Topic: Eddie Perez

Eduardo Rafael "Eddie" Pérez (born May 4, 1968 in Ciudad Ojeda, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a former Venezuelan professional baseball player and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers. He batted and threw right-handed. Pérez is the current bullpen coach for the Atlanta Braves. He was known for being pitcher Greg Maddux's personal catcher during his tenure as a player with the Braves.

Pérez was signed by the Atlanta Braves as an amateur free agent in 1986. He spent eight seasons in the Braves' minor league system, eventually progressing to their Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Braves. In 1994, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Venezuelan Winter League. He posted a .265 batting average with 19 doubles and 40 runs batted in with Richmond in 1995, earning a late season call up to Atlanta. Pérez made his major league debut with the Braves on September 10, 1995. In his first game as a starting player on September 15, he hit a home run for his first major league hit. Pérez made the post-season roster but, didn't get to play as the Braves went on to win the 1995 World Series.

Pérez served as the Braves' back up catcher behind Javy Lopez but, by June 1996, he had taken on the role of personal catcher for Greg Maddux, a job previously held by Charlie O'Brien who had been granted free agency during the off-season. The Braves went on to win the National League pennant before losing to the New York Yankees in the 1996 World Series.