Royals catcher Salvador Perez wears perfume, says MLB umpires love it

Salvador Perez says he wears Victoria's Secret perfume during games. (AP/BLS Illustration)
Salvador Perez says he wears Victoria's Secret perfume during games. (AP/BLS Illustration)

You know how baseball players are about superstition and routine. Something works once and they stick with it. No matter how odd it is. We've seen MLB players adopt cowboy boots, a souvenir gnome and a horse mask as good-luck charms this season.

But Salvador Perez, catcher for the Kansas City Royals — nay, make that the first-place Kansas City Royals — might have everybody beat. He wears women's perfume during games, usually Victoria's Secret, and he says MLB umpires love it.

Perez, one of the better defensive catchers in the league, said in a sit-down interview with KSHB-TV in Kansas City that teammate Alcides Escobar also wears perfume during games and introduced Perez to it.

“I learned that from Alcides, because every time he plays, he uses Victoria’s Secret. So one day I said, ‘Alcides, let me try it.’ “In the first inning, the umpire says, ‘You smell good, Salvy.’ I said, ‘Thank you.’ And that game, I hit a ball and everything, so I started to use it every day. Now I use Victoria’s Secret every time.”

Perez might actually stray from Victoria's Secret. He had reporter Christa Dubill smell his hand. When she asked if he was wearing Chanel, Perez said yes. So either he's not as loyal to Victoria's Secret as he says, or he totally misunderstood. Either way, here's a GIF of a TV reporter smelling a MLB catcher's hand.

Maybe this is part of manager Ned Yost's masterplan to drum up attendance? Can't you see the ad slogans? "The Royals: We don't stink anymore. No, really, we're wearing perfume."

The best takeaway from all this, though, is that MLB umpires love perfume. As Perez said:

“The umpires? They’re awesome. They’re all my friends. I use perfume ... all the umpires like that."

Who knew the key to getting an umpire to like you was smelling good? Think about all those ejections Bobby Cox could have saved himself had he just spritzed up before heading to the ballpark.

BLS H/N: /r/baseball

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!