When longtime San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey announced his retirement on Thursday, it marked the end of the line for one of baseball’s most unassuming great players — and a stunning end at that. After missing the 2020 season, Posey had just put the finishing touches on a terrific comeback by helping to lead […]
It’s easy to understand the skepticism about the New York Mets signing James McCann this winter to a four-year, $40.6 million contract. After all, McCann turns 31 this season, and he has 7.2 wins above replacement for his career. J.T. Realmuto, New York’s target at catcher before signing McCann, has collected 19.8 career WAR. And […]
Welcome back to our Hall of Pretty Damn Good Players, a celebration of unsung athletes who won’t make their sport’s Hall of Fame but still deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments and impact on the game. Today’s entry is a player whom few younger fans remember today but who was a fixture behind home […]
The rebuilding Baltimore Orioles hope Adley Rutschman becomes the new face of the franchise. Dubbed the best MLB draft prospect since Bryce Harper by Baseball America, Rutschman was taken with the first overall pick in last June, the first full-time catcher selected No. 1 since Joe Mauer in 2001. But he could also become a […]
As he returned home to New Mexico last winter, Mitch Garver knew he had to be better. In 2018, Garver ranked 110th out of 117 qualifying catchers in fielding runs above average. As a catcher, that meant he struggled mightily with pitch framing — the skill of a catcher to receive borderline pitches in a […]