Backup Catcher Hall of Fame Thoughts

The Backup Catcher Hall of Fame is gaining momentum with each passing day (or at least every time I mention it). Cuzz Gekas and I are finally seeing our dream come true after years of hard work. We have established our first class of inductees (Duffy Dyer, Bob Montgomery, Bill Plummer and Jeff Torborg). Vince Saputo has shown his support by tossing out several names for consideration.
Still, the question lingers as to how these players would feel about the BCHOF. The original idea was meant as an honor, but would ex-catchers see it that way?
Cuzz summed up his views with, "For BCs it is not simply a matter of donning the mask and gear and squatting behind the plate. It is a way of life. We are trying to reward the grinders who show up everyday knowing their playing time is limited but always have to be ready. They know they will never be stars or even starters, but approach their craft with a certain nobility."
Vince chimed in with, "No insult at all. These men had a career in baseball at its most physically punishing position. Many played on winning teams behind superb catchers. They knew, going in, that it would be a journeyman's task, not one of celebrity. Even after 10 years or more, they had to go out and get "real" jobs when catching days were over! That you have taken time to recognize their contribution should be taken as an honor."

I think our intent is clear. What about others? What do you think? Most importantly, what would a backup catcher think? What would Larry Haney think?

I really plan on asking a catcher some day about this. I just couldn't ask Haney when we met him. The logistics were bad (and obviously, so was our photographer!).

(Future BCHOF'er?) Larry Haney, Cuzz Gekas and me in Waukesha, WI-February 2010.

Backup Catcher Hall of Fame:Reader Contributions

I have gotten a bunch of good comments regarding the Backup Catcher Hall of Fame idea that Chuck E. Gekas and I have been putting together. Cuzz and I take this seriously, wanting to protect the integrity of the Hall and the honor of being inducted.
Last week, I saw a post that my old friend Vince Saputo made on his Facebook Wall. He listed seven men as nominees for the BCHOF. I will list his choices and the thoughts that Cuzz (my BCHOF partner) and I have on their merits.
Chris Krug and Dave Ricketts-These players simply did not spend enough time in the majors to get any real consideration.
Jim Pagliaroni-Pags played too much and was too good to be considered. Four years with 300+ AB's made for a nice career, but ruin his chance at the BCHOF.
Carl Sawatski-Sawatski is the toughest to determine. He played a bit more than necessary later in his career, which really works against him considering his era. This one might have to go to the veterans committee for further review.
Pat Corrales, Earl Averill and Doug Camilli-These three are viable candidates. They played enough games to be regular backups, but not too many to ever be considered starters. Their numbers were solid.
Overall, Cuzz and I applaud Vince's effort and interest. For a first attempt, Vince's suggestions were pretty good.
Other readers contributed many names. I will briefly give my thoughts on the players suggested.
Some catchers just didn't have quite enough of a career to be given serious consideration. Art Kusnyer, Larry Cox and Sal Butera had some success in the majors and should be proud of their careers. They just fall short for consideration.
The next group played too much. We understand that a backup catcher might be pressed into starting duty at times, but these catchers played more than half of the games in at least three years. Chris Widger, Mike Ryan and Joe Garagiola were starters too often or at least in the 'platoon' category.
Joe Ferguson is in a class of his own here. For one thing, he played too much at other positions. Twice he played over 50 games in the outfield. Plus, four times he caught more than half of his team's games. Additionally, most of this was done with the Dodgers who were an excellent team. Playing a lot for bad teams might be understandable. Playing a lot for playoff teams puts Ferguson out of consideration.

The final group was the biggest, proving my readers know their stuff (or at least their backup catchers). Each player in this group has the stats and the intangibles necessary for consideration. Kelly Stinnett, Paul Bako, Doug Mirabelli, Gary Bennett, Ken Rudolph, Greg Myers, Bruce Bochy, Luis Pujols, Bill Fahey, Tom Lampkin, Joe Nolan, Steve Swisher and Todd Pratt are all excellent candidates. As the years pass, I am sure many will be inducted into the BCHOF.
The momentum is picking up for the BCHOF. People realize we take it seriously when we are choosing catchers who fit the standards of the BCHOF. It takes a special player. Just ask Bill Plummer, Bob Montgomery, Jeff Torborg or Duffy Dyer (aka the first group of inductees).

Future BCHOFer (?) Bob Uecker in Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI-Summer 2009.

Backup Catcher Hall of Fame

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the Backup Catcher Hall of Fame. The BCHOF is a virtual Hall of Fame, created by Chuck E. "Cuzz" Gekas and me to honor legendary backup catchers in recent major league history.
At the party after the official announcement, Cuzz and I discussed the results. We are definitely happy with the four inductees in the first Hall of Fame class. Duffy Dyer, Bob Montgomery, Bill Plummer and Jeff Torborg epitomize everything desired in a Hall of Fame backup catcher.
We would like to make one point clear though. The BCHOF is an honor. While the concept was developed out of silliness (through long car rides and losing poker nights), a catcher's enshrinement is a tribute to him and his success in a vital, difficult and overlooked role on a team. Not everyone who donned the tools of ignorance in a major league uniform met our standards (high and low).
Catchers such as Art Kusnyer, Tom Lundstedt and Charlie Sands can be proud that they made the majors, but they didn't put together enough of a career to qualify for the BCHOF. A player had to spend 7+ solid seasons as a backup catcher to garner consideration.
There are also catchers who did too much. Players like Rick Cerone, Brent Mayne and Milt May simply were too good, sometimes being starters, sometimes being platooned. These catchers got nearly 1,000 hits, amounting to an excellent career. Too excellent for the BCHOF.
The final group of players not eligible would be players who were backup catchers, but were more like utility players. Players like Jim Leyritz, John Wockenfuss and John Ellis all played too many games at other positions to truly be called a backup catcher. Perhaps someday down the line, we will develop a Utility Player Hall of Fame, but for now our attention is devoted to the BCHOF.
Over the upcoming months, Cuzz and I will be discussing and debating the candidates for the 2011 BCHOF class. I will be updating our progress here. Feel free to submit your suggestions and thoughts.

Future BCHOF'er (?) Rick Stelmaszek in Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL-Summer 1974.

Backup Catcher Hall of Fame

Last week, the 2010 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced. With no disrespect to Andre Dawson, Johngy's Beat is unveiling the much more anticipated 2010 Backup Catcher Hall of Fame class.
Chuck E. Gekas and I have discussed backup catchers for years. We are fascinated by them. On one of our many baseball road trips, we started to develop the idea for a Backup Catcher Hall of Fame.
First, we had to decide on the qualifications. We settled on the following:
-Candidate must have played in the 1970's or later.
-Candidate must have played the catcher position as his primary position.
-Candidates pre-1980 must have played 8 years and 10 years for post 1980.
-Candidate must not have been a starter.
---A one year or so exception is allowed as an injury replacement for starter.
---A one year or so exception is allowed for really bad teams (as in expansion teams)
-Candidate must never have gotten more than 300 AB's in a single season (see exceptions above).
-Any deviation from these guidelines is allowed as per the sole discretion of Chuck and me.

With that being outlined, we trudged through rosters and stats. We had long (and often mindless) debates on the merits of various candidates. Finally, last summer, we agreed on the first four inductees into the BCHOF. Therefore, without further adieu, I present the 2010 BCHOF class.

Donald "Duffy" Dyer had a solid 14 year career as a backup catcher. Dyer was drafted in the first round in 1966 by the New York Mets, for whom he played for the first 7 years of his career. Dyer also played 4 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 years with the Detroit Tigers and 1 year with the Montreal Expos.
Dyer had 441 career hits for a crispy .221 batting average. He had 30 home runs, 173 rbi's, 151 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
Dyer spent most of his time in NY as a backup to Jerry Grote and then became a backup to Manny Sanguillen in Pittsburgh, where he caught a
no-hitter by John Candelaria. Dyer went 0-1 with a walk in 2 playoff games.
Dyer's 1972 and 1977 seasons were a bit lofty by BCHOF standards, but the body of work over his entire career solidified his place in the BCHOF.

Bob Montgomery is the quintessential backup catcher. After spending 9 seasons in the Boston Red Sox system, Montgomery had a solid career throughout the 70's as Carlton Fisk's backup. Montgomery's .258 batting average is a bit gaudy for the BCHOF, but not enough to exclude him. During his career, he belted 18 homers, drove in 156 runs, scored 125 runs and had 6 stolen bases.
Montgomery filled in admirably in 1974 when Fisk suffered a horrible knee injury. He also performed well while Fisk recovered from a broken thumb in 1975. Montgomery went 0-1 in his only playoff appearance.
As further testament to Montgomery's grittiness, he was the last player to not wear a batting helmet. That is just the type of intangible which helped earn Montgomery's place in the BCHOF.

Bill Plummer is best known as the long-time backup to Johnny Bench with the Cincinnati Reds, but he broke into the majors with a brief 2 game stint with the Chicago Cubs in 1968. Plummer was traded to the Reds and a year later started his 8 year run as Bench's backup. Plummer finished his career with a 1 season stay with the Seattle Mariners, whom he later managed.
Plummer's .188 career average came from 168 hits. He had 14 homers, 82 rbi's, 72 runs scored and 4 stolen bases in his career (or roughly a bit less than Bench's average season).
Former Reds Coach Alex Grammas once stated that "Bill could start for a lot of teams, but with us he sits behind the best catcher in the world." At least Bench did play a fair amount of games at other positions, which allowed Plummer to gain more playing time. Fortunately, Plummer still stayed under the basic BCHOF standards.

Jeff Torborg played his 10 year career in California, 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and 3 with the California Angels. Technically, he finished his career in the St. Louis Cardinals organization after being traded from the Angels, although he retired without playing for the Cardinals.
Torborg batted .214 with 8 homers, 101 rbi's, 78 runs scored and 3 stolen bases. Torborg's best season might have been his last season. He had career highs in several categories. He even helped mentor a young Rick Stelmaszek.
Torborg caught Sandy Koufax's perfect game. He also caught Bill Singer's no-hitter and Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter.
After his playing career, Torborg went on to manage 5 teams. His son Dale played minor league ball, wrestled as 'The Demon' and currently is a coach.

There you have it. We are so proud and pleased. Still, we don't have too much time to celebrate. It is almost time to start the process of deciding who gets inducted in 2011. Feel free to send us any of your ideas.

Catching Up With Ken Rudolph

For whatever reason, I always have had a soft spot for backup catchers. This is the reason I (and my friend Chuck E. Gekas) have been working on the Backup Catcher Hall of Fame (BCHOF).
Ken Rudolph was one of my first favorite backup catchers. In 1972 and 1973, Rudolph was the epitome of a solid backup catcher, serving yeoman-like behind Randy Hundley. Unfortunately, Rudolph's career lacked the longevity necessary for the BCHOF, but he still remains one of my all-time favorites.
When I met Rudolph recently, he looked great and was happy to meet his fans. I asked him how it felt to talk to fans even though his playing time here lasted only 5 years and ended 35 years ago. He replied that it felt great. He only wished the Cubs had more success, especially in 1969 (his rookie season).

Ken Rudolph and me in Rosemont, IL-March 2009.