catchers

ever since i first put the catchers pads on when i was 8 in little league i have had an obsession with catchers my favorite being Jorge Posada(i have like 2 dozen cards of him) a power switch hitter part of the Yankee core four with Derek Jeter Andy Pettite and Mariano Rivera. With a .276 career average 259 homers 5 silver slugger awards and just over 1,000 RBI Posada is still known as one of the best offensive catchers after 16 years in the majors.
           Some of my all time greats would be names like Yogi Berra Thurman Munson and Josh Gibson. All three where very good hitters. Berra with 358 homers is one of the 7 catchers in the MLB with over 300 homers. The others being Carlton Fisk Lance Parrish Gary Carter Johnny Bench Mike Piazza and the latest one and the only active one Pudge Rodriguez. Munson Was one of the great postseason hitters batting .357 in the postseason and .373 in the world series. Also Munson was one of the 12 Yankee captains. If Josh Gibson were given the chance to play in the majors he would have won the MVP award every year. In his 16 years as a catcher in the negro leagues 5 years with Pittsburgh and 11 with the Homestead Grays Josh had an absurd .648 slugging percentage and a .359 batting average according to the official Negro League statistics.
             But in my opinion Johnny Bench is the single greatest catcher of all time. He not only hit for power but was pretty much the best defensive catcher in MLB history. Winning 10 gold gloves in row! In a row! I sure feel bad for Reds backup during Benches career Bill Plummer. Bench is second on the alltime list in homers for a catcher 2nd to Mike Piazza with 389.
          Joe Mauer and Brian Mccann are two of the best young catchers in the game today. Both with over 450 RBI and Mauer with a .327career average while Mccann has a .290 average
         Hopefully these won't be the only good catchers we see for a while on my list but only time will tell if there is another Johnny Bench or Yogi Berra out there