Catcher is Baseball's Most Endangered Position

[traderumor]

Was that the Babe Ruth World Series tournament that used to be played in Newark?

Yessir. They hosted them several years in the 70s and 80s.

[Bruce Berenyi]

Jose Azcue was unheralded

[Big Klu]

Yessir. They hosted them several years in the 70s and 80s.

I thought that might be the same one.

I'm originally from Zanesville, so I'm somewhat familiar with the area.

[marcshoe]

Jose Azcue was unheralded

So was King Harold II, By William the Conqueror.

[Chip R]

I guess most of it is too much throwing against your body from 2nd, SS, 3B positions, it is puzzling that a lefty catcher has never emerged over the years.

It's kind of like the process of elimination. If you are a LH throwing kid who throws hard, you are probably going to wind up pitching. Or playing 1st or the OF if you're fast enough and can hit some. And, yes, part of it is inerta.

[Bruce Berenyi]

yes but William the Conqueror did recognize that Javier Valentine and Joe Nolan had value

[Rijo's Ghost]

Agree. I guess it would make the throw to third more difficult for a catcher, so perhaps you'd be worried about guys swiping third on you more often. But you might even make up for that on pickoffs at first.

Throws to 2nd will trail away from the runner, requiring a longer tag.

[Boston Red]

Throws to 2nd will trail away from the runner, requiring a longer tag.

There's nothing about being left handed that makes that inevitable.

[RFS62]

It's about throwing across your body when moving to your right for the middle infielders.

[westofyou]

It's about throwing across your body when moving to your right for the middle infielders.

Physics!

[Bruce Berenyi]

the hamiltonian
Inertia
Thermodynamics
Heisenger
Bohr

[UKWhoDey]

Over analysis is what is plaguing baseball. Stuff like this. Im a baseball guy like yall, obviously (why else would we be here) but the average Joe doesnt care about analytics and such. For Pete's sake....if Jim Abbott could pitch at the major league level, I think we can handle a lefty behind the plate.

As far as eliminating the catcher, look, Im all for accuracy, but replay and the cut in commentary is ruining NFL broadcasts. Especially when they STILL get calls wrong (Saints anyone?) Basketball hasnt gotten quite as bad, at least collegiately (it has plenty of pther issues to address.) but stillThe beauty and appeal of baseball lies in its human element. We're better off with a little grit and grim and errors. No one wants to watch a pristine, robotic procession of 9 inning perfection taken all the way down to its most basic analytically logical form with each decision. Dear Lord, stop getting bogged down in minutae and just play ball. Its supposed to be about having fun and winning and losing and the emotion therein, not data sheets.

[westofyou]

Over analysis is what is plaguing baseball. Stuff like this. Im a baseball guy like yall, obviously (why else would we be here) but the average Joe doesnt care about analytics and such. For Pete's sake....if Jim Abbott could pitch at the major league level, I think we can handle a lefty behind the plate.

As far as eliminating the catcher, look, Im all for accuracy, but replay and the cut in commentary is ruining NFL broadcasts. Especially when they STILL get calls wrong (Saints anyone?) Basketball hasnt gotten quite as bad, at least collegiately (it has plenty of pther issues to address.) but stillThe beauty and appeal of baseball lies in its human element. We're better off with a little grit and grim and errors. No one wants to watch a pristine, robotic procession of 9 inning perfection taken all the way down to its most basic analytically logical form with each decision. Dear Lord, stop getting bogged down in minutae and just play ball. Its supposed to be about having fun and winning and losing and the emotion therein, not data sheets.

How can over analytics be plaguing this subject in today's game?

All the decisions on left handed players at these positions happened 120 some years ago

[traderumor]

Over analysis is what is plaguing baseball. Stuff like this. Im a baseball guy like yall, obviously (why else would we be here) but the average Joe doesnt care about analytics and such. For Pete's sake....if Jim Abbott could pitch at the major league level, I think we can handle a lefty behind the plate.

As far as eliminating the catcher, look, Im all for accuracy, but replay and the cut in commentary is ruining NFL broadcasts. Especially when they STILL get calls wrong (Saints anyone?) Basketball hasnt gotten quite as bad, at least collegiately (it has plenty of pther issues to address.) but stillThe beauty and appeal of baseball lies in its human element. We're better off with a little grit and grim and errors. No one wants to watch a pristine, robotic procession of 9 inning perfection taken all the way down to its most basic analytically logical form with each decision. Dear Lord, stop getting bogged down in minutae and just play ball. Its supposed to be about having fun and winning and losing and the emotion therein, not data sheets.

I thrive on idle curiousity and chasing rabbit trails to nowhere. It is cathartic.

[Big Klu]

Exactly

Mike Pagliarulo had a hamstring injury and the backup was SS Wayne Tollenson, who they had picked up in July. The Yankees had 7 SS that year and could not find a suitable replacement for Tollenson while Pags was on the bench. They were playing the Mariners and were 5 games behind Boston (the closest they had been in 6 weeks so Pinella put him there in a double switch in a 13-12 win and then started him there the next two games for offense (moving Tolleson back to SS) they lost 1-0 and 6-2 and he never played it again

Nobody made more than 56 appearances at SS for the Yankees in 1986:

Wayne Tolleson (56)
Bobby Meacham (56)
Mike Fischlin (42)
Paul Zuvella (21)
Dale Berra (19)
Ivan DeJesus (7)
Mike Pagliarulo (2)


Pags was pretty durable overall, as he made 143 appearances at 3B that season, and the Yankees had only one other player who made 10+ appearances at the position (Dale Berra, who made 18 appearances at 3B before being released on July 27). However, the Yanks had three rather surprising names log time at the hot corner in '86:

Mike Pagliarulo (143)
Dale Berra (18)
Wayne Tolleson (7)
Leo Hernandez (7)
Don Mattingly (3)
Gary Roenicke (3)
Dave Winfield (2)