July 23, 201610 yr Here's how I see it: 1) Bench 2) Berra 3) Fisk 4) Rodriguez 5) Champ Summers OK, Gary Carter, as much as I hated him, is No.5.
July 23, 201610 yr Here's how I see it: 1) Bench 2) Berra 3) Fisk 4) Rodriguez 5) Champ Summers OK, Gary Carter, as much as I hated him, is No.5. If you're talking defense only I agree with you. If you're including offense you have to put Piazza in top 5
July 23, 201610 yr Author If you're talking defense only I agree with you. If you're including offense you have to put Piazza in top 5 I'm talking total package and Piazza's woeful defense barely gets him in the top 10. He shouldn't even be considered a catcher, given how horrible he was defensively. HORRIBLE!!!!
July 23, 201610 yr Author Think about Bench winning the MVP in '70 and '72, with the numbers he threw up in what was still a pitcher's era (albeit not '68 and before). Bench has several 50 HR/150 RBI seasons against the pitching Piazza feasted on. And, oh yeah, Bench was the best defensive catcher ever. I could run on Piazza.
July 23, 201610 yr Here's how I see it: 1) Bench 2) Berra 3) Fisk 4) Rodriguez 5) Champ Summers OK, Gary Carter, as much as I hated him, is No.5. Gary Carter over 2 time MVP, HOFer and career .320 hitter Mickey Cochrane?
July 23, 201610 yr My picks are Bench, Berra, Fisk, Munson and Rodríguez. Bench was the best defensive and the hardest working guy at his profession. He could hold seven baseballs in his hand and could throw hard and accurately up to 250 feet. He did not start out as a catcher but when he was young and talked to his Dad about it, he told him we'll make you a catcher. Granted I don't know how young he was at the time because my brother told the story to me. And my brother was Bench's Sargent Major when Bench was in the Army Reserves. I still laugh when I remember stories my brother would tell me about having both Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in his Company. Talk about two very different excellent ball players. And both playing for the Big Red Machine.
July 23, 201610 yr Berra Bench After the top 2, it gets dicey. A couple that haven't been mentioned are Bill Dickey and Roy Campanella.
July 23, 201610 yr Author Gary Carter over 2 time MVP, HOFer and career .320 hitter Mickey Cochrane? I was inebriated when I posted that, so it was not well-researched. I'll need to do a revised top 10.
July 23, 201610 yr Author Berra Bench After the top 2, it gets dicey. A couple that haven't been mentioned are Bill Dickey and Roy Campanella. Like Cochrane, I messed up with those guys as well. There's a weird part of me that wants to include AJ Pierzynski, but that's problematic. Thurman Munson is top 5 for me, for sure. I remember hearing it on the radio as a child and crying. So fantastic.
July 23, 201610 yr People like to rag on Piazza's defense. And yes, he wasn't great at throwing out base stealers. But handling a pitching staff is more important than throwing out guys stealing. And Piazza was better pretty good at handling a pitching staff. He wasn't nearly as horrible as people like to make him out to be. So about Mike Piazza's defense ... - SBNation.com
July 24, 201610 yr Author People like to rag on Piazza's defense. And yes, he wasn't great at throwing out base stealers. But handling a pitching staff is more important than throwing out guys stealing. And Piazza was better pretty good at handling a pitching staff. He wasn't nearly as horrible as people like to make him out to be. So about Mike Piazza's defense ... - SBNation.com Sorry, horrible. Shoulda switched him to first so he wouldn't hurt his teams so bad. HORRIBLE.
July 24, 201610 yr Although he didn't play in the major leagues I think Josh Gibson has to be included. I don't know how accurate the records are or how good of a defensive catcher he was but Josh Gibson is estimated to have hit over 800 home runs in his career and had a batting average of over .350. He supposedly hit a Homer 580 feet in a game. He's also in the Hall of Fame.
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