All Time Top 9 Catchers ... Part 2

Yesterday I went through my Honorable Mention and the 9th & 8th best catchers of all time. Today it gets even tougher trying to place the seven greatest catchers of all time. It gets especially tough for me once we get into the top five. Today we will look at my #'s 7, 6, 5, and 4 ...

7  Gabby Hartnett: ''Old Tomato Face'' was absolutely one of the greatest catchers of all time. At the time of his retirement, he led all catchers in home runs, rbi's, hits, and doubles. Gabby played almost his entire  career with the Chicago Cubs. He led the National League in assists & fielding percentage six times; putouts four times. He had a National League record 163 career double plays and in one stretch had 452 consecutive chances without an error. He had a lifetime fielding percentage of .984. This HOF'er and 6 time All Star selection was known for his strong arm and was the 1935 NL MVP. His lifetime stats include a .297 BA, .370 OBP, .489 SLG., 236 HR, and 1179 RBI. Interesting stories on this great backstop include his '' Homer in the Gloamin', '' and, then Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis admonishing him regarding no future pictures with Al Capone to which Gabby telegraphed the Commissioner, ''Ok, but if you don't want me to have my picture taken with Al Capone, you tell him.'' Gabby Hartnett of the Chicago Cubs was absolutely one of the greatest catchers of all time ...

6  Carlton Fisk: While ''Pudge'' is probably best known for waving his 12th inning, game winning home run fair in the 1975 World Series, he was also known as a superb handler of pitchers & was a fierce competitor. At 6' 2' & 220 lbs, he was crazy strong and he played the game ''the right way.'' He once told Deion Sanders, who chose not to run out a pop fly, ''There is a right way and a wrong way to play this game. You're playing it the wrong way. And the rest of us don't like it. Someday you're going to get this game shoved right down your throat.'' The ''Commander'' was indeed an intense player. This HOF catcher played 24 years behind the plate & was a Gold Glove winner. He had a .988 lifetime fielding percentage. Only Ivan ''Pudge'' Rodriguez played more games behind the plate in the history of the game. Additionally, only Mike Piazza, among catchers, hit more home runs. Carlton Fisk was an eleven time All Star. He was the 1972 ROY and was a 3 time Silver Slugger Award winner. He has more hits & runs scored of any catcher in the Hall. His lifetime stats include a .269 BA, .341 OBP, .457 SLG., 376 HR, 1330 RBI, 1276 RS, and 128 SB's.  Pudge played his whole career for the Red Sox and the White Sox. Both teams retired his team numbers; # 27 for the Red Sox and # 72 for the White Sox. As well, each team game him an honorary World Series ring; the Red Sox in 2004 and the White Sox in 2006. In his career, Carlton ''Pudge'' Fisk waived the ball fair all the way into the hearts & minds of baseball fans and all the way into the Hall Of Fame ...

5  Josh Gibson: My choice for the 5th greatest catcher of all time is Josh Gibson. It is so very hard to know exactly where to place him among his peers due to conflicting information. It truly is a shame that we can never know his exact greatness. He has been credited with as many as 84 home runs in a season and anywhere from 800 to 1000 home runs in his career in the Negro leagues, Latino Leagues, and barnstorming tours. The Hall Of Fame has him at almost 800 home runs with a .359 lifetime batting average. He is reported to have won 9 home run titles & 4 batting championships. He is a 10 time All Star and a 2 time Negro League World Series champion. In a Negro League game at Yankee Stadium he hit a 580' home run. A favorite story told on Josh Gibson is as follows: ''In the last of the 9th at Pittsburgh, down a run, with a runner on base and two outs, Gibson hits one high and deep, so far into the twilight sky that it disappears from sight, apparently winning the game. The next day, the same two teams are playing again, now in Washington. Just as the teams have positioned themselves on the field, a ball comes falling out of the sky and a Washington outfielder grabs it. The umpire yells to Gibson, ''You're out! In Pittsburgh, yesterday!.''  While we can't know for sure what kind of pitching he faced throughout his career, we have evidenced the great successes of Jackie Robinson & Roy Campanella among so many others. And so, for me it stands to reason that at the very least, Josh Gibson was an all time great. He is my 5th greatest catcher of all time ...

4  Mike Piazza: This 62nd round draft pick could flat out hit! In 1993 ''Mike'' hit 35 home runs while garnering the ROY Award; the most home runs ever by a rookie catcher. He was just getting started. He would hit .362 just four years later, setting a record for NL catchers. Piazza hit .300 or better nine times. He hit thirty or more home runs eight consecutive years. He hit thirty plus home runs nine times in his career. By the end of his career, he had hit more home runs than any catcher in history. This twelve time All Star won the Silver Slugger Award ten times. His lifetime stats include a .308 BA, .377 OBP, .545 SLG., 427 HR, 1335 RBI, and 1048 RS. He was much better behind the plate than he has been given credit for and he worked hard throughout his career to become better defensively. He finished with a .989 fielding percentage. When it is all said & done, Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher of all time ...

Wow! There are not enough accolades for these four catchers. And yet, my All Time Top 3 Catchers are yet to come ...

Until next time, so long everybody,

Lee [ Cowboy ]