Major League Baseball

Is Ivan Rodriguez the Greatest Catcher in MLB History?

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:05 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Jackson Bruce/FanSided via Call to the Pen

With the National Baseball Hall of Fame announcement just around the corner, voters have to ask themselves many questions about the candidates. Not very often do they ask if a player is the greatest to ever play the position. This year is one of those rare opportunities to ask such a question about one of the 2017 nominees. Is Ivan Rodriguez the greatest catcher of all time? Comparing him to Hall of Fame catchers in different areas of the game will make things more clear.

He is possibly the best defensive catcher to play the game.

Rodriguez is widely regarded as the best defensive catcher in history, and there is plenty of evidence. He compiled a .991 fielding percentage over his 21-year career, to go along with 13 Gold Glove Awards and catching 46% of runners trying to steal bases while he was behind the plate. His Defensive Wins Above Replacement is the 9th best in MLB history across all positions and the best among catchers.

The most similar catcher to him defensively is Gary Carter, who has 25.5 Defensive Wins Above Replacement (15th all time, 2nd for catchers), a .991 fielding percentage, 3 Gold Glove Awards and 35% caught stealing percentage.

Johnny Bench is also not far behind him, defensively. During his career, Bench put up a .990 fielding percentage, threw out 43% of base thieves and acquired 10 Gold Glove Awards. The only thing that truly separates the two is Bench’s 19.3 Defensive Wins Above Replacement. Rodriguez just squeaks past him in almost every category, but dominates him in DWAR.

Rodriquez beats them both in many important defensive categories. With the statistics and hardware in his favor, his resume rightfully puts him atop the defensive catcher throne.

His bat was great, but he has plenty of competition.

His offensive statistics have shown he was no slouch at the plate. While swinging the bat, Rodriguez ended up with a .296 average (17th best all time for catchers), 2,844 hits (most by a catcher), 311 home runs (7th for catchers) and 1,332 runs batted in (5th for catchers). Those stats are definitely Hall of Fame worthy, but they don’t make him the best hitting catcher of all time.

Mike Piazza owns the record for most home runs by a catcher, and he is followed by a few catchers who were better with the bat than Rodriguez. Yogi Berra had the most runs batted in for a catcher, with Piazza coming in fourth. Johnny Bench bests him in both of those categories, as he is second in home runs and third in runs batted in among catchers. Other catchers that were similar or better than him offensively were Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter.

Rodriguez may come out on top in hits, but that may be due to his longevity. His average is quite impressive, but Piazza, Berra and Bench all played less years in the league with better overall power numbers. Overall, Pudge may crack the top five behind those three and Fisk.

His value to his team was impressive, and he is among the best in stats that prove it.

Rodriguez was quite valuable to his teams during his prime year stops in Texas, Florida and Detroit. He racked up 68.4 Wins Above Replacement, which is third all time among catchers behind Bench and Carter. He ranks ahead of Fisk, Berra and Piazza, though they are not far behind as they make up spots four through six.

Value can be determined by winning. Rodriguez was the man behind the plate when the Florida Marlins won it all in 2003, his only championship. Bench was the catcher for two World Series chapionships with The Big Red Machine teams of the 70’s, whom many rank among some of the greatest teams in history. Yogi Berra, though, is untouchable in this category. Berra was able to snag ten World Series rings as the backstop for the New York Yankees.

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When it comes to contributions to the team, Berra and Bench have Rodriguez beat. They were a part of some great teams. Rodriguez never helped Texas or Detroit become true winners and his one championship came with a Florida team that got hot at the right time.

While Rodriguez did win a Most Valuable Player Award in 1999, he still sits behind the two catchers most valuable to their respective teams. Berra ended up with three MVP awards and Bench won two. When it comes to value, the MVP hardware is there but he is still behind Berra and Bench.

Performance Enhancing Drug rumors do hurt his case.

One problem with Ivan Rodriguez’s case to be the best catcher of all time is the cloud over his name. He has been linked to PEDs because of Jose Canseco’s book, Juiced, which was published in 2005. Canseco claims that he personally injected Rodriguez with steroids. While he never tested positive, Canseco’s allegations against others have been proven right before. That leaves the suspicion that he may have enhanced his performance artificially.

The only catcher among the greatest to ever play the game with a connection to PEDs is Piazza, since he played in the Steroid Era along with Rodriguez. Other players such as Bench, Berra, Fisk and Carter didn’t play during that era. Playing in that era makes it hard to shake suspicion. That puts Rodriguez and Piazza at a slight disadvantage against the others.

Rodriguez deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but he still ranks behind others.

Jaffe WAR Score system is a stat that measures a player’s Hall of Fame worthiness. It is a player’s career WAR averaged with their 7-year peak WAR. This statistic has been used to compare who is most worthy to be enshrined with the all time greats. Ivan Rodriguez has a score of 52.9. The average for a Hall of Fame catcher is 43.4. While Pudge scores well, he does not score the best. He is third behind Bench (61.0) and Carter (59.1).

With that kind of score, Rodriguez should definitely be in the argument for greatest catcher. There is no doubt about it. He is the most decorated defensive catcher in history. He also had one of the most feared arms to ever throw from behind the dish.

Rogriguez loses ground with the offensive numbers. His power numbers were helped with longevity, as were Fisk’s, making it hard to ignore the achievements of players like Bench, Piazza and Berra. While playing fewer years, those guys were able to outshine Pudge’s offensive production. He does get a slight boost with his .296 average which stacks up way better than any of the above players.

When it comes to winning and value to a team, Rodriguez is up there. Unfortunately for him, the brighter stars of Bench and Berra shine more. Bench’s Wins Above Replacement is tops all time for catchers, along with his Hall of Fame worthiness according to his impressive JAWS score. Bench showed value to his team in all aspects and it shows with these stats.

So, is he the best catcher of all time?

The answer is no. He is definitely has a case to be on the Mount Rushmore of catchers, though. His offense, while impressive, was not on par with such greats as Bench and Berra. His defense was great, but Bench and Carter aren’t far behind him. I think with Bench’s numbers at the plate and in the field, along with his high value rankings and the ability to put up better numbers in four less seasons gives him the nod as the greatest catcher of all time.

Ivan Rodriguez was the best of his era. He will be recognized among those greats someday, but his numbers don’t crown him the best catcher of all time. He is among great company. While his next stop will be Cooperstown, he is not quite the best.

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