Comparing Posada, Berra, & Dickey
How Does Jorge Compare to Yogi and Bill?
Jorge Posada is having the best season of his career. Is he the best catcher that the Yankees have ever had?
Jorge Posada is having the best season of his career. He is hitting a robust .335 with 16 home runs, a .419 on base average, and a .543 slugging average. Prior to 2007, Jorge’s best season was 2000, when he hit .287, with 28 home runs, a .417 on base average, and a .527 slugging average. How does Jorge Posada compare to Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey?
Dickey Was the Best Defensively
It is difficult to compare catchers’ defense statistically because handling a pitching staff, blocking pitches in the dirt, stopping potential base stealers, pouncing on bunts, trying to pick off runners, calling a game, and hiding signs are all involved, so one must rely on one’s own judgement and that of managers, players, and reporters. Bill Dickey is considered the best defensive catcher among the three, with Yogi a close second. After all, wasn’t it Bill Dickey who taught Yogi his experience?
Some Comparative Data
Dickey batted .313 and averaged 18 home runs, a .382 on base average, and a .486 slugging average over seventeen seasons, which is misleading because he played in fewer that 100 games in four of those seasons. Yogi hit .285 and averaged 27 home runs, a .348 on base average, and slugged .482 over sixteen seasons. Posada has hit .276 and averaged 25 home runs, a .379 on base average, and a .478 slugging average during his 11 seasons (not counting one game in 1995 and 8 in 1996).
Dickey and Jorge Played in Offensive Eras
The numbers are close, especially between Jorge and Dickey, except for batting average. Both played the bulk of their careers in offensive eras. Dickey played from 1928-1946 with two years out to defend freedom. During his career, the league batting average was .280 or 33 points less than Dickey’s. During Posada’s career, the league batting average, with a DH, has been .268, or only 8 points less than Jorge’s. Yogi joined the Yankees in 1946, but his first full season was 1947, when he caught and played the outfield, something he did again when his career was ending. During Yogi’s career, the league batted .263 or 22 points less than Yogi.
Peak Seasons
Much has made of “peak years” recently. From 1929-1939, Bill Dickey hit .320, with a high of .362. Yogi’s highest average was .322, and Jorge’s is his current .335. The most home runs Dickey ever hit was 29, Yogi hit 30 in two different seasons, and Jorge’s high is 28.
So Many Variables Exist
It is difficult, if not impossible to compare players from different eras because so many variables exist and so few can be controlled. Statistical adjustments do not control variables. They are helpful, but they are far from definitive.
Jorge is Remarkable
Those who saw Dickey play, and the number is shrinking, generally consider him the best of all Yankees’ catchers. Most who saw Berra but never Dickey select Yogi. While some young fans might pick Jorge, most who saw Yogi rank him ahead of Posada. That is fine, but they should realize just how good Jorge is, and how remarkable it is that he is having his best season at the age of thirty-six. At that age, in 1943, Dickey hit .351 but he caught only 71 games and hit only 4 home runs. When Yogi was thirty-six, he hit .271 with 22 home runs, but he caught only 15 games because he played left field on the second greatest of all Yankees’ teams in 1961. Jorge Posada will be a free agent at the end of this season. Does anyone want him to go to another team? I don’t think so.
