At first, 2009 looked like it could be a rough year for Twins catcher Joe Mauer. He missed all of spring training and the first month of the season recovering from surgery.
Then, on his first night back in the lineup, in his first at-bat, he launched a home run — to the opposite field, of course.
He never really stopped after that, going on to win his third batting title, another Gold Glove and the American League MVP award. It was the finest year of a career that will see him enshrined in the Hall of Fame on Sunday.
Was it the best season ever by a catcher?
Here are your candidates:
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1953
Roy Campanella (John Lindsay / Associated Press)
Campanella began the transition from all-star to legend in 1951, when he won his first MVP award, and then was just as amazing if not more in 1953. He hit .312 with a .395 on-base percentage and .611 slugging percentage, with 41 home runs, 103 runs and 142 RBI on his way to the second of his three MVPs. In the modern stats, he was worth 6.8 wins above replacement (Baseball-Reference.com credits him with an even-better mark of 6.9 in 1951), and the next time you’re sitting around talking about how the game has changed, you can point out that Campanella struck out only 58 times against 67 walks.
He caught 140 games — it was the first time in years he didn’t throw out more than 60 percent of attempted base stealers, but he still possessed the cannon arm and was still the best defensive catcher in the league.
Mauer is the greatest catcher from St. Paul. But “Campy” was probably the best catcher for St. Paul. Before he was one of Brooklyn’s Boys of Summer, he integrated the American Association when he arrived as a minor leaguer with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints in 1948. He didn’t play here long, but he made quite a mark.
Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants, 2012
Buster Posey (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Mauer’s contemporary might be the next catcher to make the Hall of Fame. His 2012 season was Mauer-esque, winning a batting title at .336 (.408 OBP, .549 slugging) and National League MVP. He had career highs in home runs (24) and RBI (103). His defensive stats are solid, though he didn’t win any Gold Gloves until late in his career.
Baseball Reference gives Posey 7.6 wins above replacement for 2012. He appeared in 148 games, but caught only 114. He also picked up a second World Series ring.
2012 was quite a year for catchers — Yadier Molina of St. Louis had 7.2 WAR, and even though Mauer was having a somewhat down year by his standards (4.4 WAR), he led the American League in OBP at .416.
Joe Mauer, Twins, 2009
Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer accepts his 2009 American League MVP award from former Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, right, at Target Field in 2010. Louisville Slugger representative Chuck Schupp looks on. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
One thing’s for sure, at least: Mauer’s 2009 was the best season by a catcher the American League ever saw, and it’s a league that has been home to Yogi Berra, Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey and Carlton Fisk.
Mauer’s .365 batting average is probably the most likely stat from his 2009 season that a Twins fans could pull from memory, but beyond winning the batting title, he also led the league with a .444 on-base percentage and a .587 slugging percentage. He hit 28 home runs (he appeared in the Home Run Derby!) and scored 94 times with 96 RBI. And he had some numbers out of the 1940s, too, with 76 walks against just 63 strikeouts. He was just about league average in throwing out base-stealers, but he still won the Gold Glove award.
What holds this year back just a little is that Mauer caught just 109 games. But once he returned from the rehab that cost him the first month of the year, he almost never took a day off, appearing in a total of 138 games.
There was even an extra game for him that year — a memorable Game 163 victory over the Tigers to give the Twins the AL Central crown.
Gary Carter, Montreal Expos, 1982
Gary Carter tags out Brian Downing, despite Downing executing a fundamentally flawless slide. (Associated Press)
This season flies under the radar — is it because a lot of it happened in Canada? Does Canada not show up on our radar? Should someone look into that?
Even at the time, this all-time great season from Gary Carter was unappreciated. He finished 12th in NL MVP voting and didn’t get a single first-place vote (Dale Murphy won the award).
But here he was, playing some of the best defense ever seen behind the dish, and hitting .293 with a .381 on-base percentage and .510 slugging percentage. He scored 91 times with 97 RBI, and took 78 walks against just 64 punchouts. He played in 154 games and caught 153 of them. Baseball Reference credits him with 8.6 wins above replacement.
At least they couldn’t ignore the defense — he received his third straight Gold Glove award.
He had a 1984 season that was almost as good, too (7.5 WAR). Basically, from 1977 to 1986, he was about as good as a catcher can be. Why did it take six ballots to get this guy into the Hall of Fame?
Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers, 1997
Mike Piazza (Getty Images)
Somehow, it took four ballots to get Piazza into the Hall of Fame.
Piazza turned in the best offensive season by a catcher in National League history and still finished second for the MVP award (to Larry Walker).
Piazza’s 8.7 wins above replacement is the record for a catcher at Baseball Reference. He got there by hitting .362 with a .431 on-base percentage and .638 slugging percentage, belting 40 home runs with 104 runs and 124 RBI. He struck out 77 times vs. 69 walks.
He had a weak arm and wasn’t a great defender, but he wasn’t as hopeless as his reputation at the time. And he played: 152 games, 139 at catcher.
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, 1972
Johnny Bench (Associated Press)
I mentioned 2012 as one of the best years for catchers, plural. 1972 is also a contender. In addition to Bench, the American League Rookie of the Year Carlton Fisk finished fourth in AL MVP voting in the best year of his career: He was worth 7.3 WAR and won his only Gold Glove Award.
Bench’s 1970 season could also be on this list, but he soared to yet another level in 1972. He was considered a revolution behind the plate and won the Gold Glove award. He wasn’t quite the monster Piazza was at the plate in ’97, but he still hit .270 with a .379 on-base percentage and .541 slugging, with 40 home runs, 125 RBI and 87 runs. He walked 100 times vs. 84 strikeouts.
His 8.6 WAR nearly equals Piazza’s 1997 total, and I still suspect the defense gets undercounted. He appeared in 147 games and caught 129, and when he wasn’t catching he was in the outfield or 3B.
He also collected the MVP award.
So it probably comes down to Piazza or Bench, right?
Well …
Josh Gibson, Homestead Grays, 1943
Josh Gibson (Associated Press)
The numbers are out of a video game, with cheat codes on. Mauer, in his greatest season, had a .444 on-base percentage. Gibson out-HIT that with a .466 batting average in 1943. His on-base percentage was .560. His slugging was .867.
Yes, he is officially listed with just 69 games — 62 at catcher. He drove in 109 runs with 116 hits. In 69 games.
Was he facing the best pitching? Not every day, surely. But neither was Ted Williams in 1941, never having to face Satchel Paige, Leon Day, Hilton Smith, Ray Brown or any of the other aces of the Negro Leagues who would have starred in the AL or NL, and we don’t discount his .406 average that year.
The numbers are the numbers we have, and it’s not Josh Gibson’s fault that we don’t have a clearer picture of how good he was. It does seem clear that he was the best hitter in the world at this time and possibly ever, and a great defensive catcher with a cannon for an arm.
Of all the seasons on this list, Gibson’s is the one I’d most like to go back in time and see in person, with one exception.
That would be 2009 Joe Mauer. What I, or any Twins fan, wouldn’t give to live that all over again.
“From St. Paul to the Hall”: The Pioneer Press chronicled the careers of Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Joe Mauer, and we’ve compiled the best of our coverage into a new hardcover book that celebrates the legendary baseball legacy of Minnesota’s capital city. Order your copy of “From St. Paul to the Hall.”
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