Mike Augello and I will be putting these lists together and then come up with one master list for each position. I added Josh Gibson so he’s not left out. See what you think? I know we all have opinions about this.
1. Johnny Bench – This two-time MVP and 14-time all-star set the standard for the position. Scouts were always looking for the next Bench to be their backstop. The former Cincinnati Reds catcher was a run producer and his 148 RBI year was incredible and still the MLB record for catchers in a season.
2. Roy Campanella – My parents told me how good he was as a catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers. His ten seasons in the big leagues happened for two reasons. The first was his negro league seasons and the second was a car accident that left him wheelchair-bound. Superb hitter and defensively too. His 41 home run season was a record until Todd Hundley of the Mets broke it in 1996.
3. Josh Gibson – My frame of reference is asking a few Negro League players about him and getting their honest feedback. He never played in major league baseball. His power was legit. Statistics in the negro leagues weren’t completely accurate so know that as well. Bill James said he was good defensively and was comparable to Bench and Fisk as an example. His 238 home runs were the most in the Negro Leagues. He hit over 800 but many of those games were in question as far as the talent level.
4. Gary Carter – “The Kid” was the catalyst for the New York Mets in 1986 and he was already a star with the Montreal Expos previously. He’s seventh all-time in home runs by a catcher and was a terrific defensive catcher as well.
5. Mike Piazza – The best hitting catcher of all time. His 396 home runs as a catcher are the high watermark and clutch hitting sets him apart plus his lifetime .308 batting average starring with the Mets and Dodgers.
6. Buck Ewing – He was tremendous defensively leading the NL in assists by a catcher three times. In the Deadball era he led all catchers in home runs with 10 in 1883. He was in the top 10 in slugging percentage nine times. Identified with the NY Giants.
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7. Brian McCann – He was known for his time with the Atlanta Braves. His power was really good ranking him 8th all-time at the position. McCann threw out runners at a good clip, but he made his fair share of errors.
8. Buster Posey – With the San Francisco Giants, he won one MVP has a lifetime .302 batting average. He lost time due to injury but finished his career out strong. He was just the fourth catcher to win a batting title in 2012 with a .336 batting average. He threw out a lot of runners too.
9. Gabby Hartnett – He was a great fielding catcher with a strong arm. Hartnett was the standard for catchers in his day. He was the first catcher to hit 20 homers with the Cubs.
10. Ted Simmons – Known for being with the Cardinals and Brewers, “Simba” used to have records with 2,472 hits and 483 doubles both broken by I-Rod. He caught 122 shutouts in his career.
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