KANSAS CITY, MO – Did you have a hero growing up?

I’m talking, somebody who you considered a giant? Somebody you watched and copied and learned from? Somebody you modeled your game after?

For me? It was Jason Thompson, the Detroit Tigers' first baseman in the late 1970s. Yeah, sure. I had friends who idolized Tram or Lou or even Lance. But I was a first baseman. So, I watched Thompson and studied his every move. Maybe, for you, it was Al Kaline or Miguel Cabrera or even Tarik Skubal – all those jerseys fans still wear to games at Comerica Park.

Now, I’m gonna make this even better. Let’s crank this up a bit.

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Imagine getting a chance to meet your hero. Not at an autograph signing. Not at the grocery store.

No, let’s make it even better than that. How about getting a chance to play against your hero? In a Major League Baseball game? And you ended just a few feet away from your hero.

Well, that’s what happened in Kauffman Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 23.

Eduardo Valencia, the young Tigers catcher, was behind the dish.

And here came his hero.

Salvadore Perez, the 36-year-old Kansas City Royals designated hitter.

'My growing up catcher'

Perez and Valencia are from the same city: Valencia, Venezuela.

In fact, they played for the same team growing up, a team sponsored by Firestone – Valencia several years after Perez.

“He means a lot for our city, a lot for Venezuela,” Valencia said. “He's our captain in the World Baseball Classic. He's captain for Kansas City. He means a lot for our state, for all the players and all catchers there. Our city wasn’t a poor city, not a rich city. It’s a normal city. It's a baseball city.”

Valencia met Perez briefly one time before. Valencia thinks he was around 11 years old, and they took a photo together.

“I gotta find that photo,” he said, his voice trailing off. “Maybe it’s on Facebook.”

When Valencia started to grow as a child, some people told him he was getting too big to be a catcher. Valencia is 6 feet 1. But Perez is listed at 6-2.

“Salvador is taller than me,” Valencia would respond. “I can catch.”

And so, he did.

Valencia used to study video clips of Perez playing catcher. “He's my growing up catcher,” he said.

But it’s more than that. More than baseball. Valencia just loved how Perez acted. How he treated people.

“He's so human,” Valencia said. “It’s his personality. Every time is fun. He's smiling and he trying to do his best to help the pitchers. That's what I like. That's what I love.”

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And it’s kinda revealing about Valencia, no?

So, before the Tigers played Kansas City in a three-game series, Valencia sent a note to Perez on social media.

“I wanna buy a jersey from him to sign to me because my family loved him and we are from the same city,” Valencia told me on Friday. “This is so special to me and my family.”

Finally, they were able to talk on Saturday.

“We were talking about – we train in Valencia in the same facility,” he said.

But at different times.

Then, Perez invited him to work out together during the offseason.

“He told me, if you're going this year, we're gonna see you,” Valencia said.

Meeting on the field

The Tigers and Royals played the entire series. But Perez and Valencia didn’t come together on the field, not until Sunday when Valencia was the catcher and Perez was the designated hitter.

Perez walked to home plate and tapped Valencia on the leg, the universal sign of respect.

“I just told him that it's an honor for me to be here playing against him,” Valencia said after the game.

Then, they both tapped each other on the chest.

“He just told me, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. You're a really good hitter. You're a really good player. Just do your best,'" Valencia said.

At home plate, Perez looked back at Valencia and they talked some more. “He told me, ‘I'm here for you. If you want to text me or something, just let me know.'"

Just imagine, if your hero told you that.

Standing in the Tigers clubhouse, Valencia finished the story and pulled a Royals jersey from the top of his locker.

Signed by his hero.

He looked at it, smiling like a little kid.

And sometimes, baseball is just so cool.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers C Eduardo Valencia has once-in-a-lifetime moment with his hero