Colorado Rockies Countdown: Top Five Catchers

As we approach the Silver Anniversary between Major League Baseball and the state of Colorado, a look back at the greatest players in Colorado Rockies history seems appropriate.

We’ll begin our journey through Rockies history at the catcher position and work our way around the diamond. Historically, catcher is a position that hits toward the bottom of most lineups as it’s typically a fairly weak offensive position with a high turnover rate. At least that’s how the position can be summed up in Denver. Defensively speaking, however, catcher is perhaps the most vital position on the field as its takes a physical toll to play the position and influences the game on a pitch-by-pitch basis.

To compile the rankings, Fangraphs‘ list for career Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) serves as a great guideline for positional players. The fWAR statistic allows one to evaluate a player’s contribution over time and with one specific team, therefore negating anything a particular player has done outside of Colorado, regardless of how horrible or spectacular that may have been.

Also as a general rule, this list consists of players that have at least 500 plate appearances with the club. The 500 PA rule approximates to about 1.5 years of service time and gives a large sample size for comparison. Because of 500 PA rule, guys like Nick Hundley (fWAR 2.6) is left off our list … for now.

Without further ado, here is Rox Pile’s list of the top five catchers to ever sport purple pinstripes. Let us know if there is someone you feel should be on the list, or if you feel someone should be ranked higher!

Next: A Great Name for Life in Baseball

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.

Next: Gold Glover Takes Victory Lap on Blake Street

4.  Charles Johnson (2003-2004, fWAR 2.4)

The accomplished and well traveled Charles Johnson finished out the last two seasons of his career with Colorado. Never being much of an offensive force, Johnson only hit for a .233 average in his Rockies career, but Johnson did bring pop to the position. Despite only playing two years in Colorado, Johnson is fourth among Rockies catchers with 33 home runs. To illustrate how impressive that is, if one were to look at Isolated Power (ISO), which obviously measures a player’s power contribution, they’d notice that Johnson ranks first in that statistic out of the players on this list.

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Johnson made his way to Blake Street via a trade with the Florida Marlins in late 2002. Colorado sent Mike Hampton and Juan Pierre to Florida in exchange for Johnson, Preston Wilson and a few minor leaguers. By the time Johnson made his first start for Colorado, he’d already won four Gold Gloves, been named to two All-Star games and won a World Series. Johnson had made a name for himself by being one of the top defensive catchers of his generation. For four consecutive years, Johnson lead all MLB catchers in Total Zone Runs, which is a fancy statistic to measure how many runs a player saves. By the time Johnson arrived in Colorado however, Johnson was far removed from his most glorious days but was still serviceable in purple pinstripes.

Over a 12-year career, Charles Johnson played for six different organizations. Although he wasn’t the most gifted offensive catcher of his generation, Johnson brought raw power and incredible defensive skill to the position. Johnson’s time in Colorado was rather uneventful as the club combined to lose 182 games in his two seasons. Today, Johnson is a legend in Miami sports history as he played most of his professional life in Miami and attend the University of Miami.

Fun Fact: Johnson is the cousin of MLB Hall of Fame candidate Fred McGriff.

Next: Baby Bull Makes a Comeback

2.  Jeff Reed (1996-1999, fWAR 4.0)

Originally drafted 12th overall in the 1980 draft by the Minnesota Twins, Jeff Reed was largely a role-playing replacement catcher during his 17-year career. That was the case until landing in Colorado anyway, where he would start in 90 games or more in all three  seasons he spent with the club. In 365 games played with Colorado, Reed hit for a .286 average and a .373 OBP. Both of those statistics are very impressive considering his career average was only at a .250 clip and his OBP was at .334.

Reed could hold his own on the defensive side as well, earning him the #2 spot on our list. To most Rockies fans, it comes as no surprise that a player would do better in Colorado offensively than what career averages suggest, but with Reed, the offensive boost was very significant. Reed’s career average OPS was .695, but during his Colorado tenure, Jeff’s OPS was at a very impressive .829. That is good enough to rank first all-time for a Rockies catcher. Reed never averaged an OPS above .700 with any other team.

Reed was a stable and fairly productive catcher for Colorado during his stint with the club. But, he has an even more significant role in Colorado’s history when he was an opposing player. While playing for rival San Francisco, Reed was the last out recorded in the Rockies 1995 season. That out proved to be very significant indeed as it clinched the 1995 Wild Card playoff spot. The score of that game was 10-9. The out guaranteed the first playoff appearance in club history. The following offseason, Reed saw the light and joined the Rockies during free agency.

Next: Happiest Catcher in Rockies History

1.  Chris Iannetta (2006-2011, fWAR 7.9)

In the picture above, Chris Iannetta (in front of Pujols) shares his excitement with teammates. Seriously, that’s his “I’m super pumped” face. Some players really like to show their emotion on the field. I’m not sure Chris is capable of that feat. In an 11-year big league career, Iannetta will gone down in history as the league’s all-time least smiling catcher.

All joking aside, Chris Iannetta was once considered the backstop of the future in Colorado. The Rockies had declined Yorvit Torrealba’s team option in 2009, signaling a clear handing of the reins to Iannetta. The Tar Heel product spent six years with the big league club in Denver. Iannetta never was one to hit for average however and it ultimately contributed to Colorado letting him go.

In 458 games played (most all-time for a Rockies catcher), Chris only hit for a .235 average, which by all accounts is pretty ugly. However, Chris did two things better than any other catcher in Colorado Rockies history has. The first extraordinary feat was Chris’ ability to draw walks. Chris drew 241 walks over 1,429 plate appearances. To put that into perspective, Torrealba only drew 91 walks over 1,247 plate appearances. The next extraordinary feat was that even though Chris didn’t make contact a lot, when he did, it usually went for pretty far, a fact evident by his 63 career home runs for Colorado.

Defensively speaking, Iannetta was one of Colorado’s best ever. According to Fangraphs’ Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF), a stat that measures a player’s defensive value relative to league average; Chris finished his Rockies career with a DEF score of 26.7. Torrealba’s career DEF score of 33.4 is the only one whose been slightly better at fielding the catcher position in LoDo.

The story for Colorado at the catcher position is one of a revolving door. A list of players that were skilled defensive but flawed offensively, or in Rosario’s case, a slugger that couldn’t field. Iannetta will go down as the best catcher in Rockies history for being excellent on defense, and being only a slight offensive liability, which obviously says something about the nature of the position.

Next: Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention: Miguel Olivo (2010, fWAR 2.7)

Regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of his time, one might expect that Charles Johnson had Colorado’s best all-time defensive season for a catcher. To the contrary, as was mentioned, Johnson was far removed from his prime by the time he landed in Colorado. Although Johnson’s 2003 season ranks as one of the best ever defensive seasons for a Rockies catcher, the top the spot actually belongs to Miguel Olivo, proving that baseball is really weird.

Olivo’s 2010 season was a very odd one to say the least. According to the rSB statistic, which measures how many runs a catcher saves by preventing stolen bases, Olivo saved 11 runs in 2010. Not only was that rSB of 11 good enough for the top spot in 2010, but it is the greatest of all-time. Yes, you read that correctly. Now for the really weird part, despite Olivo being one of the best at cutting down runners, in 2010 he led the majors in passed balls with 10 and finished third in errors by a catcher with nine. But, Olivo’s DEF of 17 in 2010 is the best score by a Rockies catcher ever in a single season. In contrast, Johnson’s 2003 season is ranked second with a DEF of 10.7.

Next: The 5 Best Right-Handers in Colorado History

Olivo only spent one year with the club, not making him eligible for our original list, but he could handle the bat as well. Miguel enjoyed one of his best offensive outputs in his career with Colorado. In 112 games, Olivo had an OBP of .315 and smacked 14 home runs.