Ranking the Catchers
With a commanding presence behind the plate and a rocket arm, Johnny Bench was the best defensive catcher in history. But that wasn’t all. The powerful right-handed slugger won a pair of Most Valuable Player awards and led the Reds to six division titles, four pennants, and two championships. He hit an amazing .533 in the 1976 World Series and belted 10 post-season homers.
Catcher Factoids:
Roger Bresnahan was the first catcher to wear shin guards… After a splintered bat struck him in the adam’s apple, Steve Yeager was the first to wear the flap below his mask to protect his neck… The first player to wear a hockey-style mask was ?.
Most Cerebral Ballplayer
Light-hitting, Princeton-educated Moe Berg managed to play 15 seasons in the majors. Recruited as a spy during WWII, Berg once listened to a lecture by Werner Heisenberg with orders to shoot him if the physicist hinted that the Germans were close to building a nuclear weapon. Moe Berg’s page ⇒
Quotable
“Why has our pitching been so great? Our catcher, that’s why. He looks cumbersome but he’s quick as a cat.”
— Yankee manager Casey Stengel praises Yogi Berra
♦ Best plate-blocker, Scioscia ⇒
Top 30 Catchers of All Time
1 Johnny Bench
2 Josh Gibson
3 Gary Carter
4 Ivan Rodriguez
5 Mike Piazza
6 Carlton Fisk
7 Roy Campanella
8 Yogi Berra
9 Bill Dickey
10 Gabby Hartnett
11 Biz Mackey
12 Mickey Cochrane
13 Joe Mauer
14 Ted Simmons
15 Buster Posey
16 Thurman Munson
17 Roger Bresnahan
18 Louis Santop
19 Buck Ewing
20 Gene Tenace
21 Wally Schang
22 Deacon White
23 Charlie Bennett
24 Elston Howard
25 Bill Freehan
26 Jorge Posada
27 Yadier Molina
28 Ernie Lombardi
29 Jim Sundberg
30 Darrell Porter
Best Managers
Al Lopez
Connie Mack
Wilbert Robinson
Ralph Houk
Joe Torre
Mike Scioscia
Steve O’Neill
Bruce Bochy
Paul Richards
Gold Glovers not ranked
Charles Johnson
Benito Santiago
Brad Ausmus
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Ray Fosse
Randy Hundley
Johnny Edwards
Jody Davis
Earl Battey
Best of the Unranked
Benito Santiago
Manny Sanguillen
Rick Dempsey
Jim Hegan
Deacon McGuire
Most One-Dimensional
Bill Bergen
Cliff Johnson
Negro Leaguers
Had Josh Gibson had the chance to play in the major leagues, he may have become the greatest catcher in baseball history. His raw power was scary. Buck O’Neil claimed that Gibson hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium.
All Time Greatest Catchers Player Pages
Top 30 For Each Position
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