Royals' Perez: I had three concussions in 2014

Salvador Perez spent more time behind the plate than any other catcher in baseball last summer, squatting for 161 games between the regular season and the Kansas City Royals' remarkable postseason run.

The 25-year-old recently admitted, however, that he paid a physical price for his durability.

Perez, who earned a second straight All-Star appearance in 2014, revealed in a recent interview with Esquire Magazine that he suffered three concussions last season as a result of foul balls. His revelation came after he was asked about the rule implemented prior to the 2014 campaign that eliminated "egregious" collisions at home plate.

"I feel so happy about the new rule they made," Perez told Josh Dean. "That will help a lot of cases. I had three concussions last year. They were from foul balls, not collisions, but these are dangerous situations."

Though Perez's concussions didn't force him to miss much - if any - time, several catchers have had their careers derailed by head injuries in recent years. Joe Mauer, a three-time Gold Glove award winner, became a full-time first baseman in 2014 due to concussion problems, while John Jaso missed the final few months of the season after suffering a concussion in July.