History Shows New York Yankees Catchers Are Key to Dynasty Teams
The key to a Yankee resurgence could lie behind the plate
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . Yankees legendary catcher Yogi Berra is tied for fifth among all Hall of Fame catchers in bWAR with 59.5. He’s won 10 World Series championships.
The others in the top five at the position - Johnny Bench (75.1 bWAR), Gary Carter (70.1), Ivan Rodriguez (68.7), Carlton Fisk (68.4), and Mike Piazza (59.5) - have TOTALED just four World Series championships, with two (Fisk and Piazza) not winning a single title.
Leading Off
History Shows Yankee Backstops Are Key to Dynasty Teams
By Richard Cuicchi
There have been periods of “dynasty” several times in New York Yankees history, more than any other major-league franchise. In a study of the makeup of these teams, there has been another consistent component contributing to their success. They each featured outstanding catchers, who helped carry the Yankees to multiple World Series championships, while also achieving individual honors such as MVP and All-Star selections.
In the 123 years of the Yankees franchise, nearly half of their seasons were manned by only six players who served as the primary catcher of the team. These six catchers participated in 37 of the 41 World Series appearances the Yankees achieved, and they also contributed to 23 of the 27 World Championship teams in the franchise’s history. To help put these startling numbers into perspective, during the Yankees’ longest dry spell without a post-season appearance (1982-1994), they had six different primary catchers (out of a total of 17 catchers used) during those thirteen seasons.
Following is a brief profile of these six Yankees “dynasty” catchers.
Wally Schang had the shortest stint as the Yankees’ primary catcher of this group and is also the least well-known. However, from 1921 to 1924, Schang put together four solid seasons as he helped the Yankees to three World Series appearances, including their first-ever AL pennant in 1921. Noted for his defensive skills, Schang was a career .284 hitter over 19 major league seasons. He was the only one of this elite Yankee catchers group who did not come up through the Yankees’ farm system.
Bill Dickey had the longest tenure in this group as the Yankees’ backstop. He became the regular catcher in 1929 at age 22, and he filled that role until 1943. During that stretch, the Yankees made eight World Series appearances, winning seven of them, including four consecutive championships from 1936-1939. Dickey was among the top six players in the American League MVP voting in each of those five seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954.
Yogi Berra is the most famous of the catchers in the group. Tutored by Dickey on his catching skills, Berra became the primary Yankees catcher in 1947 at age 22, which began a string of fourteen seasons, including thirteen as an All-Star selection as a catcher. During that stretch, he was a participant in eleven World Series, winning eight of them, including five consecutive titles from 1949-1953. Berra was the American League MVP in 1951, 1954, and 1955. In 1960, he started sharing considerable time with Elston Howard as the team’s backstop. Later, primarily as an outfielder from 1961 to 1963, Yogi made an additional three World Series appearances. Altogether, he is the all-time leader in World Series appearances with fourteen. He was voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
Elston Howard began his Yankee career in 1955, but since he was blocked from attaining the starting catcher’s position by All-Star Berra, he did not become the primary starter until 1961. Used as an outfielder, first baseman, and part-time catcher up until then, 1960 was a turning point season when Howard and Berra split catching duties. Howard made the most of his time as the regular catcher beginning in 1961. He contributed to the Yankees’ consecutive World Series appearances from 1961 to 1964, winning in 1961 and 1962. Over his entire career, Howard played in nine of the Yankees’ World Series. He was voted the American League MVP in 1963 and was selected to All-Star teams from 1957 to 1965, during his 14-year career.
Thurman Munson became the Yankees’ primary catcher in 1970 when he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Unlike his predecessors in this elite group of catchers, it took six seasons for Munson to make his first World Series appearance in 1976. The Yankees repeated in 1977 and 1978, winning two of the three years.
Jorge Posada spent parts of three seasons with the Yankees before becoming the primary catcher in 1998. His starting role began a string of six years in which the Yankees dominated the American League, including five league championships, from 1998 to 2003. Although they were a perennial postseason team during the balance of Posada’s career, the Yankees made only one other World Series appearance in 2009. Posada played on World Series championship teams in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009.
It could be argued that Yankee catcher Pat Collins should be included in this group. However, he played only three seasons (1926-1928) with the Yankees during his career, although each of those seasons involved a World Series appearance. He was omitted since the Yankees used several part-time catchers during those seasons, with Collins starting only 93, 74, and 45 games, respectively. He wasn’t a predominant catcher like the other six.
History shows there is a strong correlation between the Yankees’ dominant catchers and their teams’ prevalence over the years. Besides the three seasons mentioned above involving Collins, there have been only two other seasons (1981 and 1996) in which the Yankees won an American League pennant without the presence of a dominant catcher. (Rick Cerone was a catcher in 69 games during the strike-shortened season in 1981, while Joe Girardi was the catcher in 110 games in 1996.)
Although the Yankees have appeared in the postseason in 11 of the last 14 seasons, they haven’t played in a World Series since 2009. Since then, the Yankees have used 13 different catchers, with only six having come up through their farm system.
It appears rookie Austin Wells and 31-year-old veteran Jose Trevino will share the starts behind the plate in 2024. Wells is currently targeted as their long-term solution at the position since he currently ranks as the overall fifth-best prospect in the Yankees’ system. But he’s played only 33 games at the Triple-A level and 19 games with the Yankees last year. The verdict is still out with him.
So, what does this portend for the current and future New York Yankees? It appears that if they want to return to “Dynasty” status anytime soon, it will have to be without a top-notch catcher. History says the chances of that happening aren’t particularly good.
Richard Cuicchi has been a SABR member since 1983. He has contributed to over 25 SABR BioProject and Games Project books. He writes about New Orleans baseball history for CrescentCitySorts.com. He maintains the Baseball Relatives website where he posts annual compilations of baseball’s family relationships in the majors and minors. He writes a weekly blog post for his TheTenthInning.com website
Timeless Trivia
The top 12 players in World Series rings won have all won at least seven titles - and all of them have won at least one of those rings as a member of the New York Yankees.
Which player has won the most World Series titles without winning a single one as a member of the Yankees organization - though his “lead” in that category is a bit shady?