Active HOFers?

[navamind]

I think Martin became underrated after his numbers fell off from his first three seasons. Martin made the ASG in 2011 but his numbers were propped up by his huge April (and a huge August; he had two months with an OPS above .900, below .700 in the other four months). He also hit for good average in his first three seasons (.280+) and only had one more season above .250 for the rest of his career. He does a lot of things that casual sports fans don't really care about.

 

[calsnowskier]

The numbers are close in a lot of categories but it is notable that Martin has zero cool neck tattoos.

Yadi doesn’t have any cool neck tats either, to be fair…

 

[Montalban]

Those that if they retired today, or if they just need to make it to the 10 year career mark who will make the HOF.

Albert Pujols
Miguel Cabrera
Adrian Beltre
Justin Verlander
Clayton Kershaw
Max Scherzer
Mike Trout

Maybe:

Chase Utley
Yadier Molina

Missing anyone?

Posey?

 

[jwolt92]

Posey?

Should be, but longevity comes into question if he were to retire today. His WAR/162 is one of the highest at the catchers position ever. His accolades are there: MVP, 7x ASG, ROY, 4x Silver Slugger, 3x WS Champ and a batting title.

In my opinion that means absolutely nothing, he is.

 

[navamind]

Yeah, I don't know how he'd fare right now but he would be in my personal HOF as well.

Longoria looked like he was going to add to his case until he got hurt and missed most of the season. Bummer.

 

[calsnowskier]

In the last 10-15 years, there have essentially been 2 catchers ruling the roost. Posey and Yaddy. That alone puts him in, imho. Especially if Yaddy is generally considered a shoe in. I really don’t see Yaddy as head and shoulders better than Posey, if even at all.

 

[PackJason.]

Molina is a lock first ballot HoFer. He's the best catcher of the last few generations.

I say this as Brewers fan.

 

[calsnowskier]

Molina is a lock first ballot HoFer. He's the best catcher of the last few generations.

I say this as Brewers fan.

That’s a bold statement. A baseball generation is essentially, what, 10 years? And a “few” equates to AT LEAST 3. Therefore, you are saying he is the best catcher since approx 1990…

Pudge?
Piazza?
Posey?
Mauer?
Posada?
Lopez?
Chooch?
Veritek?
Biggio?
Santiago?
Alomar?


Some are reaches, granted, and I didn’t include Carter or Fisk (among a few others) who just dipped their toe in the timeframe in question…

 

[PackJason.]

That’s a bold statement. A baseball generation is essentially, what, 10 years? And a “few” equates to AT LEAST 3. Therefore, you are saying he is the best catcher since approx 1990…

Pudge?
Piazza?
Posey?
Mauer?
Posada?
Lopez?
Chooch?
Veritek?
Biggio?
Santiago?
Alomar?


Some are reaches, granted, and I didn’t include Carter or Fisk (among a few others) who just dipped their toe in the timeframe in question…

That's fair. But I'd take Molina over all of them. The only one that stands a chance is Pudge, as I do prefer defense out of a catcher over hitting. That's why Piazza is a dud for me.

But of course there's a balance.

 

[calsnowskier]

That's fair. But I'd take Molina over all of them. The only one that stands a chance is Pudge, as I do prefer defense out of a catcher over hitting. That's why Piazza is a dud for me.

But of course there's a balance.

Posey is at least very comparable defensively to Yaddy. Offensively, I will give it to Posey hands down. Posey currently has a WAR7 of 36.7 vs 28.7 for Yaddy. Yaddy has the catching longevity (2100 games over 18 years vs 1100 games over 12 years).

 

[Montalban]

Should be, but longevity comes into question if he were to retire today. His WAR/162 is one of the highest at the catchers position ever. His accolades are there: MVP, 7x ASG, ROY, 4x Silver Slugger, 3x WS Champ and a batting title.

In my opinion that means absolutely nothing, he is.

Probably not a first ballot guy because writers are idiots but he could very well get there. I would add that he is a team leader and handles the pitching staffs he's worked with very well

 

[Montalban]

That's fair. But I'd take Molina over all of them. The only one that stands a chance is Pudge, as I do prefer defense out of a catcher over hitting. That's why Piazza is a dud for me.

But of course there's a balance.

Molina is a hard choice to dispute but you can't go wrong with Posey. Injuries have hurt him during his career but he's still a solid hitter and good defensive player. I would say that for a period of 5 or 6 years he was the best in baseball.

 

[calsnowskier]

Posey’s bat is SIGNIFICANTLY better than Yaddy’s…

Posey, in 10 seasons with at least 350 ABs has 9 seasons with an OPS+ over 100, 7 over 120, 6 over 130, 3 over 140 and 1 over 170.

Yaddy, in 16 seasons with 350 or more ABs has 7 seasons with an OPS+ over 100, 3 over 120 and 1 over 130.

 

[PackJason.]

Posey’s bat is SIGNIFICANTLY better than Yaddy’s…

Posey, in 10 seasons with at least 350 ABs has 9 seasons with an OPS+ over 100, 7 over 120, 6 over 130, 3 over 140 and 1 over 170.

Yaddy, in 16 seasons with 350 or more ABs has 7 seasons with an OPS+ over 100, 3 over 120 and 1 over 130.

Sure, if you care more about hitting out of your catcher. I don't. Molina is a great balance of good hitting and great catching. How many GGs does Posey have? Only one?

 

[navamind]

I'd put him behind Pudge/Piazza/Mauer/Posey, neck in neck with Posada.

Molina looks like a borderline HOFer to me. His peak is pretty weak, but his longevity is pretty great by catcher standards.

 

[PackJason.]

I'd put him behind Pudge/Piazza/Mauer/Posey, neck in neck with Posada.

Molina looks like a borderline HOFer to me. His peak is pretty weak, but his longevity is pretty great by catcher standards.

Some of you people are crazy.

 

[navamind]

Lol, because we don't think a catcher with a 98 OPS+ is one of the greatest ever?

 

[PackJason.]

Lol, because we don't think a catcher with a 98 OPS+ is one of the greatest ever?

Yes. You only care about hitting, which is nuts at the catcher position.

 

[PackJason.]

"Hey everybody! Let's move Mike Trout to SS. He'll be the best SS ever!"

 

[navamind]

No, I do care about defense. And there's no question he's one of the greatest defensive catchers of all-time. But even so, there's a lot less uncertainty with defensive metrics than pitching or hitting, especially when it comes to catchers. Just looks at pitch framing. I think it's a skill, but I'm not sure it's as impactful as metrics would suggest, just because I think there's a decent amount of umpire error at play. It's also had to get a good idea of how much value a catchers game calling provides.