2008 Season In Review: Catchers

Russell Martin Down year, right? Not quite. There was a regression here for sure, but I don't think it was as bad as people think. In his 25-year-old season, Martin solidified himself as one of the top catchers in all of baseball. Among MLB catchers, Martin was 5th in VORP (33.7), 6th in bRAA (11.07) and 4th in RC (88). Yes, in general, his statistics weren't as good as his 2007 season. However, the fact remains that the disparity between his 2007 and 2008 numbers might be more about 2007 being his ceiling than his 2008 being a huge dropoff. Even if that's so, having a top 5 catcher in the major leagues is not exactly problematic for this franchise. So what are the possible reasons for his stat regression in 2008? Well everybody knows that...