Alright, it is time to get serious.  Put your serious hats on.   There's mine.  Tin foil also works.  Newspaper is good in a pinch, as long as you have not been using it for lining the bird cage or something like that.

Now, the complaint that I hear is there are not enough catchers on the AGP.  However, there are not many "qualified" catchers (100 games at the position, 4,000 or more career PAs) that were left off.  By my count, as of the 2005 season there were only 6 such men: Jack Doyle, Deacon White, Keith Moreland, Jack Rowe, Cliff Johnson, and Malachi "Super Neifi" Kittridge.  Only Malachi was an regular catcher, though Deacon White was mostly a catcher for his NA run.  I would assume that adding 6 catchers is not sufficient.

So how do we fix this problem?  Do we, like the last man in the bar, lower our standards?  Is 4,000 PAs too high?  Should it perhaps be 3,500 PAs?  Or 3,000 PAs?  Should we just tack on Mackey Sasser and call it a day?

And if we do lower our standards, do we also lower the maximum?  Why should Yogi Berra have to suffer the slings and arrows of the max peak when we let in some man who's entire career was equivalent to Lawrence's half a decade?  Should 6,000 PAs remain as the maximum peak, or should it lower itself to match the new standard?  And if we do drop the max standard, how do we do it?  If we wallow in 3,000 PAs, should the max drop 1,000 PAs as well to 5,000, or should we do in by percentage lowering it 25% to 4,500?

Futhermore, how do we determine what is and is not a catcher, and thus give an advantage in their peak?  Certain players could be given an unfair advantage if we are too lenient on defining this.  Is Deacon White, who was most a third baseman, get benefit of this new range?  What about Joe Torre?  Todd Zeile?  Jimmie Foxx?  No, seriously.  More on that later.

Do I have the answers to these questions?  Nope.  Not a clue.  But since when has that stopped me.

But before we ponder these things, preferably not with a mouse named Pinky, let us see where we were and where we are now.

There are currently 131 players ranked at catcher in the DMB AGP.  They range from men whose knees seemed to have built-in springs that never rusted like Carlton Fisk, Ivan Rodriguez, and Bob Boone, to those that tasted what it was to catch and then veered off into another path, such as Phil Nevin, Todd Zeile, and Jimmie Foxx.  And I am being totally straight about Jimmie Foxx.  He caught 108 games in his career, and it wasn't like he caught his first year and then got moved to first either.  Seriously.  Look it up.

Now, the last edition of the AGP was through 2005.  Since then 7 new players with over 100 games catched have qualified, which I list thusly:
Name               BJRank   StYr    EnYr      PA     OPS+    G-C    Positions  
Hatteberg, Scott            1995    2008    4876     101     369    1B/C
Hernandez, Ramon            1999    2009    4770      95    1217    C
Inge, Brandon               2001    2009    4293      84     376    3B/C
Lo Duca, Paul               1998    2008    4302      97     932    C/1B
Molina, Bengie              1998    2009    4743      88    1172    C
Pierzynski, A.J.            1998    2009    4704      94    1186    C
Varitek, Jason              1997    2009    5466      99    1381    C
Hatteburg was only a catcher for about 3 seasons before he was moved to first, and Inge went from catcher to third back to catcher then back to third, but the other 5 know little beyond the tools of ignorance.

Now, for those of you who do math at home, that figures out to 1 or 2 catchers qualifying each year.  Let us see who is in the pipeline to see if that pattern continues.  There are currently 6 players within 1,000 or so PAs of 4,000.  They are:

Gregg Zaun (3,925) - He's 38, but he's coming off a good season, so basically all he has to do is avoid serious injury or going into a Jamie Quirk 2 for 24 type start which earns him his unconditional release.  So pencil him in for 2010.

Michael Barrett (3,873) - The good news: he's very close.  The bad news: he had all of 19 plate appearances last year and his last three seasons have seen OPS+ of 68, 59 and 42.  He suffered an injury early in 2009, came back, was sent on a rehab assignment, and then REALLY hurt himself missing the rest of the season.  If he can come back and make it as a backup catcher somewhere, he could qualify in 2010.  Or he could be done.

Victor Martinez (3,686) - 2010.  2011 the latest.

Brian Scheider (3,186) - He was awful last year, missing a good part of the season with injury and when he was healthy he added his own steaming pile on the stinker that was the 2009 Mets.  Right now, he's probably just trying to find a job.  He might make it eventually.

Jason LaRue (3,040) - 35-year-old backup catcher.  Unlikely.

Joe Mauer (2,994) - The awesomely awesome awesomeness.  KNEEL BEFORE MAUER!  2011 probably.

So extrapolating from this ridiculously small sample, 1 or 2 catchers a year seems about right.  I suspect that some of you are saying that is insufficient.

Now, there is another resource where we can get catchers.  There are 5 players on the AGP that played at least 100 games at catcher but are not ranked at that position.  They are:
Name               BJRank   StYr    EnYr      PA     OPS+    G-C    Positions  
Cross, Lave        3B/33    1887    1907    9710     100     324    3B/C/RF/SS/2B
Foxx, Jimmie       1B/ 2    1925    1945    9670     163     108    1B/3B/C
Downing, Brian     LF/38    1973    1992    9309     122     675    DH/LF/C
Surhoff, B.J.      LF/97    1987    2005    9106      98     704    LF/C/3B/1B/RF
Zeile, Todd        3B/81    1989    2004    8649     103     130    3B/1B/C
Foxx again.  See, I speak the truth.  Frankly, 108 games may technically qualify him, but the idea that you could make the #2 first baseman of all time your starting catcher just seems... wrong.  Some things like rattlesnakes, bikers, and Jose Offerman should just not be messed with.  Zeile only caught in his first couple years and his last game, so he's iffy.  Cross, Downing and Surhoff were legitimate catchers who moved onto other positions (3B, LF and 3B/LF respectively) so there is an argument there.  Just keep in mind that Surhoff and Downing became significantly better hitters after they left their face mask behind and Cross did almost all of his catching before 1894.  Of course a catcher with an OPS+ of 95 may actually be more valuable than a LF with an OPS+ of 115.  I have argued before that Surhoff should be in the league twice, once as a catcher and once as a 3B/LF and you could probably do the same for Downing and Cross.  But still we are not adding a lot of players here.

So after all that, we have added 6 qualified catchers, 7 new guys, and 3-5 possible position expansions, which makes 16-18 more catchers.  Is that enough?

Well, you should know by now I have a big list of players that I want to post and I sure as heck am not going to be deterred by such considerations, so here goes.  Here are the list of catchers who (1) are not on the AGP, (2) have at least 100 career games at catcher, and (3) have at least 2,300 PAs.  Why 2,300?  Because Babe Phelps is ranked #98 all-time by Bill James and he has 2,306.  The players are listed in order of total PAs and I will break up the list at each 100 to give you an idea of how many players get added at each level.  Included are the career games catched and the Bill James rank at catcher, including the supplemental listing that goes up to #125.  If the player is ranked at a different position I will note it at the end.  Finally, as an added bonus, all the catchers that are on the AGP but have less than 4,000 PAs are listed and will be shown in BOLD with a star (*) next to their name.
Name               BJRank   StYr    EnYr      PA     OPS+    G-C    Positions  
Doyle, Jack                 1889    1905    6566     105     176    1B/C/2B/RF/SS/3B
White, Deacon               1876    1890    5668     122     226    3B/C/1B/RF
Varitek, Jason              1997    2009    5466      99    1381    C
Moreland, Keith             1978    1989    5082     104     169    RF/3B/C/1B/LF
Hatteberg, Scott            1995    2008    4876     101     369    1B/C
Hernandez, Ramon            1999    2009    4770      95    1217    C
Molina, Bengie              1998    2009    4743      88    1172    C
Pierzynski, A.J.            1998    2009    4704      94    1186    C
Rowe, Jack                  1879    1890    4626     114     298    SS/C/OF
Johnson, Cliff              1972    1986    4603     125     179    DH/1B/C/LF
Kittridge, Malachi          1890    1906    4446      56    1196    C
Lo Duca, Paul               1998    2008    4302      97     932    C/1B
Inge, Brandon               2001    2009    4293      84     376    3B/C
----------------------------------LINE OF DEATH-------------------------------------------

Davis, Jody*          90    1981    1990    3984      92    1039    C                  
Sullivan, Billy*            1899    1916    3981      63    1122    C                 
Masi, Phil*           93    1939    1952    3946      96    1101    C                 
Zaun, Gregg                 1995    2009    3925      91    1039    C Hassey, Ron           89    1978    1991    3906     100     946    C Barrett, Michael            1998    2009    3873      89     885    C/3B Stanage, Oscar              1906    1925    3845      69    1074    C Warner, John                1895    1908    3824      73    1032    C Hundley, Randy*      109    1964    1977    3797      77    1026    C                    
White, Sammy*        111    1951    1962    3788      79    1027    C                    
Oliver, Joe                 1989    2001    3698      82    1033    C Martinez, Victor            2002    2009    3686     121     717    C/1B Clarke, Boileryard          1893    1905    3664      75     739    C/1B Bowerman, Frank             1895    1909    3648      77     826    C/1B Vaughn, Farmer              1886    1899    3643      81     553    C/1B/LF Flaherty, John              1992    2005    3640      74    1032    C Tresh, Mike*         125    1938    1949    3637      71    1019    C                   
Ferguson, Joe*        79    1970    1983    3624     116     766    C/RF                 Criger, Lou          115    1896    1912    3619      72     984    C Bateman, John*              1963    1972    3585      77     953    C Rosar, Buddy                1939    1951    3571      84     934    C Reed, Jeff                  1984    2000    3566      82    1071    C Miller, Damian              1997    2007    3558      88     958    C Diaz, Bo              97    1977    1989    3537      87     965    C Dalrymple, Clay      107    1960    1971    3532      85    1003    C Borders, Pat                1988    2005    3499      77    1015    C Hogan, Shanty         94    1925    1937    3474     100     908    C Gedman, Rich         105    1980    1992    3468      90     979    C McCullough, Clyde    114    1940    1956    3459      85     989    C Williams, Earl              1970    1977    3431     106     456    C/1B/3B Ainsmith, Eddie             1910    1924    3422      76     993    C Grady, Mike                 1894    1906    3420     125     525    C/1B/3B/OF Killefer, Bill       121    1909    1921    3400      63    1005    C Harper, Brian         99    1979    1995    3386     102     688    C/LF McFarland, Ed               1893    1908    3364     103     830    C Rodgers, Buck*              1961    1969    3353      74     895    C     Myers, Greg                 1987    2005    3352      86     894    C Hoiles, Chris               1989    1998    3338     119     819    C Manwaring, Kirt             1987    1999    3336      68     993    C Picinich, Val               1916    1933    3308      85     935    C Rariden, Bill        118    1909    1920    3305      81     948    C Carroll, Fred         83    1884    1891    3290     135     377    C/LF/RF/CF/1B Benedict, Bruce             1978    1989    3289      71     971    C Romano, Johnny*       73    1958    1967    3256     122     810    C      Mueller, Ray                1935    1951    3238      90     917    C Bergen, Bill                1901    1911    3228      21     941    C Fosse, Ray           106    1967    1979    3226      90     889    C Meyers, Chief*        60    1909    1917    3226     117     911    C   Schreckengost, Ossee 110    1897    1908    3216      90     751    C/1B Milligan, Jocko      103    1884    1893    3210     123     585    C/1B Snyder, Pop                 1876    1891    3207      73     744    C Danning, Harry*       55    1933    1942    3194     104     801    C   Duncan, Dave                1964    1976    3190      85     885    C Schneider, Brian            2000    2009    3186      82     877    C Dexter, Charlie             1896    1903    3184      85     116    RF/CF/C/3B/1B Taubensee, Eddie            1991    2001    3178      99     871    C Ganzel, Charlie             1884    1897    3176      73     578    C/RF/2B Nilsson, Dave               1992    1999    3153     110     309    C/1B/RF/LF Gonzalez, Mike       122    1912    1932    3149      80     868    C/1B Courtney, Clint      123    1951    1961    3147      94     802    C Valle, Dave                 1984    1996    3146      86     902    C Gowdy, Hank*          77    1910    1930    3143     104     893    C/1B Pagnozzi, Tom        120    1987    1998    3142      80     827    C Swift, Bob                  1940    1953    3136      61     980    C Sullivan, Billy             1931    1947    3130      91     414    C/1B/3B/OF Douglass, Klondike          1896    1904    3126      91     250    1B/C/LF/RF Taylor, Zack                1920    1935    3101      68     856    C Azcue, Joe           117    1960    1972    3095      85     868    C Stearns, John               1974    1984    3082     102     699    C Martinez, Buck              1969    1986    3072      72    1008    C Sugden, Joe                 1893    1912    3068      78     708    C/1B Herrmann, Ed                1967    1978    3057      90     817    C Miller, Otto                1910    1922    3049      67     890    C LaRue, Jason                1999    2009    3040      85     845    C Lopata, Stan          92    1948    1960    3034     114     695    C/1B Schriver, Pop               1886    1901    3024      88     654    C Nokes, Matt          124    1985    1995    2997     105     689    C Brenly, Bob          102    1981    1989    2995     106     705    C/1B/3B Mauer, Joe                  2004    2009    2994     136     607    C Myatt, Glenn                1920    1936    2989      85     734    C Leyritz, Jim                1990    2000    2961     106     308    C/1B/3B/OF Karkovice, Ron       119    1986    1997    2948      81     918    C Smith, Hal                  1955    1964    2941      94     648    C/3B Todd, Al                    1932    1943    2939      82     752    C Etchebarren, Andy           1962    1978    2934      88     931    C Kreuter, Chad               1988    2003    2932      84     892    C Mack, Connie                1886    1896    2931      72     609    C/1B/OF Casanova, Paul              1965    1974    2930      64     811    C Mitterwald, George          1966    1977    2919      80     796    C Ellis, John                 1969    1981    2915      99     297    1B/C Flint, Silver               1878    1889    2906      78     727    C/RF Archer, Jimmy               1904    1918    2882      80     736    C/1B LaValliere, Mike      91    1984    1995    2871      93     850    C Moran, Pat                  1901    1914    2864      78     697    C Bassler, Johnny*      47    1913    1927    2858     104     756    C                     Pagliaroni, Jim             1955    1969    2853     109     767    C Hargrave, Bubbles     85    1913    1930    2852     118     747    C Westrum, Wes         104    1947    1957    2849      94     902    C McLean, Larry               1901    1915    2833      86     761    C Kendall, Fred               1969    1980    2823      72     795    C Sims, Duke                  1964    1974    2810     112     646    C/1B/OF Grim, John                  1888    1899    2797      81     578    C Servais, Scott              1991    2001    2778      79     792    C Wathan, John                1976    1985    2764      83     572    C/1B/OF Barajas, Rod                1999    2009    2744      76     782    C Nixon, Russ                 1957    1968    2714      84     722    C Pytlak, Frankie      112    1932    1946    2713      84     699    C Rader, Dave                 1971    1980    2702      86     771    C Trevino, Alex               1978    1990    2701      81     742    C/3B Fitzgerald, Mike            1983    1992    2667      87     748    C Fick, Robert                1998    2007    2658      95     158    1B/RF/C Schmidt, Walter             1916    1925    2635      68     734    C Olivo, Miguel               2002    2009    2631      82     709    C Rodriguez, Ellie            1968    1976    2622      94     737    C Blanco, Henry               1997    2009    2614      67     763    C Gooch, Johnny               1921    1933    2613      79     758    C Tillman, Bob                1962    1970    2585      85     725    C Smith, Earl          100    1919    1930    2569     111     720    C O'Brien, Charlie            1985    2000    2560      75     782    C Virgil, Ozzie               1980    1990    2555     102     677    C Moss, Les                   1946    1958    2549      87     720    C Bushong, Doc                1876    1890    2522      55     667    C Early, Jake                 1939    1949    2518      89     694    C Hall, Toby                  2000    2008    2514      77     673    C O'Dea, Ken                  1935    1946    2510      95     627    C Quirk, Jamie                1975    1992    2507      78     525    C/3B Bako, Paul                  1998    2009    2471      62     758    C Oliver, Gene                1959    1969    2467     103     382    C/1B/LF Molina, Yadier              2004    2009    2458      81     656    C Daily, Con                  1884    1896    2455      76     550    C Martin, J.C.                1959    1972    2446      73     692    C/1B Wilson, Art          116    1908    1921    2440     113     738    C Redmond, Mike               1998    2009    2435      88     665    C Wilkins, Rick               1991    2001    2435     100     650    C Kerins, John                1884    1890    2406     102     163    1B/C/OF Bemis, Harry                1902    1910    2405      91     588    C Roof, Phil                  1961    1977    2404      73     835    C Holbert, Bill               1876    1888    2396      47     538    C/OF Spohrer, Al                 1928    1935    2383      70     731    C Henline, Butch              1921    1931    2382      97     608    C O'Brien, Jack               1882    1890    2380     115     275    C/1B/OF Wockenfuss, John            1974    1985    2373     115     269    C/1B/RF McCann, Brian               2005    2009    2372     121     578    C Ryan, Jack                  1889    1913    2327      49     527    C Martin, Russell             2006    2009    2326     103     548    C Evans, Al                   1939    1951    2322      81     647    C Desautels, Gene             1930    1946    2310      57     699    C Fitz Gerald, Ed             1948    1959    2310      81     651    C Phelps, Babe          98    1931    1942    2306     125     592    C Hayworth, Ray               1926    1945    2304      71     677    C Foote, Barry                1973    1982    2300      75     637    C
The other ranked players are Jack Doyle (1B, #87), Jack Rowe (SS, #103), and Deacon White (3B, #76).

For those of you counting at home, or simply buried under all this data, there are 184 non-AGP catchers listed here below the 4,000 PA threshold along with 13 above it.  I don't think we need 197 more catchers.  So where do we draw the line?

I think the answer may be that we don't.  Instead, we go with the same strategy that DMB used originally which is add everyone above the minimum (except for the 6 guys who were left out for some reason), and then strategically pick off players below on a case by case basis.  I would argue that one of the factors to consider is if someone out there is trying to make franchise teams and is short of catchers.  For instance, the only qualifying catcher in the Mariners entire history is Dan Wilson, unless you consider Lance Parrish and Steve Yeager who played a "hang on" year with them.  Milwaukee does not have many options without Surhoff.  The Tampa Bay Rays have squat, but then again they don't have much otherwise anyway.  Other factors include general talent, total PAs and Bill James rankings.

Some quick, stupid analysis:

The best players in the list by OPS+ are Joe Mauer, Fred Carroll, Babe Phelps, Mike Grady, and Cliff Johnson.  Wait, who was this Mike Grady... Wow, he was a stud!  I'm not sure what happened but he puts up a 128 OPS+ in 1901 and then disappears until 1904.  Then he puts up 166, 139, and 123 at ages 34-36, and then he's gone again.  He never had over 400 PAs in a season, but he generally made good use of his time.  And this is the first I have ever heard of him.  His defense wasn't so good though and he hold the records for most errors on ONE PLAY with 4!

The worst players on the list by OPS+ are Bill Bergen, Bill Holbert, Jack Ryan, Doc Bushong, and our buddy Paintball Neifi.  

Bill Bergen, of course, was famous for being the worst hitter of all time to have any type of career.  OPS+ 21!  21!  He was a worse hitter than most of the pitchers he was teamed up with!  His best season was 41!  In his last year in 250 PAs, he batted .132 with 3 doubles, a triple and 14 walks to earn an OBP of .183, a SLG of .154 and an OPS+ of NEGATIVE 4.  PUT HIM ON THE DISK!

Bill Holbert was far better at 47, except he played in the early 19th century and a lot in the AA... he might actually be worse than Bergen after the discounts.  He has the major league record for longest career AB-wise without a home run.

Jack Ryan, of course, starred in The Hunt for Red October and had an OPS+ of 49.  Oh, and he played some in the 19th century and in the AA....

Doc Bushong - it feels dirty just saying it.  Fortunately I am typing.  55 and early 19th century.

Malachi Kittridge... you do realize that these four other guys make him look good?  Bill Bergen is Malachi Kittridge if you were shooting him with chickens.

That is all.  Speak among yourselves.

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