MLB Network list is first. Mine's next.
A thousand games caught is the cutoff for the MLB list. That's gonna mean no Buck Ewing. My top 200 is here.
MLB Network List:
1. Bench
2. Berra
3. Rodriguez
4. Piazza
5. Cochrane
6. Dickey
7. Campanella
8. Fisk
9. Hartnett
My List:
1. Bench
2. Piazza
3. Dickey
4. Carter
5. Rodriguez
6. Berra
7. Fisk
8. Ewing
9. Hartnett
If I had the games caught requirement, Torre would make my list at 9 and Hartnett takes Ewing's spot. Consider Torre v. their choice, Campanella. Catching's hard - when you put in the mileage that a catcher puts in, that has to be worth something.
Campy: OPS+123, PA: 4816
Torre: OPS+ 128, PA: 8801
Their list has Berra above Dickey. I go the other way, but its close.
Who they screwed is Gary Carter. He's got 3000 more plate appearances than Mickey Cochrane; and while Cochrane essentially finished as a defensive wash, Carter was 10 defensive wins above replacement for his career. Cochrane had a better bat (although not better than Torre, so you still can't explain why he wasn't included) but Carter's longevity+glove makes him the better guy.
3 comments
Piazza should either be dropped to number eight or nine. True he was the best hitting catcher of all time and had the biggest bat of his time, but he couldn't throw out his grandma stealing second. Piazza had no arm and bad pop time along with slow reaction time. Baseball isn't all about the bat, although that is a big part a player still must be there defensively as well. Piazza was one of the worst defensive catchers, so how could he be considered as one of the best overall catchers.
How could you drop Campy from the list? The dude won 3 MVP awards - in a decade
Berra deserves the second spot. He was able to improve an average pitching staff throughout the 1950s; plus, he was far ahead of other catchers in many hitting stats.
Bench deserves the top spot since he changed the game in terms of catching as an effective player with his hand behind the back. He was both a defensive and offensive force above other catchers of his time.
Campy would probably rank in the top three if his career had not been shortened.
Torre deserves a spot in the top 9.
Dickey was superior in his era and deserves top five consideration.
You can quibble with the rest, but they all deserve mention.
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