Colorado Rockies Countdown: Top Five Catchers

5.  Yorvit Torrealba (2006-2009, 2013, fWAR 1.9)

Venezuelan ball player Yorvit Torrealba will be remembered for handling some of the best pitching staffs Colorado has been blessed to have. Specifically, the 2007 and 2009 playoff teams are most notable staffs that Torrealba mentored. Torrealba came to Colorado via a 2006 trade with the Seattle Mariners. In his first season with the club, the Rockies were unsure of where they were heading with the position as seven different players reported in at catcher at some point during the 2006 season. Torrealba, however, proved himself to be the most capable defensive option and held down the job until his release from the club after the 2009 season.

In Colorado’s 2007 World Series season, Yorvit started a career-high 105 games and posted one of his best defensive seasons. In his five year Colorado Rockies career, Yorvit hit 23 home runs with a .256 average … obviously not a tremendous offensive talent. 2009 was Yorvit’s best season offensively as he posted a .291 average. Also you might remember Yorvit’s 2009 season for another reason. His son was kidnapped during the season while in his home country of Venezuela. A very scary ordeal indeed, but thankfully the incident ended with his son being returned safely to him. His son even got to throw out a first pitch during a Rockies NLDS game against Philly.

Yorvit’s time in Colorado came to an end after 200,9 however. As a result, Yorvit got shipped around quite a bit, but he ultimately got to return to a World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2011. Colorado and Yorvit would have a reunion in 2013 when the free agent agreed to be the club’s primary backup. On September 25, 2013 against the Boston Red Sox, Yorvit would play his last Major League game … and in a Rockies uniform of course.

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