RISE OF THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL CATCHER

Anyone who has read this far, besides being bored out of their skull has to start wondering, why. Why have a system where two catchers are fighting each other for playing time?

That is a considered issue. Which is why breaking in such a system would have demands that would be considerably different. A team would have to be able to mandate such decisions and have the evidence and confidence to sell the system to the players. Say a team like the Oakland Athletics, just as an example. Do you think the A's players would question a concept such as a catcher rotation if Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta said it was a good idea? We didn't think so either.

Here are a few reasons to employ a rotation of catchers on a Major League roster;

1. The balancing of catching responsibilities also balances the rate of pay to one player - driving salaries down. Always a novel concept among ownership and administration. Arbitration usually focuses on matters such as counting numbers and at-bats. Although a player's representative in an arbitration hearing could argue that a player could earn more money with another team with more at bats. The team could argue that the player could also earn next to nothing if they are hurt or still in AA.




2. Just to throw out another view, Catcher A and Catcher B probably would not be recognized as candidates for awards since they were not "full-time" players. The exact numbers are out there somewhere, but an All Star catcher would make more than a catcher in a rotation, for sure. Even if the alternate position is DH or First base, the numbers could be skewed toward the team rather than the player.




3. The extra rest a catcher receives with the extra innings off can help the player physically and mentally. The catcher can also have a tremendous impact in laying the groundwork for researching opponents and pitching sequences, not to mention a catcher?s coach to the catcher in the lineup that day. At the plate, a hitter who is healthy and well-rested should be relaxed and at a higher level of concentration - rather than swinging at the first pitch in order to get back to the bench sooner.




4. The roster flexibility issue is a farce. Teams always have a backup catcher. The fact remains that almost half the league refuses to let their back up catcher catch. Why have a guy on the bench that doesn't really offer any value other than allowing another player to rest when they are about to drop dead? Teams should not be tied into a 162 game line up with limited changes. The MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint, and it's a relay. Okay, who didn't love that analogy?




5. The possibilities allow for a wide range of juggling with personalities and experience. You can have a 36 year old catcher on the roster without fear of burn out or serious injury if the veteran catcher gets regular rest. Heck you could juggle two mid-30's catchers as well as juggle a few 20-something catchers just out of college (more on that in a moment).




6. Catchers have personalities and those personalities can add a twist when it comes to approaching calling pitches and pitch sequences. Imagine a pitcher with 35 starts over a season; 17 starts with Catcher A, 15 starts with Catcher B and 3 starts with the Multifunctional Catcher B. With Catcher A the pitch sequence could be a lot more fastballs early in the count and breaking balls later in the count. With Catcher B the sequence could be a lot of off-speed pitches early in the count and fastballs for out pitches. The Multifunctional catcher could be even across the boards. How would you read the post-season scouting report on the pitcher? Do you know who is going to catch in game 3 when the start pitches? Do you know for sure that the pitch sequences are going to be the same? The variation creates a tall order for opponents and gives the pitcher an edge in a crucial situation.




7. By the same token, the advantages given to the pitchers and the variables in play could lead to a diminished bullpen. Teams would not have to carry 11 and 12 pitchers if the middle relief corps were not called upon so often. A few extra 'easy' outs for a starter a week means there is less need for a pitcher who normally pitches three times a month if he is lucky.




8. The teamwork atmosphere created by such a catcher rotation concept could be invaluable. Do you think the fifth outfielder is going to pop off about not getting enough at-bats when a single position is split up amongst two and three players? Come to think of it - why does the team need that 5th outfielder if the Multifunctional Catcher could shag files in left-field just as well on his day off?

SOME HISTORY

Let?s look at some numbers. Remember the 1980?s. Thanks to VH1 we can be sick of them all over again. But what we're driving at is - remember Craig Biggio? Consider Biggio's value, even in the later years of his career, if he were in a catcher rotation and playing second base two to three times a week.

Let's be a little more specific to this blog and talk about the Oakland Athletics. Here's a list of A's catchers over the last 24 seasons;

A's CATCHERS 1980-2003

1980

JIM ESSIAN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
129	101	51	34	15	37	.307	.374	.502	.876

JEFF NEWMAN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
127	55	438	35	15	25	.233	.273	.384	.657

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
92	47	305	13	1	16	.243	.280	.298	.578

1981

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
84	78	301	16	8	13	.236	.269	.346	.615

JEFF NEWMAN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
68	37	216	15	3	9	.231	.260	.329	.589

1982

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
101	90	318	25	3	27	.242	.298	.352	.650

JEFF NEWMAN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
72	67	214	17	6	14	.199	.240	.315	.555

BOB KEARNEY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
22	22	71	3	0	3	.169	.218	.211	.439

1983

BOB KEARNEY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
108	78	298	19	8	21	.255	.312	.372	.684

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
96	37	345	23	6	18	.281	.318	.383	.701

DARRYL CIAS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
19	19	18	1	0	2	.333	.400	.389	.789

1984

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
140	108	475	39	13	26	.248	.287	.396	.683

JIM ESSIAN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
87	59	136	11	2	23	.235	.348	.346	.694

MICKEY TETTLETON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
33	32	76	4	1	11	.263	.352	.355	.707

1985

MIKE HEATH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
138	112	436	37	13	41	.250	.313	.408	.721

MICKEY TETTLETON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
78	76	211	15	3	28	.251	.344	.351	.695

CHARLIE O'BRIEN

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
33	32	76	4	1	11	.263	.352	.355	.707

1986

MICKEY TETTLETON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
90	89	211	19	10	39	.204	.325	.389	.714

JERRY WILLARD

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
75	71	161	11	4	22	.267	.354	.385	.739

BILL BATHE

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
39	39	103	8	5	4	.184	.208	.359	.567

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
6	5	15	2	2	1	.333	.375	.733	1.108

1987

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
122	107	391	35	16	32	.284	.349	.463	.812

MICKEY TETTLETON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
82	80	211	11	8	30	.194	.292	.322	.614

1988

RON HASSEY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
107	91	323	22	7	30	.257	.323	.368	.691

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
104	84	351	29	9	33	.265	.334	.402	.736

ORLANDO MERCADO

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
16	16	24	1	1	3	.125	.22	.250	.472

MATT SINTARO

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
10	9	9	2	0	1	.333	.300	.556	.856

1989

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
130	103	454	21	7	30	.273	.319	.352	.671

RON HASSEY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
97	78	268	17	8	24	.228	.290	.328	.618

1990

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
114	83	379	26	9	19	.251	.291	.372	.663

RON HASSEY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
94	59	254	12	5	27	.213	.288	.299	.587

JAMIE QUIRK

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
56	37	121	9	3	14	.281	.353	.413	.766

TROY AFENIR

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
14	12	14	0	0	0	.143	.133	.143	.276

1991

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
129	117	456	38	6	22	.274	.312	.386	.698

JAMIE QUIRK

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
76	54	203	5	1	16	.261	.321	.296	.617

SCOTT HEMOND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
23	8	23	0	0	1	.217	.250	.217	.45

1992

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
128	124	438	33	12	45	.279	.345	.411	.756

JAMIE QUIRK

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
78	59	177	10	2	16	.220	.294	.305	.599

HENRY MERCADES

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
9	9	5	1	0	0	.800	.800	1.200	2.000

SCOTT HEMOND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
17	8	13	1	0	3	.222	.300	.259	.559

1993

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
104	86	389	30	10	25	.285	.333	.416	.749

SCOTT HEMOND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
91	75	215	22	6	32	.256	.353	.414	.767

HENRY MERCADES

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
20	18	47	2	0	2	.213	.260	.255	.515

ERIC HELFAND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
8	5	13	0	0	0	.231	.231	.231	.462

1994

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
103	93	369	34	11	26	.285	.327	.442	.769

SCOTT HEMOND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
91	39	198	14	3	16	.222	.280	.323	.603

ERIC HELFAND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
7	6	6	0	0	0	.167	.167	.167	.354

1995

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
114	111	406	42	15	25	.278	.322	.458	.780

ERIC HELFAND

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
38	36	86	3	0	11	.163	.265	.209	.474

GEORGE WILLIAMS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
29	13	79	9	3	11	.291	.383	.494	.877

1996

TERRY STEINBACH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
145	137	514	61	35	49	.272	.342	.529	.871

GEORGE WILLIAMS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
53	43	132	8	3	28	.152	.311	.258	.569

IZZY MOLINA

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
14	12	25	2	0	1	.200	.231	.280	.531

1997

BRENT MAYNE

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
85	83	256	18	6	18	.289	.343	.406	.749

GEORGE WILLIAMS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
76	67	201	13	3	35	.289	.397	.388	.785

IZZY MOLINA

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
48	48	111	7	3	3	.198	.219	.324	.543

1998

A.J. HINCH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
120	118	337	19	9	30	.231	.296	.341	.637

MIKE MACFARLANE

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
78	70	207	19	7	12	.225	.265	.292	.557

IZZY MOLINA

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
6	5	2	0	0	0	.500	.500	.500	1.000

1999

MIKE MACFARLANE

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
81	79	226	21	4	13	.243	.282	.372	.654

A.J. HINCH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
76	73	205	12	7	11	.215	.260	.346	.606

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
40	40	136	10	3	18	.279	.363	.397	.760

2000

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
143	142	419	33	14	38	.241	.311	.387	.698

SAL FASANO

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
52	52	126	13	7	14	.214	.306	.429	.735

A.J. HINCH

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
6	5	8	0	0	1	.250	.333	.250	.583

2001

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
136	135	453	40	15	37	.254	.316	.408	.724

GREG MYERS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
33	28	87	8	7	13	.184	.290	.437	.727

TOM WILSON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
9	9	21	2	2	1	.190	.250	.476	.726

SAL FASANO

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
11	9	21	0	0	1	.048	.130	.048	.178

2002

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
136	135	403	27	7	43	.233	.313	.335	.648

GREG MYERS

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
65	53	144	11	6	26	.222	.341	.382	.723

CODY McKAY

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2	1	3	0	0	0	.667	.500	.667	1.167

2003

RAMON HERNANDEZ

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
140	139	483	46	21	33	.273	.331	.458	.789

ADAM MELHUSE

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
40	33	77	12	5	9	.299	.372	.584	.956

MARK JOHNSON

Games	Caught	AB	XBH	HR	BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
13	13	27	1	0	3	.11	.219	.148	.367

There's kind of a legacy there that a change in theory wouldn't necessarily be that bad of an idea. You can see the development, regression and last spurt for some players. Look at Terry Steinbach's numbers and check out how many games Ramon Hernandez was forced to catch in successive seasons.

So, we've laid the groundwork for a concept of catcher rotation, but have not laid out how to employ it.

Fine.

The first choice would be to employ a rotation based on who is pitching.

Catcher A catches starters 1,2 and 5 while Catcher B catcher starts 3 and 4.

Or, a catcher rotation could be made based on right/left handed starters. Catcher A catches right-handed while Catcher B catches the left-handed starters.

It would seem simple enough. One could also argue about rotating catchers based on the opponent's starting pitcher. Eh, we?re not to wild about that scenario. The comfortability with a standard rotation and the pitcher's psyche would seem to be more important than an at bat or two.

Let's discus breakdowns. We have set the maximum at 65% of a team's innings. We would feel a little more comfortable with a 50% - 40% -10% breakdown with a third catcher taking the fifth starter's inning and as a late inning defensive replacement or pinch hitter.

This seems a little more useful and has a better chance of limiting physical liability on a catcher.

CATCHER A - 700 - 750 Innings
CATCHER B - 600 - 650 Innings
MULTIFUNCTIONAL CATCHER - 100 Innings

THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL CATCHER