TRIBE’S MANE MAN

Closer Chris Perez backs up talk

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Bored by 40-year-old artifacts that seem ancient to them, a group of junior high students were on a long, strange trip through a Grateful Dead exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when they saw something they could relate to amid Jerry Garcia’s guitar collection.

Sunglasses sweeping back long hair, the bearded guy in jeans, retro sneakers and jeweled wristwatch had a rock star’s look and swagger.

The kids rushed Chris Perez.

“What’s your favorite thing so far?” asked Cleveland’s colorful closer.

“You,” yelled one of the youngsters.

Not everyone has been as excited to see Perez lately.

Perez has been something of a renegade during this season’s first two months. He’s the first player to be fined under Major League’s Baseball’s social media policy. He’s fired fastballs past opponents and offended others — most notably the Kansas City Royals — with primal screams and gestures on the mound. He’s even antagonized Cleveland fans by shaming them for not backing an Indians team fighting for first place.

As the students clamored around him, Perez posed for pictures, signed autographs and promised free tickets to one of the mom chaperones.

Moments earlier, riding an escalator to the top of the building’s pyramid-shaped glass atrium, Perez was struck by the similarities between athletes and musicians.

“You can’t be afraid to speak your mind or worry about what people think about you,” he said before pausing.

“As long as you can back it up.”

A large photo of Doors frontman Jim Morrison — leering — hung nearby. It seemed to fit.

In an age of political correctness, this CP doesn’t worry about being PC. He’s bold and brash, a baseball outlaw enjoying the ride of his life and getting paid big money to play a kid’s game. He’s making friends and enemies, and rattling everyone’s cage along the way.

Pure Rage.

That’s Perez’s nickname, though it also would work nicely as the tag for a heavy metal band or punk group. It’s also the attitude Perez carries with him to the mound. Now in his second season as Cleveland’s closer, the hard-throwing 26-year-old, acquired in a trade from St. Louis in 2009, has become one of the game’s top relievers.

After blowing his first chance of the year at home on opening day he’s been perfect ever since.

Perez’s record is near pristine. His performances have been far from perfect.

Watching him try to get the last three outs is not for the faint of heart. Perez is part knife thrower, part high-wire walker, a daring act loaded with surprise and suspense. He rarely retires the side easily, often putting a runner — or two — on base before working his way out of a self-inflicted mess.

It’s the way he’s always done it, going back to his days at Miami (Fla.).

“I was rough,” Perez said. “I would walk three in a row and strike out three in a row. That still is me sometimes. But I’m more refined now.”

Last year, Perez made his first All-Star team and finished with 36 saves despite a tendon injury in his elbow he didn’t reveal until spring training this year. Without his best stuff, Perez was forced to adapt. He learned how to pitch instead of just raring back and throwing heat.

If he gives up a hit, Perez shrugs it off.

“This is going to sound bad, but it’s all about cockiness and self-confidence,” he said. “I take the mentality that if they get a hit, it’s a fluke and it’s not going to happen again. If I give up two hits, I think, ‘OK, it’s really fluky and I’m going to get the next three guys out.’

“I’m not going to lie, some days you don’t have it, you don’t feel right and the ball is nowhere I want it to go. What are you going to do? Cry? No, you’ve got to get the next guy.”