MLB's 10 Greatest Catchers of All-Time

5. Roy Campanella

Campanella is one of the most underrated players of all time. In just 10 seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he had a .276 average, 242 home runs, 856 RBI and 627 runs scored. He also had 1,161 base hits, a .360 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. He was also selected to the All-Star team eight times, starting at catcher in five of them.

He helped lead the Dodgers to the World Series five times, winning one in the 1955 season. He is tied for the most MVP awards by a catcher, as he won three in the 1951, 1953, and 1955 seasons. His best season was in the '53 season, as he had a .312 average, 41 home runs, 142 RBI and 103 runs scored in 144 games.

Campanella was an African American and one of MLB's first first black players. He also was the first African American to manage white players in an organized professional baseball team, as he took over for ejected manager Walter Alston in a game in the 1946 season. However, his career and life took a big hit when he was paralyzed from a car accident in 1958 at the age of 35.

4. Mike Piazza

Piazza is without a doubt the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. He leads all catchers in career home runs with 427. He also had a .308 career batting average, 1,335 RBI, 2,127 base hits, 344 doubles and 1048 runs scored. He also had a .377 on-base percentage and a .545 slugging percentage. Piazza was selected to the All-Star team 12 times, starting at catcher in 10 of them.

He also won the Silver Slugger Awards 10 times throughout the '90s and the 2000s. He won the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award and the All-Star Game MVP in 1996. His best season was in 1997, when he had .362 average, 40 home runs, 124 RBI, 104 runs, and 201 base hits with the Dodgers, finishing second in the MVP voting.

3. Yogi Berra

Berra was another one of the great Yankees catchers, but he was the best one. In 19 seasons, he had a .285 average, 358 home runs, 1430 RBI, 1175 runs scored, and 2,150 base hits. He was also selected to the All-Star team an amazing 18 times, starting at catcher in 11 of them.

Berra is tied for the most MVP awards won by a catcher, claiming the honor in three seasons—1951, 1954, and 1955. His best season was in 1954, posting a .307 average, 22 home runs, and 125 RBI. Berra also was one of the biggest winners of all time, as he led the Yankees to an amazing 14 World Series appearances, winning 10 of them.

2. Johnny Bench

Bench was the catcher of the Big Red Machine (the great Cincinnati Reds teams of the '70s). In 17 seasons, he had a .267 average, 389 home runs, 1,376 RBI, 1,091 runs scored, and 2,048 base hits. He was selected to the All-Star team 14 times, starting at catcher in 10 of them. He also won the 1968 Rookie of the Year Award.

Bench was one of the greatest defensive catcher of all-time, winning an amazing 10 consecutive gold gloves from the 1968 season through the 1977 season to prove it. He also helped lead the Reds to the World Series four times, two of them resulting in a title. Finally, Bench won two MVP awards, in the 1970 and 1972 seasons.

1. Ivan Rodriguez

Rodriguez is the greatest catcher of all-time. He was superb offensively, as he hit for a .302 career average with 295 home runs, 1,217 RBI, 1,253 runs scored, 2,605 base hits, and 124 stolen bases in 18 seasons. He has been selected to the All-Star team 14 times, starting at catcher in 12 of them.

He is, in my opinion, the greatest defensive catcher of all-time, he leading all catchers with an amazing 13 Gold Gloves. He also won the Silver Slugger Award six consecutive times, from 1994 to 1999. He also helped lead his teams to two World Series appearances, winning one in the 2003 season with the Florida Marlins.

He has been one of the best catchers in terms of handling pitching staffs, as his teams have regularly had great team ERAs. Finally, he won the 1999 AL MVP award as he had a .332 average, 35 home runs, 113 RBI, 116 runs scored, and 25 stolen bases as a member of the Texas Rangers.

In the next few days, I will give you the top 10 greatest first basemen of all time.

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