St Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was ranked as the best active catcher and number three on the all time list (UPI file photo)

Behind the Mask: The Three Best Catchers

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

Most catchers are defined by their defense. There are two positions in the game of baseball where you must field the ball to play every day. One is shortstop, the other is catcher. And unless you are a great hitter, it will be tough to stay on a regular line-up there are some obvious exceptions, like Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza, considered a poor defensive catcher but #1 in history for catchers in home runs with 427 #4 in runs-batted-in with 1, 335 and #6 in runs scored with 1,048. Piazza was also a designated hitter during his last season in the majors with the Oakland A’s in 2007, the A’s just needed Piazza to hit, since they had Jason Kendall and Kurt Suzuki handling the backstop.

Catching is the most physically demanding position in the game. A catcher has to work the signals and direct his pitcher, he has to hold runners on base and squat for hours. As a kid I was always impressed by such catchers as Del Crandall, Ted Kluszewsi. Yogi Berra, Sherman Lollar, Earl Battey, Johnny Romano, Clay Dalrymple and others.

In those years the uniforms were made of heavier material not to mention the heavier masks and all the gear they would have to wear. A lot of these guys would catch 120 to 150 games each season. The first indoor stadium with “room temperature” was the Houston Astrodome inaugurated in 1965, so these catchers played outdoor most of their careers during hot humid days and nights. Like everything else, the position has evolved and today some of the catcher’s masks are colorful and very light in comparison to those of decades past.

Here are the three best defensive catchers in history. Maybe the best three all-around catchers: Most Gold Gloves

1-Iván Rodríguez 13

2-Johnny Bench 10

3-Yadier Molina 9

Iván Rodríguez won 13 Gold Gloves, the most for a catcher. The Hall of Fame catcher played for 21 years and a total of 2,543 games(most games caught 2,427) Lifetime average .296(hit over.300 in ten different seasons)311 home runs,1,232 runs batted in and 1,354 runs scored. For a catcher(at the time of his retirement)the most hits,2,749,the most All Star Game starts with 12(tied with Johnny Bench) and also tied with Yogi Berra with 14 appearances in All Star games. Seven Silver Slugger Awards, second only to Mike Piazza’s 10

In 2003 Rodríguez won the World Series title with the Florida Marlins. (Quote)National’s manager Dusty Baker: “Pudge was a great catcher. Playing against him, he shut down the running game. I mean, shut it down. That’s big–you didn’t run at all. He was a great clutch hitter and an outstanding, durable catcher.

Johnny Bench dominated the 1970’s with the Cincinnati Reds.”The Big Red Machine” and played for the Reds his whole 17 year career. 2,158 games and was as strong as any catcher in history from 1968 to 1977 he won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves. With a .267 career average, 389 home runs and 1,376 runs batted in while scoring 1.091 runs. Won two World Series and was selected to 12 All Star games. He was a two-time winner of the National League MVP Award.

(Quote)”Johnny Bench’s desire to succeed and his excellent work habits were two of the reasons why he was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot” -Earl Weaver, Orioles manager and fellow Hall of Famer.

Yadier Molina (youngest of the Molina brothers, José and Bengie) is a nine time All-Star, two time World Champion and #1 among active catchers with 41 percent of base runners caught stealing and 65 pickups. Molina has played for 16 years with the St Louis Cardinals, an anomaly these days and for a sure future member of the Hall of Fame. At the end of the 2019 season Yadier Molina lifetime average was .282 with 156 home runs and 916 runs batted-in.

(Quote)”The things he does mid-game, you’d have to watch him with a pretty educated eye as far as realizing when he does something that has meaning. The other side won’t even know.” -Mike Matheny, St. Louis Cardinals manager

Special mention for Yankee Yogi Berra who won ten World Series as a player more than any other player in major league history, selected to 18 All-Star games and is one of six players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. Yogi’s career numbers are not too shabby, .285 hitting with 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. Not to take any credit from Yogi, a great catcher on his own, he also played with winning teams loaded with super talented teammates.

Baseball fans talk all the time what record can or cannot be broken here is one very unlikely to be broken, because few great players today play their whole careers with the same team. Yogi’s Ten (10) World Series titles as a player. Yogi won three more championships as a coach, and made an astonishing 21 total World Series appearances as a player, coach or manager. Like the great Yankee announcer Mel Allen would say: How about that!

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish play by play voice heard on KIQI 1010 San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com