Ted Simmons ranks among the better offensive catchers in baseball history. Simmons appeared in 1,770 games as a catcher and in 40 games as an outfielder. He was the designated hitter 276 times and pinch-hit 216 times.
Over 21 seasons, Simmons hit .285, with a .348 on-base average and a .437 slugging average. If Simmons had been a solid defensive catcher, he would be in the Hall of Fame.
Gary Carter (lifetime .262/.335/.439) had some solid offensive seasons, but he also had some poor ones.
With the Montreal Expos in 1977, Carter hit .284, belted 31 home runs—which was one more than either Yogi Berra or Bill Dickey ever hit in a single season—and he slugged .525.
In 1985, as a member of sports' most beloved team, the New York Mets, Carter batted .281 with 32 home runs and 100 RBI.
But in the strike-shortened season of 1981 (.251/.313/.444), and beginning with the 1986 season (.255/.337/.439), Carter's offense suffered a severe decline. From 1987 until he retired following the 1992 season, he batted only .234 and averaged a mere nine home runs.
Carter was a great defensive catcher who was a master at handling pitchers. In 2003, Carter was elected to the Hall of Fame, which brings us to Jorge Posada
The fifth-greatest catcher in New York Yankees history (Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Ellie Howard, and Thurman Munson) is finished as an everyday catcher. Posada (.275/.377/.479) has the offensive numbers as a catcher to get into the Hall of Fame, but he was closer to Ted Simmons than to Gary Carter on defense.
Posada had major problems throwing out potential base stealers, nailing about 28 percent of them. Carter caught 35 percent, while Simmons was successful 34 percent of the time.
Statistics can mislead. One of the most difficult, error-prone tasks is evaluating defensive play.
Carter blocked balls in the dirt better than Posada or Simmons. He rarely missed at least getting a glove on high pitches. He was great on foul pop-ups and had cat-like movement on bunts.
Posada was a better defensive catcher than his New York rival, Mike Piazza, but the latter has a better chance of getting into the Hall of Fame because he was the greatest hitting catcher in the game's history.
None of us gets to vote, but the position here is that Posada's team—New York's other team—the New York Yankees, will be the determining factor.
Will those who do vote realize Posada's contributions to the five World Championship Yankees' teams? He appeared in 99 games behind the plate in the storybook season of 1998, and was the regular catcher in 1999 and 2000. He also caught more than one-half of the games in 2009.
Posada's defensive shortcomings have been exaggerated because his defensive skills have deteriorated greatly the last few seasons. For most of his career, he was average or slightly above average on defense and among the best catchers on offense. The last few seasons should not ruin his chances.
He will be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Reference:
Baseball Reference
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