After a brief detour to venture into March Madness and The World Baseball Classic, it seems like a good time to continue with my position by position list of Top MLB players with my latest installment, Top Catchers…Of My Lifetime.

10. Evan Gattis

Evan Gattis is included on the list for a few reasons that are different from most of the other entries. For starters he had a great nickname, El Oso Blanco or The White Bear. He was given this nickname by his teammates while playing in the Venezuelan Fall League in 2011. What made his nickname so good was that it fit him so well. If you’ve ever seen Gattis play baseball, you’d probably agree. But the main reason Gattis makes the list, besides breaking into the big leagues with my beloved Braves, is because he has such an unbelievable and inspiring story of how he got to the majors in the first place. Gattis was a highly regarded high school baseball player in the state of Texas. He was projected to be drafted within the first 8 rounds by a MLB team but he made it clear he intended to play college baseball by accepting a scholarship to play catcher for Texas A&M. He would never make his way to College Station however, as marijuana and alcohol abuse would alter those plans. He ended up in rehab and didn’t play baseball for four years while working odd jobs such as pizza cook, golf cart attendant, and janitor, among others. In 2010 his stepbrother was playing college baseball for Division II school University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Gattis called him up and told him he was ready to return to baseball. Luckily the coach remembered Gattis from his high school days and said he had a spot for him on the team. This would ultimately lead to Gattis being drafted by Atlanta in the 23rd round. He would make his Major League debut on April 3, 2013 and proceed to set the league on fire, winning NL Rookie of the Month in both April and May. Gattis would go on to play 6 years in the majors and win a World Series ring on the controversial 2017 Houston Astros team. But I’ll always remember El Oso Blanco as the improbable rookie with the incredible story, launching tape measure homers with no batting gloves, captivating Braves Country and the baseball world.

9. Jason Varitek

I’m a big Georgia Tech fan. Which makes me a big Jason Varitek fan. Varitek started the legacy of great Georgia Tech catchers that includes five first-round draft picks at the position since his tenure in Atlanta. During his time at Tech Varitek was a 3 time All-American and in 1994 he took home the Golden Spikes Award for the nation’s best college baseball player. He would go on to be drafted 14th overall by the Seattle Mariners and play in their minor league system until being traded to the Boston Red Sox during the 1997 season. Varitek would also make his Major League debut that season with Boston, playing in 1 game in September, collecting a single in his only at-bat. The following season he would split time at catcher with Scott Hattegerg of Moneyball fame. Then in the 1999 season Varitek would take over the starting catching job and would not relinquish it for the next decade. Those next ten years would see Varitek make 3 All-Star teams, win 2 World Series Championships (2004, 2007), as well win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger Award. Varitek also caught an MLB record four no-hitters. Throughout his baseball life Varitek would play on the biggest stages at every level. He played in a Little League World Series. His Lake Brantley High School baseball team won the Florida State Championship his senior year. He played in the College World Series at Georgia Tech. He played for Team USA in the 1992 Olympics. He won those two aforementioned World Series titles with the Red Sox. He played for America in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Even a University of Georgia fan would have to admit that’s an impressive baseball career.

8. Yadier Molina

Thou shall not steal. Yadier Molina is perhaps the best defensive catcher in the history of baseball. This view can be backed by numerous awards. 10 All-Star game selections. 9 Gold Glove Awards. 6 Fielding Bible Awards. He also won 2 World Series titles and tossed in a Silver Slugger Award for good measure. Yadi is most certainly destined to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible for induction. Molina is the first catcher I remember to regularly pick off runners at first base. “Back picking” was an art form for Yadi and typing his name in the search bar on Youtube will bring up numerous highlight films of him making runners taking too large of a secondary lead his primary targets.

7. Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago made catching cool. He is also probably inadvertently responsible for causing more throwing errors from Little League catchers than any other player in history. This is because Santiago popularized throwing out would-be base stealers from his knees. And before long every kid playing catcher in my local Little League was trying to imitate him. Errant baseballs were bounding into centerfield at an alarming rate. His throwing theatrics aside, Santiago had a very solid big league career. He won the 1987 NL Rookie of Year, was named to 5 All-Star teams, took home 3 Gold Gloves and 4 Silver Sluggers. But he makes my top catchers list primarily because of the way he played the position with such flair. And because he changed his jersey number from 9 to 09 so the strap from his chest protector wouldn’t cover it up while he was catching. What a legend.

6. Javier Lopez

Atlanta Braves legend Javy Lopez checks in at number 6 on my top catchers list. Javy won a World Series ring with the Braves in 1995. While he split time at the position his first four years in Atlanta, Lopez would take over the primary catching duties in 1996 and shine while doing so. The next 8 seasons behind the dish in Atlanta would see Lopez make 3 All-Star teams and win a Silver Slugger award. His final season with the Braves would be the best of his career. In that 2003 season Lopez hit .328 with 43 HRs and 109 R.B.I.s. He would parlay this career year into a lucrative free agent contract with the Baltimore Orioles and went on to play three more seasons before retiring after the 2006 season. I was sad to see him depart from Atlanta. He was an integral part of eight Division Championship teams there and to me he will always be a Brave.

5. Brian McCann

Another Braves legend, McCann was a hometown kid from Duluth who was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 2002. He made his MLB debut with the Braves three years later in June of 2005. The following season McCann would begin a decade of offensive dominance from the catcher position that would lead to 7 All-Star selections and 6 Silver Slugger Awards in that ten year time span. He played the first 9 seasons of his career in Atlanta and was a member of 4 Postseason teams with the Braves. After leaving Atlanta he played for the Yankees and then later the Astros. McCann won a World Series ring with Houston in 2017. In a feel good story McCann would return to the Braves for his final season in 2019. It was satisfying to get to enjoy watching him in a Braves uniform one last season and fitting that he retired back home where it all started.

4. Ivan Rodriguez

The man known as “Pudge” broke into the majors in 1991 with the Texas Rangers at the tender age of 19. Age was nothing but a number for Rodriguez however, as he played like a seasoned vet from day one. After getting his big league legs under him that first season, in 1996 Pudge started a string of 10 consecutive All-Star selections and 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards. He would finish career with 14 overall All-Star selections, 13 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, an AL MVP Award in 1999 and a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 2003. Altogether Rodriguez played 21 seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017. Pudge is arguably the best all-around catcher in baseball history. He was a dominant defender behind the dish and could swing it with anybody in the batters box too. Add it all up and you have the number 4 spot on the list.

3. Mike Piazza

The “Pizza Man” took big daddy hacks and hit dingers. Perhaps the most prolific hitting catcher in history, Piazza got in the box and swung the bat like a lumberjack trying to fell a tree. Those swings started in the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992 and continued in his first full season in the bigs, winning 1993 NL Rookie of the Year. Piazza was a 10x All-Star and 14x Silver Slugger winner. Piazza holds the Major League record for home runs as a catcher with 396 and hit 427 homers overall. None more memorable than his game-winning 8th-inning home run in the first Major League game played in New York following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Piazza lifted up an entire nation with that iconic blast and reaffirmed the beauty and power of sports.

2. Buster Posey

Gerald Dempsey Posey was born to play baseball. Better known to the world as Buster, he grew up in Leesburg, Georgia, about 45 minutes from my hometown. He played four sports in high school but his baseball exploits made him a local legend long before he ever stepped foot on a Major League diamond. I actually know a few guys who played high school baseball against Buster and always enjoy hearing their stories about him and how good he was. After his senior season, Posey was named the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, the Louisville Slugger State Player of the Year, an EA Sports All-American, and a Baseball America All-American. His baseball prowess would lead him south to Florida State University after high school, where he would continue to shine. Before leaving FSU Buster had only grown his legend further. One game that went a long way towards doing that was a contest in which Posey hit a grand slam and played all 9 positions in the field. In 2008, as a junior, he hit .463 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI, winning numerous player of the year awards in the process. After his time in Tallahassee came to an end Buster was drafted 5th overall by the San Francisco Giants. He made his MLB debut with a late season call-up at the end of the 2009 season. He began the 2010 season back in the minors but would be called up in late May and never looked back. He won NL Rookie of the Year and the awards would start to pile up as his career moved forward. 7 All-Star selections. 5 Silver Slugger Awards. 3 World Series Championships. 2 NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards. A Gold Glove. A batting title. A Hank Aaron Award. The 2012 NL MVP Award. And a partridge in a pear tree.

1. Matt Wieters

Matt Wieters probably isn’t topping many all-time catcher lists. So allow me to explain why he’s at the top of mine. First and foremost Wieters played college baseball for Georgia Tech. Continuing the school’s legacy of great catchers, Wieters had an impressive college career. He was twice named as a first-team All-American. He could flat out hit, but what made him stand out to me was that he would catch for 8 innings then go to the bullpen and warm up before entering the game as the Yellowjackets closer. He hit tanks as a batter and threw gas as a pitcher. He was Ohtani before there was Ohtani. He was also a big dude. 6 foot 5, 235 pounds. Wieters was an absolute unit. And he also switch-hit. He was a big old beast that hit bombs from both sides of the plate and snatched souls while striking guys out on the mound. Following his three years at Tech, Wieters was drafted 5th overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2007. He made his big league debut in 2009 and would go on to have a solid career, highlighted by 4 All-Star selections and 2 Gold Glove Awards. Admittedly, he would never quite live up to his uber prospect status but he was always one of my favorite players and was always exciting to watch. That is why Matt Wieters is the Top Catcher…Of My Lifetime.