Position Report Card: Catcher

The Pittsburgh Pirates have seem to have found a good thing when it comes to acquiring former New York Yankees. First there was AJ Burnett, then Russell Martin, and this year was Chris Stewart.

So both of the Pirates catchers this year were former Yankees, and they both seem to like it in Pittsburgh. Russell Martin excelled in his first season in Pittsburgh last year, but was even better this year, putting up MVP like numbers. Chris Stewart had one of his best years of his career. He hit close to .300 (.294), playing in about a third of the games this season.

Russell Martin will probably win a gold glove this year for being the best defensive catcher in the National League, but not only that, he had an on-base percentage of over .400 (.402). His best quality although is one that cannot be measured by statistics. He is a great veteran presence on and off the field, he manages the pitching staff extremely well, and he is undoubtedly the heart and sole leader of the Pirates. If this was indeed his last season in Pittsburgh, then he is going to be truly missed withing the organization and by fans all over Pittsburgh.

Russell Martin
photo cred: www.steelcitybuzz.come

The position of backup catcher might be the most undervalued position in all of baseball. Finding a catcher that can fill in for the starter about every third day, handle the pitching staff, and play well both offensively and defensively is about as difficult as it sounds, but the Pirates did just that this year in the form of Chris Stewart. Stewart hit .294 in 49 games, and held a solid .991 fielding percentage (3 errors).

Chris Stewart
photo cred: espn.com

The only area for improvement where both Martin and Stewart were lacking was in the power department. Martin finished the year with 11 home runs, and Stewart did not hit 1. Stewart also only had 5 doubles the entire year. Other than that there are no complaints.

***Grade:  A-