dyson said he didn't like it, but told the Kansas City Star, "you can't say anything if you don't win."
Royals catcher Brayan Pena went further: "That's just a sorry guy looking to be loved," Pena told the Star. "Nobody pays any attention to him so he has to do stuff like that. You don't see guys who people know, guys like Mariano Rivera, do that, do you?"
Perez didn't seem to be too upset that the Royals weren't happy, telling the Star: "If [Dyson] took offense to it -- oh, well."
Perez likened his reaction to hitters getting high-fives in the dugout after a home run.
Earlier this season Perez was fined $750 for a tweet following an incident with the Royals. After Royals starter Jonathan Sanchez hit Cleveland's Shin-Soo Choo in a game on April, the Indians retaliated with Jeanmar Gomez hit Mike Moustakas with a pitch and Perez tweeted, "You hit us, we hit you." Gomez would earn a five-game suspension for hitting Moustakas.
Earlier this month when Perez ripped Cleveland fans, he said, "We could be the Pirates or the Royals, who haven't won anything in 20 years."
While that's true, the Royals have at least won a World Series in Perez's lifetime (if only barely), something the Indians can't say.
In the end, all that matters is that Perez continues to produce -- especially against the Royals. Of his 85 career saves, 10 are against the Royals -- the most of any team, and three of his big-league leading 17 saves this season are against Kansas City.
"I don't really care," Perez told the Star when asked if he though his words would motivate the Royals. "The way I look at it is, every time I pitch, they're trying to get me. And if they're not, it's on them. They should try to get me every time."
