There have had some gutsy and competitive catchers gear up and experience a surplus of success for the New York Yankees.
By Christian Kouroupakis
The catcher is not only the most significant position in baseball, but it’s coupled with being one of the most physically demanding positions on the diamond.
A good catcher that can be the manager on the field, solid with the glove, and be able to smash with the lumber are certainly hard to find.
You could compile a hefty list of elite outfielders and infielders but in terms of great or even above average catchers? Not many. Buster Posey, Russel Martin, Salvador Perez, Yadier Molina, and maybe Brian McCann are a few, but all in all above average catchers are in the minority.
Evidently the Yankees have had more catching greats than any other team. From Bill Dickey to Jorge Posada, they have not only provided with insane defensive showcases and offensive outbursts but are the focal point of some of the greatest moments in franchise history.
In the first of many Elite Sports All-Time New York Yankees position rankings, we spotlight the greatest catchers to every wear navy blue pinstripes.
10. Jake Gibbs
Jake Gibbs was considered the best quarterback in the history of the University of Mississippi but he chose to throw runners out over heaving touchdown passes and signed with the Yankees as an amateur free-agent in 1961.
When Yogi Berra retired in 1964, Gibbs was in the running to become the starting catcher. Unfortunately, injuries got the better of him as he only played a combined 102 games between 1964 and 1967 but when the Yankees traded away Elston Howard during the 1967 season, Gibbs earned the starting catcher’s role.
He eventually lost his starting role to Thurman Munson. Scouts say it would have been better off if Gibbs had gone to the NFL, but instead, he’s rounding out our Top-10.
9. Wally Schang
When Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Wally Schang followed him and the first string of great Yankee catchers was born.
Schang was the starting catcher for New York for three straight American League pennants (1921-23) and earned himself a World Series ring in 1923.
In five years in the Bronx. Schang slashed .297/.390/.406 with 16 home runs and 209 RBI but in 32 World Series games, he went 27-for-94 with one home run and eight RBI.
8. Rick Cerone
Rick Cerone had three different stints with the Bombers after being acquired in the trade for Chris Chambliss to replace Thurman Munson.
Cerone assisted the Yankees en route to an American League East crown in 1980, a year in which he finished seventh in the AL MVP voting. He also was an integral part of the 1981 team that won the pennant but unfortunately for him, he never played a full season after that.
7. Mike Stanley
During his tenure in the Bronx, Mike Stanley was thought about as one of the main components of the revival of the Yankees that took place in the early/mid-90’s.
In five total seasons, Stanley slashed .285/.377/.504 with 72 home runs including .305 with 24 homers and 85 RBIs for the 1993 Yankees. He hit .300 in 1994 and he cranked career-high twenty-nine homers in 1998 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.
Despite the promise in his bat, the Yanks got the next man on this list to be the starter in 1996 and had another man on this list on the way through the system.
6. Joe Girardi
Before manager Joe Girardi was giving fans across Yankee land insane migraines, he was busy being one of the greatest catchers in team history.
Girardi, despite spending a mere four seasons in New York, caught Dwight Gooden’s exhilarating no-hitter in 1996 and David Cone’s perfect game in 1999.
He was also one of the major pieces of the 1996 New York Yankees. A highlight imprinted in every fan’s mind is the dramatic triple that sparked a rally off Greg Maddux in Game Six of that World Series.
This Yankee backstop was known for his defense, but one of his greatest attributes was his ability to lead a pitching staff. Hell, that’s why he’s a World Champion manager.
Although this has nothing to do wit where he ranks, he led a miserable Florida Marlins team with a dwindling payroll near .500 in 2006 and earned the National League Manager of the Year award. He was named the Yankees manager in 2008 and anchored that ship to a 2009 World Series win.
5. Jorge Posada
There are many who say that Jorge Posada isn’t a great catcher. Those same people will rave about how he’s not even in the same league as Mike Piazza of the New York Mets and Jason Varitek of the Red Sox.
Those people are downright wrong.
Posada called David Wells’ perfect game in 1998, is a switch hitter with tons of power, and has been the center of attention in some of the biggest games in Yankees’ history. Like his double that tied up Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS and set up Aaron Boone’s home run that sent the Yankees to the World Series.
Posada hit 275 career home runs and had a career slash line of .273/.374/.474 and was a five-time All-Star.
On August 22, 2015, the Yankees retired his number forever securing his place as one of the greatest catchers in team history.
4. Elston Howard
Not only was Elston Howard the first African-American to play for the New York Yankees, he was the first African-American to win he American League MVP award in 1963.
In 13 seasons in New York Howard batted .279 and cranked 161 home runs but his leadership as a catcher is the reason Whitey Ford won 24 games and Jim Bouton won 21 in 1963.
In 1969, he returned to the Yankees as a coach, becoming the first black coach in team history. His death in 1980, caused by a heart ailment, presumably prevented him from becoming New York’s first black manager.
To this day, the Yankees have never had a black manager, but they did retire Howard’s Number 32 and give him a well-earned Plaque in Monument Park.
3. Thurman Munson
In 1970, Thurman Munson’s first year in the show, he took home the AL’s Rookie of the Year and he won the MVP in 1976 after slashing .302/.377/.432 with 17 home runs. He is the only Yankee to win both of those awards.
Munson was the first man to become team captain since Lou Gehrig and put together three straight yeats of a .300 batting average and 100 RBIs. In 1978, but he led his squad to its third pennant in a row and helped win back-to-back World Championships.
In tragic fashion, Munson’s life was taken in a plane crash on August 2, 1979. Owner George Steinbrenner ordered the retirement of his Number 15 immediately and a year later his Plaque in Monument Park was ready.
2. Bill Dickey
Bill Dickey or the other person to wear No. 8, was not only one of the greatest catchers in Yankees’ history but among the Top-10 in baseball history.
He helped his team win eight American League Pennants (1932, ’36, ’37, ’38, ’39, ’41, ’42 and ’43) and earned seven World Series rings in eight appearances (losing only in 1942).
I consider Dickey to be one of the unofficial captains until Munson became one. He not only led the Yankees to their 106-win season in ’39 but also helped them earn their tenth championship in 1943.
In that year, Joe DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, and Phil Rizzuto were off fighting World War II. Dickey would soon join the service for the next two years.
In his 17 year career, the 11-time All-Star had a career batting average of .313 and 202 home runs.
1. Yogi Berra
One can argue, justifiably, that Dickey may be the best catcher in franchise history but we’re going with the man himself, Yogi Berra. Before digging into how good he was on the field, here are some great “Yogi-isms:”
- “When you come to a fork in the road … take it.”
- “You can observe a lot by watching.”
- “It gets late early out here.”
- “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.”
In a career that spanned 18 seasons, he batted .285 with 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in and even had a short stint with the Mets in 1965. In his 17 years with the Yankees, he made the World Series 14 times and won 10 of them. Both of them are records.
He also managed the Yankees and Mets to the World Series but never won the commissioner’s trophy. Following his hall-of-fame playing career, Berra made appearances at Yankees camp in Tampa and maintained one of baseball’s all-time classic personalities.
Do you agree with our rankings of the best Yankee catchers in New York Yankees’ history? Are there any numbers on the list you would alter or remove altogether? Get the conversation going in the comments below.
I have to agree that Yogi was #1 because he was the Yankees catcher when I became a fan at age 6 in 1949 and was still their catcher in 1961 when I went off to the service. He was the quintessential Yankee.