Pérez was born in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. He was abandoned by his father at age four and raised by his mother, Yilda Diaz. When he was eight years old, the two relocated to Valencia to live with Yilda's mother, Carmen de Diaz. Yilda supported the family by selling homemade cakes, flan, and lasagna.

To keep her only child busy, Yilda enrolled him in a baseball school in Valencia, where he showed an ability to throw, catch, and hit balls as young as age six. He played pitcher and shortstop with teams competing in state and national tournaments. At age eight, he indicated his preference to play catcher, and, at 14, set his mind to playing that position professionally. Pérez played with and against current Major Leaguer and fellow Venezuelan second baseman José Altuve during his boyhood.

Pérez was signed by the Royals for $65,000 when he was 16 years old. His minor league career began in 2007 when he was placed in the Arizona Rookie League.

Pérez was called up to the majors for the first time on August 10, 2011. He picked off two baserunners, caught five popups – both uncommon occurrences for the Royals that season – and recorded his first hit. On August 29, Pérez hit his first Major League home run against Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers. In that game, Pérez was a triple away from hitting for the cycle. In his rookie year, he batted .331 with 3 HRs and 21 runs driven in, in 39 games played.

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Wikipedia