This is the part of the Hall of Fame everyone instinctively understands but few consciously consider - Hall of Fame standards are not permanent and they are not well planned out. but he doesn't belong in THIS Hall of Fame. So, you ask: Does Jorge Posada belong in the Hall of Fame?Īnd the answer is: Maybe. Bench and Berra are Top 50 players all time, regardless of position, and the other four are viable candidates for the Top 100. Only Piazza was regarded as a less-than-stellar catcher, and he was the best hitter of them all. And most of them were fantastic defenders. What made them all so great? Well, all of them could really hit. And even some of those guys needed to wait to get in - Bench was the only one of the six to get elected on first ballot. You could argue that outstanding catchers like Ted Simmons, Bill Freehan, Gene Tenace, Thurman Munson, Joe Torre (the player), Elston Howard and others deserved more consideration.There were, at times, ripples of momentum for Munson and Torre, but they did not lead to much.īut this is our current standard for Hall of Fame catchers: Bench, Berra, Campy, Carter, Pudge, Piazza and probably Pudge 2.0. Is one per decade enough? Depends on your point of view.
That's only one per decade (with the potential elections in the future of active players like Buster Posey, Yadier Molina and Joe Mauer). Now, you could argue pretty persuasively that seven catchers over the last 70 years is not enough. Ivan Rodriguez should soon get elected - maybe even this year on his first ballot. There are six catchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame who played their entire career after World War II.
Pro argument: Excellent offensive catcher who was a staple for dominant Yankees.Ĭon argument: Does not line up favorably against Hall of Fame catchers. Five-time all-star caught for four World Series champs.