Dodgers: 5 greatest seasons by a catcher

Who had the greatest season as a Dodger catcher, and what season was it?

From Roy Campanella to Mike Piazza to Russell Martin, the Dodgers franchise has been blessed with an amazing line of catchers. We could debate which catcher was the greatest in team history, but we will leave that discussion for another day.

After examining the five greatest pitching seasons in Dodgers history yesterday, today we will focus on the men who made their living squatting behind the plate.

In ranking the best catcher seasons, we considered how their performance ranked among its peers in the same season, as well as how it would compare to other seasons using league-adjusted statistics.

We considered both offense and defense, while paying attention to superlative performances on one side of the equation that might have set a particular season apart from the rest. Honestly, it’s splitting hairs in deciding which Roy Campanella or Mike Piazza season was the best, but we gave it our best shot.

It would have been easy to simply rank each season according to the highest wins above replacement value, but we wanted to go beyond just looking at an aggregate number in thinking about the overall impact of a given campaign. We considered MVP and Silver Slugger Awards, where appropriate, as well as where seasons ranked among all-time leaderboards across a variety of statistics.

(Partial spoiler alert), some honorable mentions include Russell Martin‘s 2007 and 2008 seasons, Roy Campanella’s 1955 season, Mike Piazza’s 1995 season, and Mike Scioscia‘s 1985 season.

Without further ado, let’s count down the best catching seasons in Dodgers history. And special thanks to Baseball-Reference for much of the statistics referenced in this article.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Catcher:

5) Mike Piazza – 1996

Get used to seeing this name on the list. Mike Piazza set himself apart during his incredible rise from being drafted as a favor to Piazza’s father in the 62nd round of the 1988 amateur draft to becoming one of the greatest hitting catchers in baseball history.

In 1996, Piazza nearly won the National League Most Valuable Player Award. He finished with 60 percent of the vote share, losing out to San Diego Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti. The right-handed hitting catcher smacked 36 home runs that season, while driving in 105 baserunners.

His .336 batting average ranked third in the National League and his .422 on-base percentage finished fourth highest during the ’96 season. He also finished in the top ten in singles (5th) and bases on balls (7th).

While far from a defensive wizard behind the plate, he was consistent in suiting up in his catching gear each night. He played in 146 games as a catcher, second most in the National League. What places his ’96 season behind others ranked higher on the list is his defense. He allowed the most passed balls and struggled to throw runners out on the basepaths, something you might be surprised to learn he had some success doing earlier in his career.

Despite being traded in the prime of his career to Florida, he still ranks as the second best catcher in Dodgers history in terms of wins above replacement by FanGraphs. His impressive 33.8 win value a product of several highlight seasons, like 1996, when he recorded a 6.6 fWAR, sixth highest single season total among Dodgers catchers.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Catcher:

4) Mike Piazza – 1993

Mike Piazza’s first full season in the Big League is one of the best catching seasons in baseball history, which is pretty incredible to think about. The Rookie of the Year winner slashed .318/.370/.561 on way to his first All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger Award.

Piazza, who was never known for his defense, squatted behind the plate for 146 games in 1993, an exhausting schedule for a first time Major Leaguer who carried the Dodgers lineup on his back at the plate. While opposing baserunners tried to take advantage of his weak arm in stealing the most bases against him in the National League, the high total is a product of the frequency by which they tested him. Piazza also led the league in gunning runners down that year. And to put both counting totals into perspective, he ranked fifth in caught stealing percentage (35.3).

1993 might have been Piazza’s best all-around season, and it would rank even higher on this list if weren’t for a few superlative seasons that stood out even more.

Piazza finished ninth in MVP voting in ’93, won NL Player of the Week three times, finished third in bWAR (7.0), seventh in batting (.318), and fourth in slugging (.561). He hit 35 home runs, sixth most in the National League, while driving in 112 runs, fourth most.

Only Piazza, himself, could outdo these amazing offensive numbers.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Catcher:

3) Roy Campanella – 1951

Roy Campanella won the first of his three MVP awards in 1951. The right-handed hitting catcher batted .325 (4th in the National League), reached base to a 39.3% clip (7th), and had a .590 slugging percentage (3rd). His 33 home runs ranked third in the senior circuit and most by a Dodgers catcher until he broke his own record in 1953. He also drove in 108 runs, tied with the immortal Stan Musial for fourth most in the NL.

Along with unbelievable numbers at the plate, 1951 was also his best season defensively. He led the league in a variety of statistical categories among catchers, including games played (140), putouts (722), assists (72), and double plays turned (12). He was also impossible to steal against, gunning down the most runners (34) in the National League, doing so with the best caught stealing percentage.

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award was first awarded in 1957, otherwise it would have surely gone to Campanella in 1951. While carrying a heavy bat at the plate in a time catchers were mostly considered defense-first positions, he started 140 games wearing the catcher’s mask, proving he could dominate standing inside the batter’s box or behind it.

An argument could be made that Campy’s 1951 season is the best catcher season in Dodgers history with his combination of offensive firepower and defensive consistency. However, it was outdone by two superlative performances that just can’t be left off the top of the list.

Dodgers Top Individual Seasons by a Catcher:

2) Mike Piazza – 1997

Mike Piazza’ 1997 performance at the plate is the greatest offensive season by a catcher in baseball history. Period.

Adjusting for league and park factors, his 183 wRC+ puts him atop a list of legendary catching seasons that includes the likes of Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, and Carlton Fisk. Nobody slugged the baseball while playing backstop like Mike Piazza did in 1997, the season before we would be traded to the Florida Marlins (and eventually New York Mets).

Just how good was he in ’97? You can start with his power. He hit 40 home runs, one shy of the record set by Campanella and tied the season before by Todd Hundley. He drove in 124 runs, again second most ever by a catcher to Campanella. And he recorded those power figures while still spraying the ball all over the field, ending the season with an amazing .362 batting average, third highest by a catcher in a single season, and the highest of any backstop who also hit at least 15 home runs.

Piazza, who is the godson of Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, finished second in National League MVP voting to Larry Walker, who used the friendly air of Coors Field to lift his numbers slightly ahead of #31 in Dodger blue.

I would be remiss not to mention the speculation of steroid use during the time period when Piazza set the league on fire. The Hall-of-Famer will have those allegations follow him whenever his legacy is considered. However, during a time when it seemed all of baseball’s greatest hitters were juiced up, Piazza still set himself above the rest.