Posted on 09/20/2015 12:17:46 PM PDT by EveningStar
... Great catchers are so difficult to find because it takes a very unique set of skills to succeed defensively and offensively. That’s why in the present day, it’s much more common to see a talented defensive catcher who’s average at the plate. That, or a power-hitting catcher that struggles to keep base runners at bay. Needless to say, when a catcher reaches a triple-threat level—that is hitting for average, power, and good defense behind the plate—it’s a rarity. Everyone on this list reached that status during their respective careers, making them the six greatest catchers ever ...
(Excerpt) Read more at cheatsheet.com ...
Gary Carter all the way. A class act all his life.
Carlton Fisk
Manny Sanguillen
Hall of Famer Roy Campanella.
Only because it was great to hear the Montreal PA announcer announce his name.
The list looks good.
But I would add Gary Carter. He was better than Piazza and equal to Fisk.
Mickey Cochrane and Gabby Hartnett were pretty good way back.
Bobo demanded that Reggie Love be placed on the list, then someone whispered something in his ear and he said, “Oh! Baseball!”
I recall a show a long time ago that had Carlton Fisk, Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, and Gary Carter (if I recall correctly) all discussing the game among themselves.
No way I would put Roseboro ahead of Rodriquez.
Roseboro was a solid player: .250 BA, maybe 100-125 home runs.
Rodriquez was a .296 hitter and over 300 HR. He will be in the HOF. Roseboro will not be.
What? Bob Uecker didn’t make the list? I’m shocked. Seriously, I always got a chuckle out of Uecker’s advice for catching the knuckle ball: “wait till it stops rolling, then pick it up.”
These lists always favor those we remember, rather than those whom we know by stats or stories.
Del Crandall
Good list. But I would swap Bench and Yogi. Berra was a better hitter with equal power to Bench and won the MVP three times. Bench had a better arm but I would still take Yogi. Both were clutch. Of course I spent most of my youth at Yankee Stadium since my buddies father was an usher there so I am biased.
Campanella, who joined the Dodgers in 1948 as one of the first black major leaguers, was an undisputed star of one of baseball’s greatest teams, the storied “boys of summer” who won five National League pennants between 1949 and 1956. A Three-Time M.V.P.
A flawlessly graceful catcher and an astute handler of pitchers, Campanella, who was also a feared slugger, was named the league’s most valuable player three times in his 10-year career, in 1951, 1953 and 1955.
He had his highest batting averages in 1951 (.325) and 1955 (.318), but his greatest season was in 1953. He had a .312 batting average that year and established three single-season records for a catcher: most putouts (807), most home runs (41) and most runs batted in (142).
Although his achievements as a power-hitting catcher were sometimes exceeded by those of his American League rival, Yogi Berra of the Yankees, Campanella at his height was the best catcher in baseball and one whose greatness seemed only partly reflected by his statistics.
This view was once summed up by Ty Cobb, the legendary outfielder who was one of the five original members of the Hall of Fame and a man not known for hyperbole. “Campanella,” he said, “will be remembered longer than any catcher in baseball history.”
Campanella, who ended his career with a .276 batting average, 1,161 hits, 242 home runs and 856 runs batted in, would have undoubtedly left an even more impressive record if his career had not been doubly shortened, first by baseball’s color barrier, which kept him out of the majors until he was 26 years old, and then by the accident just two months after his 36th birthday.
I like his story about an old baseball injury he received on his throwing hand:
'Somebody stepped on it while I was working my way out of a bar after a game.'
Thurman is only considered because of who he played for and how he died. He really wasn’t an exception a player. Not if you go by his numbers, IMHO.
One glaring omission is Roy Campanella, the greatest catcher in Dodger history and one of the three best ever to play the position.
BTW, the guy who compiled the list knows catching pretty well. You can argue on the fringe but it is a pretty good list.
John Boca-BELLL-(a)!
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