Over the next few months, I'll be taking a weekly look at the history of each position on the diamond and figuring out who is the best of the best since the franchise moved to Minnesota. This means that only players from 1961-on will be considered, but I will be taking into account their entire tenures with the franchise for those who moved along with the team. You can find prior entries in the series linked below. Next Up: Catchers!
Catcher has often been called the most important position on the baseball diamond. Whether that's true or not, it is certainly the most demanding. The Twins have had their fair share of good catchers over the years, with six men who earned All-Star honors playing the position- including a first-ballot Hall of Famer. To determine who the top catchers in Twins history are, I'll be looking at a variety of criteria, including years with the team, number of games, bWAR, OPS+ (to compare different eras of baseball), home runs, caught stealing percentage above average, fielding percentage, and accolades. Please note that the defensive stats will be based on their entire careers (catching only), mostly because Baseball Reference doesn't parse them out by team; batting stats will be for Twins years only. Who are the top ten in Twins history (according to me)?
8 Years - 442 Games - 5.0 bWAR - 79 OPS+ - 14 HR - 1.3 CS%AA - .989 Fielding %
Glenn Borgmann spent 8 of his 9 MLB years with the Twins. Borgmann was a light hitter, as has been the norm for catchers for most of MLB history. However, he is part of a select club of tall catchers, standing at 6'4".
9 Years - 734 Games - 3.2 bWAR - 84 OPS+ - 77 HR - -3.5 CS%AA - .984 Fielding % - All-Star
Brooklyn Park's own Tim Laudner was a reliable starter for the Twins for parts of 9 seasons. Laudner was never spectacular, but was a steady presence behind the plate for the 1987 World Series team, and made an All-Star team in 1988.
7 Years - 514 Games - 6.0 bWAR - 88 OPS+ - 50 HR - 3.7 CS%AA - .987 Fielding %
George Mitterwald started with a tall task from the Twins: fill Earl Battey's shoes. While George didn't reach the heights that Battey did, he was a solid presence behind the plate and hit for more power than many catchers of the era.
5 Years - 396 Games - 7.2 bWAR - 104 OPS+ - 59 HR - -2.9 CS%AA - .994 Fielding %
It's always hard to look at active players with proper historical perspective, but I believe time is going to be kind to Ryan Jeffers' Twins tenure. In the midst of his prime, he'll have to seek more consistency to move higher up this list.
6 Years - 430 Games - 9.5 bWAR - 105 OPS+ - 26 HR - -3.4 CS%AA - .995 Fielding % - All-Star
While most Twins fans don't have many good things to say about A.J. these days, there's no denying that he was one of the best hitting catchers in team history. Just don't let him call any more Twins games on TV, please.
5 Years - 309 Games - 7.2 bWAR - 124 OPS+ - 53 HR - -6.2 CS%AA - .994 Fielding % - Silver Slugger
Another recent Twin, Garver is certainly not the best defender on this list. However, Garver might be the best batter on this list not named Joe Mauer. His 31 home runs in 2019 is a single-season franchise record for a primary catcher.
7 Years - 792 Games - 15.3 bWAR - 89 OPS+ - 37 HR - 4.8 CS%AA - .989 Fielding % - 2x All-Star
Butch Wynegar started out his career hot, making the All-Star team in his rookie year at just 20 years old. He was a two-way force. Unfortunately, Wynegar didn't reach much higher heights during his time with the Twins.
6 Years - 730 Games - 13.4 bWAR - 110 OPS+ - 48 HR - -3.1 CS%AA - .985 Fielding %
World Series hero Brian Harper had a very curious career, joining the Twins in his 9th big league year having only caught 6 games in his career. He would be the Twins starting catcher, solid at the plate and behind it, for 6 seasons.
8 Years - 990 Games - 17.6 bWAR - 109 OPS+ - 91 HR - 6.1 CS%AA - .990 Fielding % - 4x All-Star, 3x Gold Glover
The first catcher in Twins history is nearly their greatest. Battey was a lineup anchor and a stud behind the plate for the Killebrew-led Twins teams. He's a Twins Hall of Famer and his 1963 season is perhaps the best non-Mauer season by a Twins catcher.
15 Years - 1858 Games - 55.2 bWAR - 124 OPS+ - 143 HR - 5.8 CS%AA - .996 Fielding % - MVP, 6x All-Star, 3x Gold Glover, 5x Silver Slugger, 3x Batting Champion
Yes, he wasn't able to stay at catcher his whole career. But it is Mauer's production as a catcher that made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer this past summer. Peak Mauer is on the short list of best batters to ever play the position along with Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza, and his excellent defense sometimes is overlooked in historical arguments. The St. Paul kid and lifelong Twin gave fans a great guy and Hall of Fame player to root for throughout his 15-year career.
What do you think? Who did I miss? Who do I overrate, and who do I underrate? Let me know in the comments! I'll be back next week with the top ten first basemen in Twins history- and there might be a clear choice at the top once again.