A Different View

Buster Posey looking all heroic and stuff. 

There is only player on the field who faces in the opposite direction from the rest. He is covered head to toe in equipment and is undoubtedly the most athletic on the team. I am talking about the catcher; foul tips to the mask, throwing out runners from a crouch, cat like reflexes, calling a game, and of course hitting at the plate. You need to be dedicated to be a catcher, and be ready to take a beating. Here I will discuss some of the best catchers in the league and why they are so.

We have to start off with reining National Leag

ue MVP and two time World Series Champion, Buster Posey. The 26 year old back stop had a masterful year at the plate in 2012. He hit for a .336 batting average to lead the league and had an astounding 171 OPS+. Posey caught 114 games last season, nearly one-fourth  of the season and caught 30% of base stealers. Although defensive metrics are still vague, Posey had a 0.5 defensive WAR last year. Defensively Posey is right near average, but offensively he is the best there is at the position. Buster Posey's 9 year $164 MM contract is definitely a bargain for the Giants.

Beware: do not run. 

From the 2011 World Series Champions, Yadier Molina is without a doubt the best defensive catcher in baseball. In 2012 Molina guided his St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs via the second Wild Card. For the first year in his career Molina was a strong offensive threat. He had a .315/.373/.501 slash-line which equates to a 137 OPS+. Molina played 136 out of his 138 games at the catcher's position last season, that takes extreme durability. He threw out an amazing 48% of base runners and had an outrageously high 2.6 defensive WAR. Molina's value at the catcher's position is so great that nearly 33% of his total value as a player is due to his defense.

Well played Mauer. 

Once a MVP and once a gold glove award winning catcher, Joe Mauer is no longer the catcher he was in his glory days. In 2012 he played only 74 of his 147 games as the catcher for his Minnesota Twins. Mauer still has his offensive success but not to the extent of the 28 home runs he hit in 2009. Since 2009 Mauer has not hit more than 10 home runs in a season, but he still drives in runs. In 2012 he had a .319/.416/.466 slash-line, playing in a cavern for a stadium that translates to a 140 OPS+. The downside to Joe Mauer is his defense. In 2012 he threw out just 14% of base runners. That could be due to the pitchers not holding runners well, but his -0.9 defensive WAR is another indication of decreasing defensive ability. That means he is below average defensively. I don't know if I would want to pay Mauers salary for him to not hit home runs and to be the designated hitter.