Indians' Perez reveals battle with Bell's palsy
Until the postseason, the name Roberto Perez didn't seem to mean much outside of Cleveland, but the Indians backstop has made quite a reputation for himself during the playoffs, especially after drilling two home runs in Game 1 of the World Series.
But, according to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, Perez's road to the show hasn't been easy due to Bell's palsy, an autoimmune disease that paralyzes facial muscles.
Passan writes Perez woke up on June 16, 2013 with numbness in the left side of his face, accompanied by a dropping eye and a sagging mouth, which was later diagnosed as the debilitating disease.
"I could blink," Perez told Passan. "But I had to help myself to do it."
The 27-year-old, 33rd-round draft choice of the Indians in 2008 had to wear an eye patch to help him sleep at night since he couldn't close his left eye. His catching was also affected by the disability as his eye would heavily water when it came into contact with gusts of wind or blowing dirt.
After researching the disease, which had no obvious cure, Perez read that acupuncture remedied some cases, so he decided to give it a shot and it has proven successful.
Perez undergoes treatment with an acupuncturist three times a week and is "back to normal," according to the catcher.
"I've come a long way, man," he told Passan. "I'm proud of myself. I never gave up. And now I'm here in the World Series."
Perez is hitting .286/.375/1.143 with two home runs and four RBIs in the Fall Classic thus far.