MAR: THE BASEBALL GURU ARTICLE
FROM
ONEMOREINNING
FORGOTTEN
PLAYERS:PART
FOUR
1993: THE YEAR
OF THE CATCHER: MOST OF WHOM
ARE FORGOTTEN
NOWADAYS
When
I first wrote this article it was 1993 & it seemed then that we were
reaching a golden age of good young catchers who had come into the
game.
Barring injuries I
wrote then that many of them
would emerge as
outstanding
players at that position. Was
I right? Here is the article and judge for yourself.
MICKEY STANLEY:
It seems
that someone in heaven looked down and said, Mr. Stanley, were
going to see to it that you are going to have one of the best years that
a catcher can have. And so he has. That seems to be the only possible
explanation for what happened to Mickey Stanley this year. Coming from nowhere,
he ended up hitting over.300, had close to 30 homeruns, and over 80 RBIs.
His handling of a mixed bag of Yankee pitchers with considerable skill was
remarkable and along with Jimmy Key he ended up being the most valuable player
on the team.
Could
this herald things to come?
CHRIS HOILES:
Along
with Mike Stanley, Chris Hoiles picked this year to emerge as a potent offensive
force and a possible future star. His statistics for 93 seem to point
in that direction ie .310 BA, 29 Homeruns, and 89 RBIs. The defensive skills
have always been apparent. He possesses a fine throwing arm, handles business
at the plate with assurance, and is maybe a year or two away from being one
of the best overall catchers in the game. The only thing from possibly stopping
that from happening is that he is used at other positions on the field and
may not remain as a catcher.
MICKEY TETTLETON:
His fielding
at the position is not very special but year after year he hits over .300
and gets more than a hundred RBIs. Because of his offensive arsenal he too
has been used at other positions but he prefers being behind the plate. He
has a strong arm and does do well with runners on the bases. This was the
first year in awhile when his average wasnt up to snuff (.240), but
you cant ignore 32 Homers and 110 RBIs.
IVAN RODRIGUEZ:
Here comes
the future and his name is Ivan Rodriguez! Playing for
SANDY ALOMAR:
We really
cant ignore Sandy Alomar. If he ever gets healthy again he will jump
right into the near top of the list. He can hit, he can
catch, he can do
everything. Unfortunately he
can also get hurt and thats his problem. Injuries have hampered his
progress the last two years and lets hope 1994 is an injury free one
for him.
DARREN DAULTON:
He is
an offensive machine and in recent years he has cleaned up his act at the
plate. One of the mainstays of the Philadelphia Phillies in the last few
years, Daulton along with Lenny Dykstra, has become indispensible to the
team. This year he clubbed his usual 25 homeruns and 104
RBIs.
DON SLAUGHT:
Some guys
seem to be around forever and taken for granted, and then somebody realizes
how good they are. Enter Don Slaught.
With his .299 BA, 10 HRs,
and 54 RBIs, he certainly
has carried his offensive load for the Pittsburgh Pirates. What makes him
even more valuable is his tenacious and fine play around the plate. Even
though his arm is not overtly powerful, he throws accurately and keeps runners
honest. A very good and accurate catcher.
BENITO
Nobody,
but nobody is a better all around defensive catcher than Benito Santiago.
He has the best arm in the game, blocks balls better than anyone else in
the game, handles pitches like a
surgeon, can make a pitcher
look like Picasso, and throws from a crouching position better than most
catchers who stand up. To repeat, he has no peer, even after several years
in the Majors. So wheres the problem?
The problem
is his attitude and in recent years his hitting has become suspect. In fact
this was his worst year as a batter. Thats still not a problem with
a catcher of his ability. What is the real problem is his personality and
at this point it cant be ignored. Finally after putting up with him
for years,
MIKE PIAZZA:
Weve
saved the best for last. Im going to make some predictions. Mike Piazza
will be the 1993 Rookie of the Year. Heres another one. One day Mike
Piazza will lead the League in hitting, HRs, and RBIs. Here are two more.
One day he will get a MVP (maybe even two), and one day he will lead the
League in fielding and in getting runners out on attempted steals and in
least passed balls, etc, etc, Now heres my final prediction. One day
Mike Piazza will get into the Hall Of
Fame!
Nuff
said.