The Baseball Scholar

25 responses to “100 Greatest Catchers of All-Time”

1. 

   Phogg

   April 5, 2019 at 3:23 am

   Joe Torre is the fourth best catcher of all time??? He shouldn’t be on the list at all. He was a part time catcher and is only in the hall of fame because of his managing success. Maybe Craig Biggio should be number 1. Or Jimmy Foxx. They, along with Torre, were able to compile great career offensive stats because they moved to less physically demanding positions early in their careers. This list is an insult to the great catchers in baseball history and to the intelligence of baseball fans.

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2. 

   Phogg

   April 5, 2019 at 3:56 am

   And Gene Tenace at number 6 is an even bigger joke. He caught even fewer games than Torre. You fail to realize that squatting for 9 innings per game, 140 -150 games year after year wears them down physically and affects their offensive stats. Piazza, Bench, the Pudges, Kid, all the legendary catchers would have put up much greater stats at other positions.

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3. 

   Anonymous

   April 24, 2019 at 12:53 pm

   Joe Torre over fisk and Munson hahahahahaha😂😂😂

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4. 

   tonythewiz

   May 31, 2019 at 1:42 pm

   Yogi Berra is Eight !! This Article is Clueless and Worthless !!!

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5. 

   Jim Leefers

   October 4, 2019 at 12:15 pm

   Some of the more glaring omissions on this list are Brad Ausmus, Al Lopez, Johnny Edwards, and Sandy Alomar Jr., and yet you have John Jaso who caught a grand total of 328 games in his career?

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6. 

   Anonymous

   March 28, 2020 at 8:54 am

   This is Terrible. Yadi at 27, posey at 10, he is going to suck for the rest of his career, and go to first base. Joe ahead of pudge, he catches for like only 8 years, pudge did it for his whole entire career. Yogi Berra at 6, he is number 2, and mike at number 2, what. This list is horrible

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7. 

   Welshangus

   May 13, 2020 at 4:07 pm

   Are you nuts? Hands down, Berra tops this list. Just look at the number of innings Stengel had Yogi behind the plate. Talk about a workhorse. There’s nobody on this list that comes anywhere close to the number of doubleheaders Yogi played behind the plate.

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8. 

   Welshangus

   May 13, 2020 at 5:41 pm

   I’m still steaming. Yogi won the MVP in 1951, 1954 and 1955 and finished second in 1953 and 1956, and you rank him 8th? A baseball scholar you are not.

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   1. 

      Dave Franks

      May 13, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      Mr. Welshangus, thanks for reading. I enjoy getting feedback. I’m curious what your top 10 looks like and what criteria you would you to finalize the order.

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9. 

   B.

   July 23, 2020 at 4:48 pm

   Gene Tenace over Bill Dickey, Mickey Cochrane and Roy Campanella? Pass the pipe man.

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   1. 

      James L Harris

      October 19, 2021 at 11:24 am

      Tenace was not anything close to Dickey and/or Campanella. Tenace was a DH and a good hitter.

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      1. 

         Dave Franks

         October 19, 2021 at 12:48 pm

         Gene Tenace was by any definition a catcher. According to Baseball Reference 58.7% of his defensive innings played were as a catcher and 38.9% were as a first baseman. If you’d rather use appearances as your measuring stick to account for the DH role 57.4% of his appearances were as a catcher, 40.3% were as a first baseman, and 0.4% were as a DH. In fact, he had nearly 3 times as many appearances at 3B as he had as a DH (17 vs. 6).

         If you mean Tenace was a hitter who masqueraded as a catcher then that could be a legitimate discussion.

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10. 

    James L Harris

    October 19, 2021 at 11:22 am

    You’ve got Bob Boone 40 slots too low. Otherwise very interesting.

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11. 

    Anonymous

    February 8, 2022 at 8:37 am

    Gene Tenace and Joe Torre above Harnett Simmons Yadi and Campanella?
    Torre played mostly 3B when his big stats were tallied. All the others I mentioned have higher WAR and better numbers.
    Please redo this list.

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12. 

    Anonymous

    March 9, 2022 at 7:50 am

    Waaaaaaay too focused on modern catchers. Hartnett, Dickey and Cochrane not in Top Ten make this useless.

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    1. 

       Wayne Hallett

       March 24, 2023 at 1:06 pm

       Admittedly gave the list of greatest catchers only one quick glance but noted a few players I was happy to see included and a few I was sad to see omitted, such as Sammy White, Jim Hegan, Del Rice and Wes Westrum
       I watched these guys when I was a kid and felt they were damn good catchers defensively, handling pitches and could surprise in the clutch with the lumber!
       Rankings are another thing altogether!
       Obviously the old timers didn’t have today’s physical therapy and surgical procedures, not to mention equipment improvements and the comparative eras in which they performed are difficult to compare.
       I’m not so concerned about rankings, which even with all the criteria used to formulate the rankings still, in my opinion, can’t possibly tell the whole story of a player’s value to his team and to the sport, including wins above replacement, which is a good one!
       Four great players who have never received full credit for their value to the sport, in my opinion, and I’ve watched them play in person, many times, Luis Tiant, Vern Stephens, Mickey Vernon and although he was finally enshrined, RIchie Ashburn!!
       So happy to see Gil Hodges and Minnie Minoso
       finally enshrined and more of the Negro League players recognized!!

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13. 

    Anonymous

    April 21, 2022 at 11:40 am

    Article is useless. Ever heard of Harry Danning, who caught from 1933-1942 and was a four-time All-Star? Also, since catching is a defensive position, why are the basic defensive statistics not immediately visible.

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14. 

    Wayne Hallett

    March 24, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    No question the ranking can be disputed in some cases but in others there’s little or no room for dispute on both sides, as it’s clear some players are ranked higher and some lower than they should be!
    A couple of other guys from the past who could or should have been mentioned were Clint “Scrap Iron” Courtney, Bruce Edwards, Birdie Tebbets and Ryan Hanigan.
    I guess the list needs to be expanded as time goes on!!

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15. 

    Anonymous

    September 26, 2024 at 9:12 am

    Benito Santiago is one of the best defensive catchers ever. He wasn’t that bad offensively either. Being at #71 is laughable. if not in the top 10 at least in the top twenty.

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    1. 

       Anonymous

       September 26, 2024 at 9:25 am

       Honestly, Benito Santiago in the top 20 is more laughable than at #71. He’s not top 50 in JAWS or WAR7. He is barely top 50 (49th) in WAR because he played a long time. That is to be commended. He was a very good player. But he’s nowhere near my top 20 catcher of all time.

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16. 

    Anonymous

    September 26, 2024 at 9:17 am

    Josh Gibson??????!!!!!!!!

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17. 

    Anonymous

    October 1, 2024 at 12:51 pm

    Benny Santiago is 72 spots too late. The sheer absurdity of it all still resonates with me. Picture this: a sunny afternoon, a long-awaited picnic at the park, and there’s Benny, breaking all records of tardiness by being a staggering 72 spots behind schedule. It was almost comical, and we couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheer audacity of his lateness. When he finally arrived, panting and out of breath, we couldn’t resist teasing him about his impressive feat. It’s a moment that never fails to bring a smile to my face, and I’m sure it’ll do the same for you. Oh, and did I mention that Benny is a baseball catcher?

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18. 

    Anonymous

    October 25, 2024 at 3:09 am

    1

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19. 

    Anonymous

    April 28, 2025 at 9:22 pm

    Dear Dave…I appreciate all your work, because I rank players as well and understand how difficult it is to compare players over a 125+ year span! And because the art of catching (calling a game, leading a pitching staff, keeping runners from stealing) can NOT be quantified! I think Yadier Molina is the prime example…That’s why he’s more valuable to me than Joe Torre, Gene Tenace, or Mickey Tettleton. And that’s why teams often move Bryce Harper, Jimmie Foxx, Craig Bigio, Joe Torre, etc. because their bat is SOOOO good. Also, another almost impossible but necessary addition has to guesstimate where Josh Gibson, Biz Mackey, Louis Santop, Quincy Trouppe, and perhaps 2-3 others should without a doubt be in the top 100.

    When you read – https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-gibson-stories-facts-and-figures-to-know – Satchel Paige, who spent a lot of time on the mound in both leagues, said, “Josh was the greatest hitter I ever pitched to.” Hall of Famer Monte Irvin, who split his career between the leagues, said that Willie Mays and Hank Aaron — a former teammate and opponent, respectively — “were no Josh Gibson.” Hall of Fame Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella, describing how Gibson pushed him to third base when they played together, said, “Everything I could do, Josh could do better.” Legendary big league pitcher Walter Johnson, lamenting Gibson’s exclusion from white baseball, said of Gibson: “He can do everything. He hits the ball a mile. He catches so easy he might as well be in a rocking chair. Throws like a rifle.”

    Here’s my list:

    Johnny Bench+

    Josh Gibson+

    Gary Carter+

    Yogi Berra+

    Roy Campanella+

    Carlton Fisk+

    Iván Rodríguez+

    Mike Piazza+

    Bill Dickey+

    Joe Mauer+

    Buster Posey+

    Thurman Munson

    Yadier Molina

    Ted Simmons+

    Mickey Cochrane+

    Gabby Hartnett+

    Biz Mackey+

    Joe Torre

    Bill Freehan

    Jorge Posada

    Lance Parrish

    Darrell Porter

    Jim Sundberg

    Ernie Lombardi+

    Katsuya Nomura

    Louis Santop+

    Russell Martin

    Jason Kendall

    Salvador Perez

    Brian McCann

    Elston Howard

    Wally Schang

    Gene Tenace

    Roger Bresnahan

    Bob Boone

    Walker Cooper

    Del Crandall

    Sherm Lollar

    Smoky Burgess

    Victor Martinez

    Benito Santiago

    Tony Peña

    J.T. Realmuto

    Tim McCarver

    Tom Haller

    Terry Steinbach

    Javy Lopez

    Manny Sanguillén

    Mickey Tettleton

    Darren Daulton

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20. 

    Anonymous

    April 28, 2025 at 9:29 pm

    Dear Dave…I appreciate all your work, because I rank players as well and understand how difficult it is to compare players over a 125+ year span! And because the art of catching (calling a game, leading a pitching staff, keeping runners from stealing) can NOT be quantified! I think Yadier Molina is the prime example…That’s why he’s more valuable to me than Joe Torre, Gene Tenace, or Mickey Tettleton. And that’s why teams often move Bryce Harper, Jimmie Foxx, Craig Bigio, Joe Torre, etc. because their bat is SOOOO good. Also, another almost impossible but necessary addition has to guesstimate where Josh Gibson, Biz Mackey, Louis Santop, Quincy Trouppe, and perhaps 2-3 others should without a doubt be in the top 100. I even have Japan’s Nom ura in my top 30.

    Here’s my top 50:

    Johnny Bench+

    Josh Gibson+

    Gary Carter+

    Yogi Berra+

    Roy Campanella+

    Carlton Fisk+

    Iván Rodríguez+

    Mike Piazza+

    Bill Dickey+

    Joe Mauer+

    Buster Posey+

    Thurman Munson

    Yadier Molina

    Ted Simmons+

    Mickey Cochrane+

    Gabby Hartnett+

    Biz Mackey+

    Joe Torre

    Bill Freehan

    Jorge Posada

    Lance Parrish

    Darrell Porter

    Jim Sundberg

    Ernie Lombardi+

    Katsuya Nomura

    Louis Santop+

    Russell Martin

    Jason Kendall

    Salvador Perez

    Brian McCann

    Elston Howard

    Wally Schang

    Gene Tenace

    Roger Bresnahan

    Bob Boone

    Walker Cooper

    Del Crandall

    Sherm Lollar

    Smoky Burgess

    Victor Martinez

    Benito Santiago

    Tony Peña

    J.T. Realmuto

    Tim McCarver

    Tom Haller

    Terry Steinbach

    Javy Lopez

    Manny Sanguillén

    Mickey Tettleton

    Darren Daulton

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