Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Gary Carter
Bill Dickey
Roy Campanella
Ernie Lombardi
Carlton Fisk
Mickey Cochrane
Mike Piazza
Elston Howard
I did not want to do this because it’d restrict the vote a bit too much, and I ask you to please trust me; I have a fairly lengthy system worked out, and we’re going to give due to old time players. And played who payed before the 1950s seem to be getitng their due; Harnett, Cochrane and Dickey are consensus picks so far. More or less.
Anyway, I think you might change your mind when we get to the other positions. Catching is something that, prior to the home run era, was often reserved for players who weren’t good enough to hit elsewhere. Buck Ewing, who is often cited as the greatest catcher of 19th century baseball, played only 636 games at catcher. It’s reasonably to argue that maybe a lot of modern day catchers havea greater impact on baseball than Ewing did. You might disagree, but that’s why it’s a vote. I actually believe it is probably true that most of the best catchers in major league history played after WWII.
I think you’ll be surprised how the dead ball era players will pop up in the other positions. Cobb, Wagner, and Eddie Collins will not be denied.
In case anyone cares, my picks are:
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Mike Piazza
Ivan Rodriguez
Gary Carter
Mickey Cochrane
Gabby Hartnett
Bill Dickey
Carlton Fisk
Buck Ewing
I feel bad leaving off Campy, but it’s a tough standard. 
You rock.
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Roy Campanella
Mickey Cochrane
Bill Dickey
Mickey Cochrane
Carlton Fisk
Gabby Hartnett
Mike Piazza (not that great a catcher, but better than generally believed, and nobody gave more offensive production at that position)
Pudge Rodriguez
P.S. I would never vote for him for the Hall of Fame, because his offensive numbers just don’t merit it… but the best catcher I ever saw, from a defensive standpoint AND from a pitcher handling standpoint, was Jerry Grote. I never would have admitted that in the Seventies, as I was a diehard Yankees fan. I would have lied through my teeth and insisted that Thurman Munson was better.
But in truth, Munson was only better with the bat. Behind the plate, Grote was about as good as anyone.
My ten in no particular order:
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Bill Dickey
Gary Carter
Roy Campanella
Ivan Rodriguez
Mickey Cochrane
Carlton Fisk
Mike Piazza
Gabby Hartnett
Well, if it were anyone else, I’d be skeptical. But since it’s you claiming to have worked out a method, I’ll go along. FWIW, I agree with you (see my ballot) about the greatest catchers actually being post WWII. But I would argue that may be because I saw Bench play, I saw Berra play (not catch very much, but play), I saw Carter play, etc. I might just have placed Cochrane and Hartnett much higher on my ballot than I did if I had been through their era.
I hope you’re using something like James’ method of precinct voting (don’t really see how you could, here) to weed out the idiot ballots. In that method, you’ll remember, he allow people all the sentimential, quirky votes they chose, but it was set up so that a vote for Bill Freehan or Sandy Alomar jr counts only as a vote for Ralph Nader does.
My sentimental, quirky vote for Rick Dempsey is being weeded out quite effectively by the fact that no one else has voted for him, don’t you think?
Only the top ten are getting elected, so it would appear you’re not going to see Mr. Alomar or Freehan in the SDMB Hall of Fame. (Where you place a player on your ballot’s irrelevant. Your vote for Cochrane was just as valuable as your vote for Bench.) Old timers will get another crack at it, trust me.
Voting closes at midnight tonight. Tomorrow, the results, and the FIRST BASEMAN’S ballot.
If you’re lurking, vote now! Change history!
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Bill Dickey
Carlton Fisk
Thurman Munson
Bill Freehan
Gabby Hartnett
Mickey Cochrane
Ivan Rodriguez
Jim Sundberg
BTW, it’s Manny Sanguillen. I wish I had room to vote for him. He’s a sentimental favorite of mine.
Sorry, I should have read the rules a little closer. Here’s my official vote:
Johnny Bench
Yogi Berra
Gary Carter
Carlton Fisk
Bob Boone
Ivan Rodriguez
Mike Piazza
Mike Scioscia
Jorge Posada
Jason Varitek
Bench
Berra
Rodriguez
Piazza
Dickey
Fisk
Hartnett
Cochrane
Ewing
Campanella
RickJay: Copycat.
Bench
Berra
Fisk
Cochrane
Ewing
Campanella
Carter
Pudge
Hartnett
Alomar, Jr.
I am going to limit my selections to players that I’ve seen play.
Nothing at all against those before 1969.
Ted Simmons
Mike Piazza (I saw many Dodger games in the 90s. He is more than just a good hitter)
Thurman Munson
Jim Sundberg
Carlton Fisk
Johnny Bench
Gary Carter
Ivan Rodriguez
Rick Dempsey
Mike Sciosa
Lombardi has an argument against (I guess he’d have been even more hopeless at first)-he couldn’t catch popups (literally, because he couldn’t move), likewise had trouble with pitches which bounced away, and bunts. Piazza isn’t even in the same ballpark defensively (i.e. better-yes didn’t throw very well but was reasonably rangy otherwise, not very many passed balls). The fallacy of comparing him to a contemporary who is arguably in the top 3 all time defensively is the exact same reason why voters shot down Ted Simmon’s candidacy (i.e. vs. Bench).
.
While I understand that the three major old-timers will “get their due” (included in the top 10), the potential fact that Cochrane possibly eclipses all but 2-3 post-WWII catchers(taking into account defense/offense), won’t likely show up in the tally.
But, I do understand that this is just a SDMB poll.
We’re picking ten, not ranking them. He’s either in or he’s out. He’ll be in, unless a lot of people vote in the next four hours and don’t pick him.
More votes! More votes!
Sorry, I wasn’t clear on that. Now I am. Thanks.
I’ll add my final four to my original vote.
Mike Piazza
Ivan Rodriguez
Gary Carter
Carlton Fisk
- Berra
- Bench
- Fisk
- Dickey
- Piazza
- Cochrane
- Carter
- Rodriguez
- Lombardi
- Campanella
Thank you to all; the vote is over. Twenty-nine catchers received at least one vote, but the results were reasonably conclusive. Much more so than any other position, I’ll bet.
Elected to the SDMB Baseball Hall of Fame are:
Gary Carter Played from 1974 to 1992, catching over 2,000 games. A star with the Expos for most of his career, then starred with the Mets during their run of championships in the 1980s. Drove in 9 runs in 1986 World Series; the last player, if I am not mistaken, to hit two home runs in an All-Star game. One of the greatest defensive catchers of his time, with a tremendous arm, and a considerable offensive force in his prime.
Johnny Bench Played from 1967 to 1983, all with Cincinnati. A two-time MVP, a World Series MVP, and starting catcher for the Big Red Machine that won four pennants and two World Series. Often cited as the greatest catcher of all time; a terrific power hitter and ten-time Gold Glove winner.
Yogi Berra Played from 1946 to 1965 The only player in major league history to play in ten World Series winners; in his 18 years with the Yankees they won the pennant 14 times, a record unmatched in any other period in major league history. Won three MVP Awards; a career .285 hitter with power and the unquestioned leader of the greatest dynasty of all time.
Carlton Fisk Played from 1969 to 1993; was the 1972 Rookie of the Year. Caught an amazing 2226 games and is the only player to catch a game in each of 24 seasons. Aside from his famous 1975 homer, Fisk was an offensive force for most of his career, a defensive standout, and one of the most athletic men to ever play the position.
Roy Campanella Played from 1948 to 1957. Campanella’s career started late due to his race (he was playing for top Negro LEague teams at age 15) and ended early due to a car accident, but in ten years he fit in three MVP Awards, a World Series ring, set offensive records for catchers, and was one of the most beloved and respected members of a great team. Heaven knows what he’d have done if he’d been white and hadn’t gotten into a freak car accident.
Bill Dickey The great Yankees catcher played from 1928 to 1946, missing two years to World War II. A member of seven World Champions, Dickey batted .313 for his career with 202 homers; his career OPS+ of 127 ranks behind only Piazza and Cochrane among catchers. Widely credited with being a mentor for Yogi Berra.
Mickey Cochrane The leader of the great A’s teams of the 1920s-1930s era, Cochrane was later sold to Detroit where he prompty led the Tigers to two pennants - not only as starting catcher, but as the manager. A career .320 hitter who four times scored 100 runs, something catchers don’t often do, Cochrane was one of the best strike zone hitters of all time, never striking out more than 26 times ina year while drawing a large number of walks; his career ratio was an eye-popping 4 to 1. Career ended by a beanball; he was still playing well.
Mike Piazza The greatest hitting catcher of all time by almost every analysis, an absolutely ferocious combination of power and precision. Famously a throwaway draft pick done as a favour to his Dad, Piazza exploded onto the scene with a 35-homer rookie season and is the only career catcher to hit over 400 homers. Six 100-RBI seasons marked a stretch of offensive dominance unmatched by any other catcher.
Ivan Rodriguez The first active player to be elected. A major league regular catcher at the amazing age of 19, I-Rod has e3stablished himself as one of the greatest defensive catchers to ever play the game - a mobile, athletic catchers with a rifle arm. He can also swing a stick as evidence by his career .302 average and 293 homers. Helped lead Texas to s spate of playoff appearances in the 1990s (an unprecedented feat for that franchise) and then joined the Marlins for a single season, where they prompty won a World Series, and then joined the Tigers, where a renaissance has occurred; the 1999 MVP seems to bring victory with him wherever he goes.
Gabby Hartnett Played from 1922 to 1941. The superior NL catcher pre-Bench, Hartnett both played and managed the Cubs to their last sustained period of success prior to, well, our lifetimes. Hartnett caught 1793 games, an astounding feat for the time, piling up a .297 average, 236 homers, an MVP Award, and then took over the Cubs as manager in late 1938 and led them to an astounding comeback pennant win. One of the consensus greatest defensive catchers of his time, if not all time.
Nobody missed by a narrow margin; the 11th-place catcher was Thurman Munson, who wasn’t close to 10th. However, if you’re upset your favourite catcher didn’t make it, he still has a chance! Wild card rounds are coming too - and Munson, along with Buck Ewing, Ernie Lombardi, Sandy Alomar Jr. and others will reappear!
Another thread will soon be posted on the First Baseman’s Ballot.
Thank you for starting the SDMB Baseball Hall of Fame!