Can’t Catch a Break: Hall of Fame Catchers

As I watched the 2018 Hall of Fame induction ceremony recently, as former Detroit Tigers Jack Morris and Alan Trammell graciously took their places among the pantheon of baseball’s all-time best in Cooperstown, I had a sense of something (or someone) missing: Lou Whitaker, Trammell’s double-play partner. It feels wrong to see Trammell make the Hall, and have his number retired, while Sweet Lou has still been left out. But it’s not a 1984 “Bless You Boys” era Tiger whose exclusion has rankled me for so long.

Whitaker will have his chance again this offseason at the 2018 Winter Meetings, when the Modern Era Committee meets again, and if all the think-pieces about him being overlooked are an indicator, this could be his year at last.

Bill Freehan, on the other hand, is a name rarely mentioned in these discussions, and one could argue he has just as much claim to a place in Cooperstown as Trammell, Morris or Whitaker. The catcher was an integral part of the Tigers 1968 World Series team, and has more than enough of the on-paper credibility to warrant him a vote. So why has he been left out in the cold for so long?

There is, among baseball fans, a perception that catchers are overlooked by the Hall of Fame, as their defensive work isn’t as dazzling in the highlight reels, and their contribution to a pitcher’s success has not historically been easy to quantify. Of the 255 men in the Hall of Fame, 18 are catchers. The only position with worse absolute representation is third base, with 17 having been inducted. Pitchers, of course, represent the abundance of the inductees at 79.

Bill Freehan was a life-long Tiger. He was born in Detroit, and played for the home team from when he was 19 right through until his retirement season in 1976. Over those 15 seasons he was all All-Star 11 times and won five Gold Gloves.

Beyond the batting lines, World Series titles and awards, there are other means of measuring the true value a player brought to his team. Jay Jaffe has quite literally written the book on assessing those players who have been overlooked by the voting committees, in The Cooperstown Casebook. He also establishing a scoring metric known as JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score system) which measures the career WAR of a player averaged with his seven-year top WAR.

Of the 18 Hall of Fame catchers, we can first eliminate three from statistical comparison because, to the detriment of history, the seasonal scorekeeping in the Negro Leagues was dismal, meaning there is no easy way to determine the true stats of Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Biz Mackey and Louis Santop. Here are the statistics for the remaining 15.

Of the 15, only nine have a JAWS score higher than Bill Freehan, whose score is 39.3. The average for those 15 catchers in the Hall is 44, and six of them are well below Freehan.

He deserves to be there, and he’s not the only one. While my love for the Tigers would naturally lead me to single out Freehan, there are a half dozen other catchers just as deserving of attention. There’s still hope for all of them, in the form of the Eras Committee.

The Eras Committee (actually three, which consider players from various time periods) is the last bastion for players hoping to be selected to the Hall of Fame. It functions as a safety net of sorts, catching those who missed induction during the initial BBWAA voting window. The Eras Committee has considerably more impact on who goes into the Hall than one might suspect.

Since 1937, it (and what formerly was called the Veterans Committee) have elected 165 players to the Hall, which is well over half of the inductees. According to the Hall of Fame, the players are voted on based on “the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contribution to the game.” It’s difficult to know precisely how the Eras Committee assesses the individual merits of a player, but it certainly has  been making an effort to correct the oversights of the past.

Here are the catchers who, according to their JAWS record and their contributions to the game, are deserving of a second look at Cooperstown.

Early Baseball (1871-1949)

Next selection – Winter Meetings 2020

Charlie Bennett (1878-1893): This one is tough, because the metrics we might use today to determine a player’s worthiness for Hall of Fame selection didn’t exist in the late 1800s. Bennett, who played primarily for the Detroit Wolverines, had three seasons in which he hit over .300. His JAWS is 34.7, just under that of Roger Bresnahan, who is in the Hall of Fame, and from the same era.

Bennett was considered one of the greatest defensive players of his time, leading the NL in defensive WAR 10 times. He is also the man modern catchers can thank for having a chest protector, as he’s credited with inventing the first one: a cork-lined vest. His career ended quite tragically as he lost both his legs in 1894 in a train accident. But for his career stats, defensive work, and contributions to modern safety equipment, Bennett deserves to be in the Hall.

Golden Days (1950-1969)

Next selection – Winter Meetings 2020

Bill Freehan (1961-1976): Timelines are tricky here, since technically Freehan’s career spans the Golden Days era and the Modern Baseball era. However, since the bulk of his awards, as well as his World Series title, fall in the Golden Days time period, this would likely be his best shot. Freehan won five Gold Gloves for his defensive work, and was selected to 11 All-Star teams. Of the catchers currently in the Hall of Fame, only two have more Gold Gloves than Freehan: Ivan Rodriguez and Johnny Bench.

Offensively, his final career line isn’t awe-inspiring at .262/.340/.412, but it puts him in close company with Hall of Famers like Bench (.267), Gary Carter (.262) and Carlton Fisk (.269). He posted seven seasons with a wRC+ about 120, with a peak of 149 in 1968. It’s hard to imagine a catcher in his era more deserving of election.

His impact continues to be felt today. Freehan, who is still living in Michigan, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. His grandson Blaise Salter recently retired from baseball at age 25, after two concussions, citing his grandfather’s neurological condition, which the family believes is a direct result of his many in-game collisions and injuries.

Elston Howard (1955-1968): Howard’s career began in 1948 with the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues. With Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier only the year before, integration was slow, but by 1955, Howard was in the majors, becoming the Yankees’ first black player and the first black player to win the AL MVP. Beyond those incredible firsts, he was a four-time World Series winner, a two-time Gold Glove winner, and a 12-time All-Star. Howard ranks 36th among catchers in JAWS scores, at 26.7, but two Hall of Famers are below him: Ray Schalk (41st) and Rick Farrell (46th).

When he retired, Howard became the first black coach in the AL, serving as first-base coach for the Yankees for 10 seasons. He also has is credited with inventing the weighted “doughnut” that players use  to take practice swings in the on-deck circle. He died at age 51 from an unexpected heart disease. Howard’s number 32 has been retired by the Yankees since 1984.

Modern Baseball (1970-1987)

Next selection – Winter Meetings 2018

Ted Simmons (1968-1988): Few players are mentioned more in the category of overlooked catchers than Ted Simmons. He ranks 10th all-time on the JAWS list, with 42.6. The only player with better numbers who is not already in the Hall of Fame is still-active Joe Mauer. Over his 21 seasons in the game, Simmons was an eight-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger. He batted over .300 in seven seasons, and finished his career with a .285/.348/.437 line. He had a career 116 wRC+.

Many believe that Simmons has been so long overlooked because he played at the same time as Johnny Bench. Others might suggest he was simply too busy worrying about hitting to be a very good catcher. Tim McCarver once said of him, “I think he was concentrating on his hitting while he was catching. An outfielder can afford to do that. A catcher can’t.” Then again, long-time baseball manager Chuck Tanner said of Simmons, “You talk about Bench, Fisk and Munson. Well, he belongs with them. And he is one of the best switch hitters ever.”

Thurman Munson (1969-1979): He ranks two spaces below Simmons as 12th in all-time in JAWS for catchers at 41.6. You want an award? He’s probably won it. 1970 Rookie of the Year, 1976 MVP, seven-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and two World Series rings. He spent all 11 seasons of his career with the Yankees, and in five of those seasons he hit over .300. His final career line was .292/.346/.410.

What’s most frustrating about Munson is how much farther he could have gone. He died during an off day in 1979 when he was landing his Cessna and crashed. Munson was only 32 at the time. The Yankees  subsequently retired his number 15.

Gene Tenace (1969-1983): Tenace is a hard sell for inclusion, but it’s difficult to overlook his JAWS, which is 13th at 40.9, placing him directly between Munson and Freehan. Tenace lacks some of the checkmarks his contemporaries have on their resumes, appearing in only one All-Star Game. His career average is the lowest of any player mentioned here at .241/.388/.429. But he was a four-time World Series winner, and was World Series MVP for the Athletics in 1972.

Another issue for Tenace is that he wasn’t solely a catcher; he bounced around various positions his whole career. He played 892 games as a catcher and 625 as first baseman, and it wasn’t just a late-career shift like Mauer’s, he played a mix of the two positions his whole career. While Tenace might not be an obvious selection for the Hall of Fame, there are certainly those out there who would champion seeing him inducted.

Today’s Game (1988-Present)

Next selection – Winter Meetings 2018

Jorge Posada (1995-2011): Another life-long Yankee, Posada was never an attention-stealing player. He was in the difficult position of playing alongside the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. When you’re surrounded by that much talent, standing out is nearly impossible, which might be why Posada fell off the ballot in his first year of eligibility in 2017.

After failing to get the minimum five percent of votes, Posada echoed the sentiment about catchers being overlooked. “I think catchers should get a lot more votes. I’m very comparable to a guy like Ted Simmons. He’s not on the ballot. He’s not even in the Hall, and we should take into consideration catchers a little bit more.”

Posada is indeed comparable to Simmons in some ways. Posada was a five-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger winner, and a four-time World Series champion. He’s also 17th of all-time in JAWS with 37.7, better than several current Hall of Famers. He may not seem like an obvious choice as an overlooked player, but he has the hallmarks of a catcher who should be considered for a second chance.

Some of these men are more obvious selections for the Hall of Fame than others, and more obviously deserving. Charlie Bennett and Elston Howard both deserve long looks in their eras. Bill Freehan, Ted Simmons, and Thurman Munson definitely have strong arguments for inclusion.

What it comes down to now is how the Eras Committees perceive the contributions of these catchers made to the game, and how big a Hall they are interested in having. As we better quantify catchers’ defensive contributions, particularly their pitch framing, we may have to further refine our own understanding of who merits induction in Cooperstown.

References and Resources

• Baseball-Reference JAWS Catcher Leaderboard