Catchers Stuff

[DOUGHBOYS]

Have you ever heard of Ray Mueller or Frankie Hayes?
Yeah, few have.
First, a little background.
Catching was a tough gig early in our game, back in the day. The protection for catchers was slow to be accepted.
Helmets, chest protectors, shin guards, the mask, all things we associate with catchers today, were thought to be 'unmanly' to wear back in the day.
Slowly as one or two men wore the protection, others followed suit with each new piece of equipment.
Still, during the early part of the century, catchers resembled ten dollar hookers in that that they were severely under dressed for work.
The result was just 48 catchers played in as many as 120 games from the 1901-1941 seasons.
In late 1941, World War II began and regular catchers went to war.
It provided a platform for Ray Mueller and Frankie Hayes to set records that will never be broken.
In 1944, both catchers caught every game their teams played. 155 games for both.
More extraordinary if remembering the times.
Doubleheaders were normal.
Hayes caught both ends of a double header 33 times. Once catching three double headers in four days and three double headers in five days.
(MLB knows that double headers would shorten the span of a season. They and the players union are just too greedy to give that much thought).
Hayes also caught full extra innings games, twice catching games of 16 innings.
Hayes caught 135 'complete games' while being rested in the ninth inning of most other games.
Mueller's road to catching every game was a bit 'easier'.
He was not subject to as many double headers or extra inning games as Hayes.
Of the 155 games caught for Mueller, 140 were 'complete games' of no rest.
Hayes did not stop in 1944.
He caught every game in 1945 as well!
He was even traded mid season and never missed a game.
His record for 1945 was not as pleasing to the eye. The Cleveland Indians, the team Hayes was traded to, had a real bad weather year. They had nine games that were not made up.
His 151 games caught looks ordinary on the surface, but he had gone two straight seasons catching every game.
Mueller did not have the chance to do the same.
He was called to active duty in 1945.
When coming back to baseball in 1946, Mueller's streak of games ended shortly into the season.
However, he still holds the National League records for consecutive games caught (204), starting 179 of those games.
Hayes holds the American League mark and Major League Baseball's mark with 312 consecutive games at catcher. He started in 293 of those games.

Since that time, Randy Hundley broke both catchers records for most games caught in a season. Hundley caught 160 games in 1968.
Another baseball record that will never be broken.
(Which I find a little amusing since the players of today are bigger, faster, and stronger...but like a child of three or senior citizen of 83, they need more rest)
Hundley had an amazing iron man streak of his own.
In four seasons, from 1966-69, Hundley caught 612 games.
An average of 153 games a season.
To put that in perspective, only one catcher, since the century turned, caught 150 games.
Brad Ausmus caught 150 games in 2000.
You may argue that Buster Posey played in 150 games once.
He did.
But he didn't 'catch' 150 games.
Games played by catchers are misleading that way.
This year, JT Realmuto led catchers in games played with 141. Realmuto's games played is misleading too.
He pinch hit six times. He designated hit twice. He played 1B for 34 at bats.
Posey who played in 140 games had a similar path.
The real leader in games caught this year?
Martin Maldonado caught 137 games.
Yadier Molina was the only other catcher (133)to receive even 130 games this year.
We are watching a throwback, a dinosaur, in having the good fortune in watching Molina catch.
He does nothing else. He played 1B for one at bat this year. Pinch hit three times.
Molina is a CATCHER.
More on this later.

Only six catchers in history have caught 90% of a team's games multiple times.

Jim Sundberg- 1975, 1977-81
Yogi Berra- 1950, 51, 52, 54, 55
Gary Carter 1977, 78, 80, 81, 82
Randy Hundley 1966-69
Mike Piazza 19993, 94, 96
Jason Kendall 2000, 2003

The iron man catcher is, indeed, a dying art. Or dead already, for that matter.
When considering that only two catchers played their position in even 80% of a team's games in 2017, it says a lot about the modern catcher and the way they are utilized.
In fact, we are right back where we started from.
Despite the improvement in catching garb and the willingness of catchers to wear all protection, catchers are catching near the same percentage of games as the early century catchers.

We may be witnessing the last 'real catcher' in baseball in Yadier Molina.
Molina has seldom played another position.
Now, if catchers are proven to be a good hitter, they are placed at other positions.
All American League catchers are 'partially' rested by being a designated hitter.
Catchers such as Posey, Realmuto, and Contreras are 'partially' rested in the National League by playing other positions. As fantasy players we enjoy that.
As catchers, their star fades a bit.
Here are the top five catchers taken in the PreMature League this year and their games caught in 2017.

Realmuto 126 games
Perez 115 games
Contreras 108 games
Sanchez 104 games
Posey 99 games

Sanchez and Contreras hurt and dl'ed three times during the season.
Ironically, all three injuries came as being a hitter/runner.
Sanchez is also taking the Victor Martinez path to his career.
His Manager will soon tire of his shoddy play behind the plate enough that he'll be taken away from the position completely as he ages.
As with starting pitchers, their battery mates are also seeing a reduced workload.
It doesn't get the media attention of pitch counts for starting pitchers.
But the 'everyday catcher' is slowly saying good bye.

Edit- For bad grammar (I spelled grammar g-r-a-m-m-e-r for the longest time, infuriating English teachers)

[fwicker]

Great post, as usual. Speaking of catchers going to war check out Moe Berg’s biography. .... an American League catcher who was one of the brightest players in baseball, then and now, albeit not the greatest catcher. He was a spy for the U.S. in WWII and a member of the OSS which became the CIA. A very interesting individual... great read.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Great post, as usual. Speaking of catchers going to war check out Moe Berg’s biography. .... an American League catcher who was one of the brightest players in baseball, then and now, albeit not the greatest catcher. He was a spy for the U.S. in WWII and a member of the OSS which became the CIA. A very interesting individual... great read.

I had a post on him a few years ago.
Man, what a life!
There was once a barnstorming tour to Japan with the 'Babe Ruth All Stars and Lou Gehrig All Stars.
Moe Berg, presumably, was on that trip to spy and take pictures of sites in Japan 'for future use'.
He was certainly no 'All Star'.
Once on the trip. Gehrig and his wife were walking down a Tokyo street. At the end of the street, Berg was talking to somebody 'unknown'.
Gehrig, instinctively, changed his route.
The whole Moe Berg story is great Stuff.

[DOUGHBOYS]

One more line about Berg, and I think the quote belongs to Lefty Gomez...

"For 18 years, Moe Berg got to know every player in baseball and not one of those players got to know Moe Berg".

[DOUGHBOYS]

Because it didn't fit with the theme, left out of the original post is the mystery of Jonathon Lucroy.
Lucroy had the good fortune to play in two of the best hitting venues in baseball in 2017.
In two very good lineups.
In a contract year.
Third catcher taken, adp-(un)wise
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything.
In a word, suckage.
.265/45/6/40/1
As it turns out, Lucroy, in almost 100 more at bats did not beat part time catcher Manny Pina in nary a category.
With how limited catchers already are in fantasy baseball, Lucroy was a death knell tolling for a lot of fantasy teams in 2017.

Lucroy will be 32 next year. A lot of owners won't forgive him.
No matter where he signs, the home team cannot have a better hitters park than Texas or Colorado.
He'll be the lead balloon of catchers this year in drafts.
Last year, number three with a bullet, this year, number ?? with an anchor.
Last year, he cost his owners placement in standings.
This year, Lucroy himself, will feel the effects in lowered contract offers.