Will a Catcher Ever Win a Batting Title Again?

[Nick Nelson]

With this week's focus on the catcher position, there's plenty of talk about who the Twins might pursue to share time with (or supplant?) Ryan Jeffers in 2023 and beyond.

I find myself pondering a more big-picture question, which itself – in a way – has implications on the team's decision making: 

Have we seen the last catcher win a batting title?

Image courtesy of Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

 

This past season, Luis Arraez became the first Minnesota Twin to claim a batting title since Joe Mauer last did it in 2009. That was, of course, an MVP season for Mauer, and it marked his third time in four years leading the American League in batting average.

As we all know, Mauer was something of a unicorn: the third backstop ever to become a batting champ, and the first to do it in the AL. Needless to say, it has been a historical rarity, but the shifting tides of the game make me wonder if we'll ever see it happen again.

In 2009, Mauer was one of nine catchers to qualify for the batting title. Same thing in 2008, and 2006, when he won his other two crowns. Compare that to five catchers who qualified this year, and just two (!) in 2021.

Around the major leagues, clubs have progressively altered the way they manage catchers, opting in most cases to spread out the workload rather than placing the full burden on one player – a movement the Twins have fully embraced. 

Sure, there are still some throwbacks out there like Sean Murphy and J.T. Realmuto, but they're few and far between, and none of them are hitting like prime Joe Mauer.

The current landscape really puts into perspective how incredible Mauer was. We're less than a decade removed from a stretch where he bore the rigors of catching over 10 years (albeit with some injury issues mixed in) and slashed .323/.405/.469. He made enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title in seven of those campaigns. 

It's a stretch of performance that, in my opinion, should (and will) get him into the Hall of Fame.

But enough reminiscing about the past. Let's turn the clock forward to present day. The Twins now find themselves with a need at catcher, and it's one they could seek to address in a profound way. 

The big name on this year's offseason class, as covered in our extensive Offseason Handbook chapter on the subject, is Willson Contreras. 

One of the better free agent catchers to hit free agency in some time, Contreras received his third All-Star nod in 2022 while slashing .243/.349/.466 for the Cubs. His .815 OPS would've ranked third among all Twins, behind only Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton. 

Contreras is a highly-regarded star player and easily the pinnacle of the catching market. He's in his prime and coming off a career year. It'll take a very big contract to land him – I guessed 5/100 as a starting point in the Handbook – and that raises some challenging questions about the logic of spending so much on what is, essentially, a part-time player.

He's a perfect example of the diminishing durability benchmark for the modern catcher. Despite avoiding major injuries, and producing at an elite rate when on the field, Contreras has qualified for a batting title only once (sans-2020) since debuting back in 2016. That was aback in 2018, when he was 26 and made 544 plate appearances over 138 games (a typical, if not light, workload for a Mauer campaign). 

Twenty million dollars is a lot of money in annual salary commitment for a team like the Twins. They've got to be smart in how they use it. Allocating such a big share to a player who has played 120 games per year on average, and would probably be in line for a timeshare of sorts here, if the Twins adhere to their existing philosophy ... it could be tough to stomach. And that's beyond all the other built-in risk with a player like Contreras who might have to move off catcher in the coming years anyway.

As the mechanisms of Major League Baseball shift, we'll start seeing financial implications play out. With the expectation for a starting pitcher's workload being more in the 150-170 range as compared to the 180-210 range of previous eras, teams will start scaling back the relative amount they're willing to invest in starters (if they haven't already). We'll very likely see a similar effect in the catching market, and Contreras will be a fascinating example to follow.

The Twins are among the few franchises to hand out a true mega-deal to a catcher, having signed Mauer for $184 million in 2010. They did so with the belief that he'd continue, at least for a while, to catch 900-1,000 innings per season. It's hard to realistically expect the same from someone like Contreras, who himself will be in the market for a mega-deal.

Circling back to the original question posed in this article, the heart of the matter is not so much asking whether a catcher will win a batting title ... but whether it makes sense to invest heavy resources into players who might never qualify for one.

 

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[Riverbrian]

Avoid over paying for catching when resources are limited. 

[Karbo]

IMO they are better off spending on a ss. 

[mikelink45]

Great article and a good question - the answer right now is no - will the game change again, I hope so.  The years I began to love the game we had Yogi Berra, Del Crandall, Sherm Lollar, Roy Campanella among others who caught and played most games - you depended upon them.  

Of course you bring back thoughts of the good old days and at the same time make a really good case for why Joe Mauer should be in the HOF.

Our problem is that Jeffers, so far, is just not that good.  With a poor arm and a poor bat he is nothing but a pitcher framer who plays catch and if they go to the electronic ball and strike call he his value drops again.  I had great hopes for him and still think he might turn into what we had expected from his rookie year.

I do not see the Twins going for Contreras, but in fact Catcher is nearly as important as SS. 

[IndianaTwin]

An alternative way of thinking about your original question is that with teams moving to a 13-hitter roster, and with two of the spots going to catchers, there will be fewer and fewer DH-only types. If a catcher is hitting well enough to be in the batting race, there's a reasonable likelihood they will also be getting a decent number of DH at bats for their team. 

This year, for example, Sanchez ended up with 471 plate appearances. despite catching only 91 games and batting only .205. With the number of injuries the Twins had, it's not difficult to imagine him getting another 50 at bats as DH if he was hitting .340, particularly if Jeffers had been healthy enough to share the catching load.

So, no, there likely won't be many players who qualify for the batting title based solely on their plate appearances as a catcher, but there may still be guys who were primarily catchers who qualify.

Additionally, remember that there's the rule that says a player can qualify with less than 502 plate appearances, IF a player's lead in average is sufficiently large that enough hitless at bats can be added to reach this requirement and the player would still have the highest batting title. 

Tony Gwynn in 1996 is an example of the latter, winning with just 498 plate appearances. His average was .353, but would have only dropped to .349 with an 0-for-4, leaving him ahead of the next eligible player. In Mauer's case in 2009, he beat Ichiro by .013, so Mauer would have probably still won the batting title with around 490 or so plate appearances. 

[Trov]

To address the question posed in the title first.  It very well may happen, but is not likely.  Being Joe was the only AL catcher to ever do it, and only 2 in NL, both like 90 years ago, shows it is very unlikely.  Is it possible, yes, someone like Joe could come along again, but doubtful. 

That being said, if you can get a good offensive catcher, even if not a batting title, but can produce above average on offense, then yes you pay those guys.  Similar to an elite hitting SS, if they can be both an every day catcher, meaning they can defend the position at least at a passable level, and hit at an elite level, either by way of overall power, or average, you pay them big. 

I mean, why just relegate yourself to a fact that a catcher will be poor hitter, if you can get one that is not?  Sure, the likes of Joe, Posey, Yadi, Piazza, Pudge(both of them), are not common.  Piazza was not great defense wise, but he made up for it at the plate.  This is what makes the likes of A.J. Pierzynski who was not amazing hitter, but at least about average compared to rest of league, which put him generally above average at his position. 

Catcher has always been a defense first position, and what you can get from offense is a bonus.  As running was taken out of the game, generally from choice not elite catching defense, we do not see it as needed and worry more about offense.  However, running is on a rise lately, and defense will be important again. 

[tony&rodney]

Very unlikely, but it could happen. Think of it as something similar to a Joe D hitting streak. Joe Mauer was a unicorn. If I had to identify what Mauer brought to the game that is most missed by the current era of Twins catchers, it is his ability to block everything and reduce the opponent's running game. Imagine a Maldonado or Hedges at catcher and add the ability to hit .300 and run the bases efficiently - Joe Mauer. I doubt any of us lives long enough to see another catcher with his talents.

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Depends on your definition of catcher.  Much like the SP throwing 300 innings, I believe the days of the catcher catching 150 games a year are over.

Of course another catcher will win the batting crown.  He may only catch 90 games and play the other 60 at DH or 1B.  But with the inevitable arrival of automated balls and strikes and the slow death of the stolen base, the defensive side of the catcher becomes less important.

At some point we will see a Luis Arraez type behind the plate.  It will happen,  AJ. Pierzynski, Mike Redmond, Jason Kendall...  Catchers that have shown the ability to hit for average. 

[Linus]

I was always amazed at the Mauer hate. All those batting titles plus gold gloves. 

[roger]

Another great article, Nick.  Thanks.

To answer your question.  EVER is a long time, so I would say it is likely.  Doubt it will happen often, but will probably happen at some point.

But my bigger question related to the Twins is that this article doesn't talk at all about defense.  I don't know anything about Contreras, but whomever the Twins bring in must be great defensively, ie, work well with the pitching staff, block balls in the dirt and most of all...have a great arm so he can control the running game.

I also believe that they don't need one catcher, rather three.  They need catcher 1A to go with Jeffers who I see as 1B.  They need someone like Leon, a veteran who will sign a minor league deal to work with their young pitchers at St. Paul and be available as an emergency callup should one of the main guys get injured.  They also need a young prospect who hits a bit and is very good defensively.  Someone like Rortvedt was, someone who is at least at AA.

[PDX Twin]

Will a pitcher ever win a batting title? Seemed like a totally stupid question until Ohtani came along.

[Cris E]

Usage of batters is changing, and the number of batters qualifying for the batting title from all positions has been falling recently. Here are how many have had 502 PA over the past 25 years.

• 2022  131
• 2021  133
• 2015  143
• 2010  152
• 2005  150
• 2000  166
• 1996   148 (95 was a lockout year)

The trend is downward, for whatever reason. More injuries? More young cheap players being cycled through rosters? More teams finding ways to rest players to avoid injuries? I think it may be the last two, as there's more and more matchup data available to know when to sit someone, and the universal DH is proving to be both a good way to manage playing time and save some money on expensive one-dimensional hitters.  

[Shobae]

I mean it's possible I think it's highly improbable. The first thing as has been mentioned already is a catcher who is able to qualify for the batting title while also playing enough games at the position to be considered as such. Secondly and more rarely is having a guy with elite bat to ball skills who hits for average. Given the shift in offensive philosophy I think that's very rare with many catchers now being more focused on power. Just looking at the qualified catchers on fangraphs in the top 10 hitters the lowest iso is .137, which is Posey who also has by far the highest batting average. The median for iso is .193 and for avg it's .262 so to me it looks like the future of top offensive catchers is solid batting averages with good power. 
Also Mauer I would argue is one of the top 10 most talented catchers of all time so I don't think there's much chance we see someone in his league any time soon. Though the only candidate who I could potentially be, Rutchman, is off to an excellent start.

[Nine of twelve]

There are elite catchers who are not elite hitters. There are elite hitters who are not elite catchers but are able function acceptably in the position. What is rare is elite catchers who are elite hitters. They come along only rarely. Without doing extensive research I bet there haven't been more than a dozen or so in the history of MLB. We were very fortunate to have seen the most recent specimen of this rare breed playing for our favorite team. There will be another such player in the future who will catch and win a batting title. Someday.

[Trov]

2 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Very unlikely, but it could happen. Think of it as something similar to a Joe D hitting streak. Joe Mauer was a unicorn. If I had to identify what Mauer brought to the game that is most missed by the current era of Twins catchers, it is his ability to block everything and reduce the opponent's running game. Imagine a Maldonado or Hedges at catcher and add the ability to hit .300 and run the bases efficiently - Joe Mauer. I doubt any of us lives long enough to see another catcher with his talents.

I need to push back on the part about Joe blocking everything.  He was good at throwing out runners, and he was decent to stabbing to balls in the dirt and getting in the glove, but he was actually not very good at "blocking" a ball.  He would commonly even stand up putting is glove down to try and snag the ball and let it through his legs.  They were not passed balls but he could have been better at blocking it.  Now, he was still a great catcher overall and not trying to bash him, but many people thought he was better at blocking pitches than he really was.  

[Trov]

2 hours ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

Depends on your definition of catcher.  Much like the SP throwing 300 innings, I believe the days of the catcher catching 150 games a year are over.

Of course another catcher will win the batting crown.  He may only catch 90 games and play the other 60 at DH or 1B.  But with the inevitable arrival of automated balls and strikes and the slow death of the stolen base, the defensive side of the catcher becomes less important.

At some point we will see a Luis Arraez type behind the plate.  It will happen,  AJ. Pierzynski, Mike Redmond, Jason Kendall...  Catchers that have shown the ability to hit for average. 

I would disagree that as we got to electronic strike zone we will see less defensive catchers and just hitters.  Part of catching is more than just framing and throwing out runners, which MLB is trying to get more steals in the game again.  There is pitch calling, covering bunts, taking throws at home and blocking as much of plate as allowed, seeing when a pitcher is doing something wrong.  

Sure, the pitch calling could go to the dug out, but still think there is value from the catcher as he is sitting with the hitter and can see possible things, the coaches cannot, both in the hitter and the pitcher.  If you have a weak armed catcher, there will be more steals on them, so they still need a strong arm.  

I would agree you may see more platoon catchers to give more breaks than the 140 to 150 games a year, but it would take a guy like Joe who actually never caught 140 games in a season, most he caught a single season was 139 then most was 120, so not even he did at as a 150 game catcher, but would DH double digit games as well.  

[tarheeltwinsfan]

5 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Great article and a good question - the answer right now is no - will the game change again, I hope so.  The years I began to love the game we had Yogi Berra, Del Crandall, Sherm Lollar, Roy Campanella among others who caught and played most games - you depended upon them.  

Of course you bring back thoughts of the good old days and at the same time make a really good case for why Joe Mauer should be in the HOF.

Our problem is that Jeffers, so far, is just not that good.  With a poor arm and a poor bat he is nothing but a pitcher framer who plays catch and if they go to the electronic ball and strike call he his value drops again.  I had great hopes for him and still think he might turn into what we had expected from his rookie year.

I do not see the Twins going for Contreras, but in fact Catcher is nearly as important as SS. 

If catchers are so important, and I agree that they are, then what are the best ways to measure value of a catcher? Strong arm, few passed balls ? These two measurements are very dependent on the pitchers throwing quickly to home with a runner on 1B and on pitchrs not bouncing balls in the dirt and not crossing up the signs. Is pitch selection still done by the Twinkies' catchers? If not, who selects the pitches? If so, how do we measure success? Then there is the intangible "management of the pitchers". How do we measure that?  Pitch framing? Important now, but not so much when the balls and strikes are called by machines. Durability? How do we define and measure success in catchers? It is not so much by the batting statistics, but by what other factors? 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Great article. How do we measure success in catchers?

[Doctor Gast]

Mauer was very unique & productive as a catcher plus he was a very good defensive catcher that took a lot of pride in his catching. Looking at his #s he needs to be in the HOF. I'd love another Mauer right now & sign him to a big contract.

But back to your question if a catcher will ever win a batting title? I'd say yes there are good left-handed catchers coming up & some in college that could grow a horn. Dalton Varsho is an unicorn, while not catching he plays CF!

[AceWrigley]

Convert Luis Arraez to catcher. Bada bing.

[jorgenswest]

More likely than a pitcher winning a batting title again. That hasn’t happened in 136 years.

Edit: Ohtani could be the Guy Hecker of our time by winning a triple crown, batting title and ERA title in his career.

With the DH in both leagues and the likelihood there will eventually be an automated strike zone there will be another catcher that wins the title. Removing framing from the equation will open the door to more offense from the catcher position.

[bighat]

3 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Removing framing from the equation will open the door to more offense from the catcher position.

 

Yeah I hear you. Right now if I guy can frame, he'll make the team even if he hits .190. It's ridiculous. Overall it's not just the catcher position, it's just all of MLB becoming way metrics-oriented and way too specialized.

But honestly, the problem isn't the catching...it's the pitching. Guys out there throwing 104 MPH. With movement. It's ridiculous to expect players at any position to hit better. BAs are going down all over the league.

Side note: Remember Brian Harper? The dude hit .320 while getting absolutely bulldozed on plays at home plate. Mauer was an absolute machine in the batter's box and just amazing to watch when he was in his prime.

[CRF]

Sure...someday. It's certainly unlikely, but anything is possible. This just in...it won't be Jeffers. 

[tony&rodney]

6 hours ago, Trov said:

I need to push back on the part about Joe blocking everything.  He was good at throwing out runners, and he was decent to stabbing to balls in the dirt and getting in the glove, but he was actually not very good at "blocking" a ball.  He would commonly even stand up putting is glove down to try and snag the ball and let it through his legs.  They were not passed balls but he could have been better at blocking it.  Now, he was still a great catcher overall and not trying to bash him, but many people thought he was better at blocking pitches than he really was.  

Wrong. 

[stringer bell]

Do remember that a catcher has won a batting title since Mauer—Buster Posey won the NL batting championship in 2012. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

7 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Convert Luis Arraez to catcher. Bada bing.

In a post of mine within the last several weeks, I honestly suggested converting some player (who I do not know) to catcher. A smart, strong athlete ought to be able to convert.

[Monkeypaws]

Nick, in answer to your question, probably yes.

Forever is a long time.

[TwinsChupacabra]

It will happen before the Twins win a playoff game.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

17 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Convert Luis Arraez to catcher. Bada bing.

Or Buck.

[wsnydes]

Considering how rare it is for a catcher to win a batting title in the first place, I'd bet that we have seen the last of it.  That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see it.  I just don't expect it.  And I'm in the group that thinks that fewer and fewer catchers will even qualify for batting titles as time passes.

This conversation definitely makes me miss the likes of Mauer and Posey a lot more though.  Those guys were fun to watch around the plate.