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The Greg Maddux Watch: Stunning at 355

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Baseball Told the Right Way

In-depth Baseball analysis on various topics regarding the sport we all love!

Tuesday

Catchers on fire.

Seriously, what's going on with catchers so far? I know, its early, but there's a lot of guys hitting the crap out of the ball from behind the plate. Catchers are hitting a combined .278/.338/.443 against the league average of .268/.337/.426. Catchers hit .258/.320/.403 last year, which was the best in a while, thanks to Javy & Jorge (among others). What's really crazy is that right now AL catchers are hitting a combined .292/.349/.470, which just happens to be better than any other postion, and neck and neck with left fielders. When was the last time catchers outhit first baseman? or DHs? I'm going to say with reasonable confidence that its never happened. I'm also going to say it won't happen this year either, but its fun to look at.

Established Guys
Pudge Rodriguez .368/.408/.537
Mike Piazza .272/.327/.457
Javy Lopez .341/.417/.518
Jason Kendall .333/.414/.387
Jason Varitek .320/.433/.560
Jorge Posada .292/.409/.708

Emerging
Johnny Estrada .319/.388/.500
Kevin Cash .286/.367/.437
Victor Martinez .286/.367/.543
Miguel Olivo .298/.365/.532

Huh?
Paul LoDuca .400/.438/.525
Damian Miller .299/.347/.448
Michael Barrett .339/.375/.615
Charles Johnson .316/.427/.772!!
Chad Moeller .255/.349/.455
Bengie + Jose Molina .326/.351/.489
Mike Redmond .319/.377/.447
Mike Matheny .281/.318/.439
Brandon Inge .322/.403/.542 (I know, he's not really catching, but this guy sucks, right?)

That list is 18 catchers performing better than expected (maybe not Piazza). If you include guys like Toby Hall, Joe Mauer, Ramon Hernandez, Mike Lieberthall, AJ Pierzynski, who aren't doing so well right now, theres a lot of guys out there that can handle the bat, and almost every team has one (poor Houston). Especially with all the young guys starting to emerge, it sure seems like the catcher position is starting to become more of an offensive position, much like the shortstop position in the years that followed Cal Ripken. If Mike Piazza is Cal Ripken, then Mauer, Martinez, Olivo, and Estrada have a chance to do for catchers what Arod, Nomar, Jeter, and Renteria did for shortstops.

Or their knees could all wear out by the All-Star break and they will all be back at .250/.320/.400 by season's end.
Curt

¶ 11:11 PM

Coast to Coast Tickets Buy baseball tickets, MLB playoffs tickets, and World Series tickets from Coast to Coast for the best seats, including premium New York Yankees tickets, Boston Red Sox tickets and Chicago Cubs tickets. Our game selection includes everything from St. Louis Cardinals tickets to Houston Astros tickets and Dodgers tickets online! Tell us we're wrong: Email John Email Curt Go Home The Greg Maddux Watch: Stunning at 355 Required Reading Whats wrong with baseball? Part I Part II Part III Get a registration MLB SCOREBOARD Check out the Armchair GM! General Baseball Links ESPN Baseball-Primer Baseball Prospectus The Rumor Mill Bigleaguers.com Hardball Times Retrosheet (Box Scores) Diamond Mind Baseball Truth Japanese Baseball Statistical Links Baseball-Reference ESPN: MLB Stats MLB & Minor League Stats More MLB & ML Stats 2000-2003 UZR 2003 Win Shares Updated Minor Lg. Stats Review of Online Stats Hardball Times Stats Contract Info Dugout Dollars Baseball Roster Central Your Team's Daily Fix AL East Red Sox Haven Replacement Level Yankees Batter's Box (TOR) YaGottaBelieve (TB) AL Central ChiSox Daily Tiger Blog Twins Geek Royals Baseball AL West Elephant's in Oakland Pearly Gates (Angels) U.S.S. Mariner NL East Phillies Fan No Joy in Metsville NL Central The Cubdom Redbird Nation Red Reporter NL West Dodger Thoughts Only Baseball Matters (SF) Ducksnorts (Padres) Other Sports Blogs Sabernomics Detroit Sports Batgirl Baseball Musings 14 Days of Ambivalence Cubs Now! Cubs Blog Army College Basketball Sportscenter Blog The Baseball Addict All Baseball Blogs Suggest Yours Fantasy Baseball Advice Fantasy Baseball ESPN Fantasy Baseball Fantasy Baseball Cafe ARCHIVES 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009 08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010	Baseball Told the Right Way In-depth Baseball analysis on various topics regarding the sport we all love!
	Tuesday Catchers on fire. Seriously, what's going on with catchers so far? I know, its early, but there's a lot of guys hitting the crap out of the ball from behind the plate. Catchers are hitting a combined .278/.338/.443 against the league average of .268/.337/.426. Catchers hit .258/.320/.403 last year, which was the best in a while, thanks to Javy & Jorge (among others). What's really crazy is that right now AL catchers are hitting a combined .292/.349/.470, which just happens to be better than any other postion, and neck and neck with left fielders. When was the last time catchers outhit first baseman? or DHs? I'm going to say with reasonable confidence that its never happened. I'm also going to say it won't happen this year either, but its fun to look at. Established Guys Pudge Rodriguez .368/.408/.537 Mike Piazza .272/.327/.457 Javy Lopez .341/.417/.518 Jason Kendall .333/.414/.387 Jason Varitek .320/.433/.560 Jorge Posada .292/.409/.708 Emerging Johnny Estrada .319/.388/.500 Kevin Cash .286/.367/.437 Victor Martinez .286/.367/.543 Miguel Olivo .298/.365/.532 Huh? Paul LoDuca .400/.438/.525 Damian Miller .299/.347/.448 Michael Barrett .339/.375/.615 Charles Johnson .316/.427/.772!! Chad Moeller .255/.349/.455 Bengie + Jose Molina .326/.351/.489 Mike Redmond .319/.377/.447 Mike Matheny .281/.318/.439 Brandon Inge .322/.403/.542 (I know, he's not really catching, but this guy sucks, right?) That list is 18 catchers performing better than expected (maybe not Piazza). If you include guys like Toby Hall, Joe Mauer, Ramon Hernandez, Mike Lieberthall, AJ Pierzynski, who aren't doing so well right now, theres a lot of guys out there that can handle the bat, and almost every team has one (poor Houston). Especially with all the young guys starting to emerge, it sure seems like the catcher position is starting to become more of an offensive position, much like the shortstop position in the years that followed Cal Ripken. If Mike Piazza is Cal Ripken, then Mauer, Martinez, Olivo, and Estrada have a chance to do for catchers what Arod, Nomar, Jeter, and Renteria did for shortstops. Or their knees could all wear out by the All-Star break and they will all be back at .250/.320/.400 by season's end. Curt ¶ 11:11 PM