Major League Baseball

World Series 2021: Atlanta Braves catcher Jeff Mathis is not seen, but his impact is felt

Updated Nov. 2, 2021 5:05 p.m. ET

By Jake Mintz
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Before the first home playoff game of each round, the host team typically introduces its entire roster.

Everyone — the coaches, training staff, bench players, even the reserves on the taxi squad — stands shoulder to shoulder on the baseline and gets two seconds on the Jumbotron to smile, tip the cap and bask in the cheers.

Before Game 3 of the World Series last Friday night, the Braves staged this very ritual for their fans at Truist Park. A Brave was announced, a hat was tipped, and depending on the level of each player’s notoriety, the crowd either applauded politely or roared with fervor. When the camera focused on injured Braves ace Mike Soroka and his name was announced, the yard bellowed with sound, the crowd rose to its feet.

After a brief pause, the public address announcer moved to the next player.

"Number 45, catcher, Jeff Mathis."

Jeff Mathis appeared in just three regular-season games for the 2021 Braves, but the veteran catcher has had a big impact on the NL champions. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

But Mathis, who is not on Atlanta's active roster and hasn’t played in a game since May, didn’t show up on the screen. Instead, it was closer Will Smith standing next to No. 40 Soroka. A handful of slightly confused people in the stands lightly cheered. Then the show moved on.

That’s because Mathis was where he usually is: behind the scenes, out of the limelight, sitting in the bullpen, making sure his teammates are ready to go.

"They asked me in the NLDS if I wanted to be on the line for intros." Mathis told FOX Sports. "I said, 'That’d be a cool moment, but why would we change things up? We got something great going on in the pen.’"

At age 38, Mathis is the oldest player to have played for either the Astros or Braves this season, and he's the seventh-oldest player to appear in the bigs in 2021. In fact, he has the most MLB seasons among active position players without a World Series ring.

And now, as an unheralded yet valuable member of an Atlanta team one win away from a title, Mathis is making an impact, albeit off the field, in his first World Series.

The 17-year veteran defensive specialist was signed by Atlanta in May after starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud and former backup Alex Jackson were placed on the injured list on the same day. Mathis appeared in just three games for the Braves, going 0-for-9 with five strikeouts before he was outrighted to Triple-A.

But instead of going to the minors, Mathis was added to the taxi squad, and he spent the entire season with the big-league team. Over the past five months, he has been part player, part coach, part fantasy camp attendee. Realistically, there was hardly any scenario in which Mathis would have returned to the active roster. But he was always ready.

"I was hitting, taking BP quite a bit," Mathis said. "I told [GM] Alex [Anthopoulos] from the beginning, ‘I know where I’m at. I know I’m here for an emergency, but I’ll continue to keep myself in shape and ready to go just in case.'"

Mathis does more than just keep himself in shape.

"Yeah, he’s jacked," Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson said. "He works out all the time. He’s also in all of our pregame scouting meetings, catches a ton of bullpens and spends the whole game with us in the bullpen. Definitely kind of a player-coach."

It’s no surprise that Mathis is making an impact doing the little things. That has been his M.O. his whole career. But it didn't start out that way. Mathis was a high school shortstop and pitcher in Florida before he became a catcher as a senior. He had so much potential that he was selected in the first round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the then-Anaheim Angels.

A 2003 ESPN scouting report stated that farmhand Mathis "has good pop in his bat" and "has proven he can hit for average." Defensively, according to the report, he was "working hard to improve his catching fundamentals."

Funny how things work out. Nearly 20 years later, calling Mathis a "defensive specialist" would be like calling the Pacific Ocean a puddle.

In MLB’s integration era (since 1947), Mathis' career 48 OPS+ is dead last among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances. Not once in his career has he been an above league-average hitter. His career slash line of .194/.252/.299 is worse in every category than pitcher Zack Greinke’s.

You could very well argue that Mathis is one of the most futile hitters in baseball history.

But despite his ineptitude at the plate, Mathis has played 17 years in the big leagues; Yadi Molina, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera are the only active players with longer careers.

It’s an astounding accomplishment, and it’s mostly due to Mathis’ superb defensive skills. He's widely considered an elite receiver with outstanding framing numbers. The stupendous Foolish Baseball video above goes into much greater detail about his defensive abilities, but pitchers rave about throwing to Mathis, and teams have consistently posted lower ERAs when he’s behind the dish.

"Early on, Mike Scioscia told me, ‘You can’t let one side of the ball affect the other,’" Mathis said of the former All-Star catcher and his Angels manager. "So as soon as I came in and put my shin guards on, I had to forget about what was happening at the plate. And as hard as that was, and I wouldn’t say I ever got used to it, it was something I was able to manage."

Compartmentalizing failure is a must for any major leaguer; a sport in which the best hitters succeed three out of every 10 times requires it. But Mathis’ ability to remain a legitimate big-leaguer despite hitting well below .200 is a testament to his mental fortitude — and the fact that he’s a well-liked and respected figure.

And even though Mathis, with his .194 career batting average, isn't necessarily a must-watch player, he has developed somewhat of a cult following for his unique career.

"I love Jeff Mathis because he’s extreme," explained Bailey Freeman, a.k.a. Foolish Baseball, a vocal Mathis supporter on the baseball internet. "He has one thing that he’s super bad at and one thing that he’s super good at. Any player that has outlier skillsets, whether they be good or bad, is compelling."

That Mathis has developed any sort of niche fan base is antithetical to the player and baseball person he is. Any stereotype you can dream up about a veteran third-string catcher — hard worker, good teacher, comes in early, future coach, good clubhouse guy, selfless teammate — that’s Mathis. And as the light fades on his impressive career, Mathis has no illusions about his future.

But he won’t commit to hanging 'em up just yet.

"I’ll go home and discuss [next year] with the family, really have a heart-to-heart," he said. "I still feel good, but I understand where I’m at, where the game is at.

"Baseball is all I know. Being around and learning from all these coaches, that’s definitely something I’d like to explore."

Before Mathis becomes a full-time coach, however, there's one final stat that the Braves should check out: He's a .379 hitter in 13 career postseason games.

Jake Mintz is the louder half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.