Buster Posey, Yadier Molina and the 25 Greatest Catchers in Modern MLB History

Welcome once again to Bleacher Report's series of the 25 greatest players at each position in modern MLB history. Up next are the catchers, which made for a unique balance of offensive and defensive contributions.

The first step in this exercise was to decide what "modern" means for the sake of this discussion, and we settled on everything from the 1969 season forward.

That was the first year of the "divisional era," when each league expanded from 10 to 12 teams and split those clubs into two divisions. That also meant an expanded playoff format, with the ALCS and NLCS played for the first time that year. The postseason had previously consisted of just the World Series.

That gives us 54 years of players to consider for a spot in our rankings, but we didn't simply ignore what happened prior to 1969. A pair of lists were also created for the dead-ball era (pre-1920) and the pre-divisional era (1920-68).

Players were ranked based on a combination of their overall body of work and their peak performance, with postseason success also taken into account.

Catch up on our other Top 25 All-Time lists: First Basemen, Second Basemen, Shortstops, Third Basemen

Top 10 Dead-Ball Era

1. Buck Ewing
2. Roger Bresnahan
3. Louis Santop
4. Ray Schalk
5. Johnny Kling
6. Deacon McGuire
7. Duke Farrell
8. Charlie Bennett
9. Jack Clements
10. Steve O'Neill

One of baseball's first great catchers, Buck Ewing won back-to-back World Series titles in 1888 and 1889 with the New York Giants. He played 18 MLB seasons, including four as a player-manager, and hit .303/.351/.456 for a 129 OPS+ with 1,625 hits in 1,315 games.

He is joined in the Baseball Hall of Fame by Roger Bresnahan, Ray Schalk, as well as Louis Santop who was one of the first true superstars in the Negro Leagues and earned induction in 2006.

Top 15 Pre-Divisional Era

1. Josh Gibson
2. Yogi Berra
3. Roy Campanella
4. Bill Dickey
5. Gabby Hartnett
6. Mickey Cochrane
7. Bill Freehan
8. Biz Mackey
9. Joe Torre
10. Ernie Lombardi
11. Rick Ferrell
12. Elston Howard
13. Wally Schang
14. Smoky Burgess
15. Sherm Lollar

An all-time great power hitter and defensive catcher, Josh Gibson is widely regarded as the greatest player in Negro League history. He is credited with a 214 OPS+ in 2,511 plate appearances, and he led the league in home runs 11 times while also winning back-to-back Triple Crowns and hitting .374/.458/.720 in 14 seasons.

Yogi Berra and Roy Campanella lead all catchers with three MVP awards each, and they were two of the faces of baseball during the 1950s, squaring off head-to-head in the World Series five different times during the decade.

Bill Dickey, Gabby Hartnett, Mickey Cochrane, Rick Ferrell and Negro League defensive standout Biz Mackey are also members of the Hall of Fame.

25. Mickey Tettleton

Tettleton posted a 122 OPS+ with four 30-homer seasons and three Silver Slugger wins, but his most valuable offensive asset was his on-base ability. He drew 100-plus walks five different times and finished his .369 career on-base percentage over 14 seasons. Others considered for the final spot included Darren Daulton, Chris Hoiles, Charles Johnson, Jonathan Lucroy, Tony Peña, A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Ruiz, Manny Sanguillén, Mike Scioscia and Terry Steinbach.

24. Jason Varitek

The only Red Sox player to be named team captain since Hall of Fame outfielder Jim Rice, Varitek was a staple behind the plate in Boston for more than a decade. He is tied for the MLB record with four no-hitters caught, and he averaged 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 79 RBI per 162 games over his 15-year career.

23. Benito Santiago

Santiago hit .300/.324/.467 with 33 doubles, 18 home runs, 79 RBI and 21 steals to win 1987 NL Rookie of the Year honors. Over his first six full MLB seasons, he was a four-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove winner. He played for nine teams over the course of his 20-year career, earning his fifth and final All-Star selection as a 37-year-old in 2002.

22. Javy López

The Atlanta Braves won 14 straight division titles starting in 1991, and López was the team's starting catcher for 10 of them. The three-time All-Star had six 20-homer seasons on his way to 260 career home runs, and his 2003 campaign was one of the best offensive seasons of all-time by a catcher. That year, he hit .328/.378/.687 for a 169 OPS+ with 43 home runs, 109 RBI and 6.8 WAR.

21. Jim Sundberg

Sundberg piled up 40.5 career WAR on the strength of his defensive work behind the plate, winning six straight Gold Glove Awards during his time with the Texas Rangers. His 1,927 games behind the plate rank 10th on the all-time list, and his 155 games caught in 1975 are tied for the AL record. The three-time All-Star also had a respectable 90 OPS+ over 16 seasons.

20. Russell Martin

One of the most impactful free-agent signings ever at the catcher position, Martin joined the Pittsburgh Pirates on a two-year deal prior to the 2013 season and promptly helped the team snap a 20-year postseason drought. The four-time All-Star is one of only three catchers with at least 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases, and he tallied 38.8 WAR over 14 seasons.

19. Darrell Porter

A four-time All-Star, Porter logged a 113 OPS+ and 40.9 WAR over 17 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. He won NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 1982 when he helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series title in his second year with the team.

18. Bob Boone

Only Iván Rodríguez (2,427) and Carlton Fisk (2,226) have more career games caught than the 2,225 that Boone tallied over his 19 seasons in the majors. He won seven Gold Glove Awards, including in his age-40 and age-41 seasons, and he also had some pop with 105 home runs and 826 RBI hitting mostly at the bottom of the lineup.

17. Salvador Pérez
16. Brian McCann

The side-by-side comparison here is an interesting one.

Pérez will go down as one of the best catchers of his generation and a true workhorse behind the plate. He has 223 home runs entering his age-33 season, including a 48-homer season in 2021 that set a new single-season mark for catchers, but his limited on-base ability leaves him with a 105 OPS+ and his framing skills leave a lot to be desired, despite his five Gold Glove wins.

McCann was a more well-rounded hitter, batting .262/.337/.452 with 282 home runs, 1,018 RBI and a 110 OPS+ in 15 seasons. He was a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger winner, and was a model of consistency with 11 seasons of at least 20 home runs.

Both players have one World Series ring, and their WAR totals are nearly identical (32.3 vs. 32.0). There is time for Pérez to move up in the coming years, but McCann gets the edge for now.

15. J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto is the best all-around catcher in baseball right now, and he's coming off a career year in 2022 in which he posted a 129 OPS+ with 22 home runs, 84 RBI, 21 steals and 6.5 WAR while winning Gold Glove honors and finishing seventh in NL MVP balloting. It was just the second 20/20 season in MLB history by a catcher. The 32-year-old already has 29.7 WAR, and he could make a run at a top-10 spot if he stays healthy and productive.

14. Jason Kendall

Kendall ranks in the top-five all-time among catchers in both hits (2,195, fourth) and stolen bases (189, fourth), and he spent his prime hitting leadoff for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had five 4-WAR seasons during his nine years in Pittsburgh, earning three All-Star selections in that span. He is a strong candidate for the title of most underrated catcher in MLB history.

13. Gene Tenace

Tenace was one of the stars of the Oakland Athletics teams that won three straight World Series titles during the 1970s. He had an elite .388 on-base percentage, tallying more than 100 walks six different times, and that helped propel him to an impressive 46.8 WAR over 15 seasons. It is worth noting that roughly 40 percent of his career games came at first base.

12. Lance Parrish

Parrish was one of a handful of homegrown stars that helped lead the Detroit Tigers to a World Series title in 1984, playing alongside Alan Trammel, Lou Whitaker, Jack Morris and Kirk Gibson. He was a middle-of-the-order threat with 324 home runs and 1,070 RBI in 19 seasons, earning eight All-Star selections and winning six Silver Slugger Awards as one of the best catchers of the 1980s.

11. Jorge Posada

Posada spent his entire 17-year career in pinstripes, winning four World Series rings along the way. A 24th-round pick in the 1990 draft out of Puerto Rico, he posted a 121 OPS+ with 379 doubles, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI and was a consistent 20-homer, 80-RBI player throughout his prime. He deserved better than a one-and-done stint on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2017.

Stats: 1,858 G, 124 OPS+, 2,123 H, 143 HR, 923 RBI, 33% CS, 55.2 WAR

Accolades: 6x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, 2009 AL MVP

The only reason Joe Mauer does not rank at least a few spots higher on this list is the fact that he spent his final five seasons and more than 5,000 total innings in his career playing first base.

Concussions ultimately forced him out from behind the plate, but in his prime he was one of the faces of the sport and arguably the best contact hitter the catcher position has ever seen.

He won three AL batting titles in a span of four years, peaking in 2009 when he hit .365/.444/.587 with 28 home runs and 96 RBI in a 7.8-WAR season to run away with AL MVP honors.

He will be eligible to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time next year, and he should receive serious consideration.

Stats: 2,456 G, 118 OPS+, 2,472 H, 248 HR, 1,389 RBI, 34% CS, 50.3 WAR

Accolades: 8x All-Star, 1x Silver Slugger

More than 25 years after he went on-and-done on the 1994 Hall of Fame ballot, Ted Simmons was inducted to Cooperstown by the Veterans Committee in 2020.

He ranks in the top five all-time among catchers in hits (2,472, second), RBI (1,389, second), extra-base hits (778, fifth) and total bases (3,793, third), and he hit .285/.348/.437 for a 118 OPS+ over 21 seasons.

Despite his long career, he played in the postseason just twice, reaching the World Series with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982.

He stands as more of a compiler than a true peak performer, but he was one of the best catchers of the 1970s, and his longevity at a physically demanding position helps earn him a spot in the top 10.

Stats: 1,423 G, 116 OPS+, 1,558 H, 113 HR, 701 RBI, 44% CS, 46.1 WAR

Accolades: 7x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 1976 AL MVP

Thurman Munson started his MLB career with a bang, winning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1970. The following season he made the first of what would be seven All-Star Game appearances in a span of eight years while emerging as one of the game's biggest stars.

In 1976, he became the first New York Yankees player to be named team captain since Lou Gehrig, and that same year he hit .302/.337/.432 for a 126 OPS+ with 17 home runs and 105 RBI to win AL MVP honors.

That was followed by back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and 1978, and he was a .357 hitter with three home runs and 22 RBI in 30 career postseason games.

He was just 32 years old when he died in a plane crash midway through the 1979 season, and his plaque would almost certainly be hanging in Cooperstown right now had his career not been tragically cut short.

Stats: 1,371 G, 129 OPS+, 1,500 H, 158 HR, 729 RBI, 33% CS, 44.8 WAR

Accolades: 7x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger, 2012 NL MVP

With only 1,093 career games behind the plate, Buster Posey did not put together the same workhorse track record in the crouch that many of the other players on this list did over the course of their careers.

That said, it's difficult to ignore a resume that includes 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, 2012 NL MVP, three World Series wins in a span of five years, seven All-Star selections and a terrific .302/.372/.460 batting line over 12 seasons.

He hit .336/.408/.549 with 39 doubles, 24 home runs and 103 RBI to also take home the NL batting title during his MVP season, and he also homered three times during the postseason en route to a World Series title that year for good measure.

His counting numbers would look even better if not for a broken leg that limited him to 45 games in 2011, and his case will be an interesting one for the BBWAA when he first appears on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2026.

Stats: 2,224 G, 96 OPS+, 2,168 H, 176 HR, 1,022 RBI, 40% CS, 42.3 WAR

Accolades: 10x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove, 1x Silver Slugger

The surface-level statistics don't tell the full story of the impact Yadier Molina had as essentially a second manager on the field throughout his time with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Few catchers have controlled the running game the way he did in his prime, and his nine Gold Glove wins are also accompanied by a pair of Platinum Glove Awards as the best all-around defender at any position.

He enjoyed a brief three-year offensive peak that began in 2011 where he hit .313/.361/.482 while averaging 35 doubles, 16 home runs, 74 RBI and 5.4 WAR per season, and he finished in the top five in NL MVP voting in 2012 and 2013.

However, his legacy will revolve around his elite defensive skills, ability to handle a pitching staff, and impressive durability over the course of a 19-year career.

Stats: 2,296 G, 115 OPS+, 2,092 H, 324 HR, 1,225 RBI, 35% CS, 70.2 WAR

Accolades: 11x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 5x Silver Slugger

Gary Carter debuted as a 20-year-old September call-up in 1974, hitting .407 in 29 plate appearances down the stretch to set expectations soaring.

He lived up to those expectations the following year when he earned his first All-Star selection and finished runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and from there he steadily emerged as a middle-of-the-order run producer and a perennial All-Star.

"The Kid" spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Montreal Expos before they traded him to the New York Mets for a package of four players, and in his second season with the Mets, he finished third in NL MVP voting and won his only World Series ring.

He was good enough defensively to win three Gold Glove Awards, which alongside his stellar offensive production vaults him into the top five in these rankings.

Stats: 1,912 G, 143 OPS+, 2,127 H, 427 HR, 1,335 RBI, 23% CS, 59.5 WAR

Accolades: 12x All-Star, 10x Silver Slugger

Mike Piazza is the greatest offensive catcher in MLB history.

After beating the odds just by reaching the majors as a 62nd-round pick, he put together one of the best rookie seasons in MLB history when he hit .318/.370/.561 with 35 home runs and 112 RBI in 1993.

That was only the start as he would tally nine 30-homer seasons over 16 years in the big leagues, peaking in 1997 when he hit .362/.431/.638 for an NL-leading 185 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 40 home runs and 124 RBI to finish runner-up in NL MVP voting for the second year in a row.

He was a below-average defender, and that keeps him out of the top three in these rankings, but there is little question he was one of the best offensive players of his era and a worthy selection for the Hall of Fame.

Stats: 2,499 G, 117 OPS+, 2,356 H, 376 HR, 1,330 RBI, 34% CS, 68.5 WAR

Accolades: 11x All-Star, 1x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger

Carlton Fisk spent 24 seasons in the big leagues, and the fact that he played that long and still finished with a 117 OPS+ for his career speaks to how productive he was throughout his late 30s and into his 40s.

He posted a 162 OPS+ with 28 doubles, 22 home runs and 61 RBI to win AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1972, and he also took home Gold Glove honors and earned his first All-Star selection as a rookie.

He spent his first 11 seasons in Boston where he racked up 39.5 of his 68.5 career WAR, but he still had plenty left in the tank when he joined the Chicago White Sox in 1981 ahead of his age-33 season.

He would go on to play 13 more seasons, earning four more All-Star selections and winning three Silver Sluggers during his time with the South Siders. Despite his lengthy MLB career, he never won a World Series ring, though he did provide one of baseball's iconic moments with his home run in the 1975 Fall Classic.

Stats: 2,543 G, 106 OPS+, 2,844 H, 311 HR, 1,332 RBI, 46% CS, 68.7 WAR

Accolades: 14x All-Star, 13x Gold Glove, 7x Silver Slugger, 1999 AL MVP

Iván Rodríguez surpassed Carlton Fisk for the most games caught all-time during the 2009 season, and he finished with 2,427 games caught—roughly 700 more than the No. 1 player in these rankings.

The toll that took on his body is just something to consider when looking at his offensive numbers.

"Pudge" made his MLB debut as a 19-year-old in 1991 when he finished fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting, and that was followed by a 10-year stretch in which he won AL Gold Glove honors and was chosen to the All-Star team every year. That impressive run included AL MVP honors in 1999 when he hit .332/.356/.558 with 35 home runs, 113 RBI and 25 steals.

After 12 seasons with the Rangers, he joined the Florida Marlins on a one-year deal prior to the 2003 season and helped lead a young roster to a surprise World Series title. That earned him a five-year deal from the Detroit Tigers in free agency, during which time he added four more All-Star selections and three more Gold Gloves to his impressive resume.

He is one of only two catchers who was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Stats: 2,158 G, 126 OPS+, 2,048 H, 389 HR, 1,376 RBI, 43% CS, 75.1 WAR

Accolades: 14x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 2x NL MVP

Johnny Bench was the best player on arguably the best team in MLB history.

He won NL Rookie of the Year honors as a 20-year-old in 1968 while also taking home Gold Glove honors and earning the first of what would be 13 straight All-Star selections.

He won NL MVP honors in 1970 (141 OPS+, 45 HR, 148 RBI) and again in 1972 (166 OPS+, 40 HR, 125 RBI), and he helped lead the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.

His numbers are even more impressive when you consider that he played just 281 games and tallied only 2.2 WAR after his age-32 season, and while that is a knock against him in the longevity category, his peak performance as an all-around superstar is unparalleled at the position.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.