Top Ten Catchers of 2012 Regular Season - MLB Feature Part 2
7. Jose Molina (Tampa Bay Rays): Jose takes the seventh spot on our list. The Puerto Rican is the elder brother of St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina. He is a part of only three brothers in Major League who have all won at least
one World Series Championship. He won his first World Series with the Anaheim Angels with his elder brother Bengie Molina.
The 37-year-old catcher started his Major League career with the Chicago Cubs in 1999. He has so far represented five different clubs in MLB. The two times World Series joined the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 on a single year deal.
The catcher played 102 games, 80 as a starting catcher, for the Rays. In a total of 702 chances, the catcher made 657 put-outs and had 41 assists. He committed four errors, ending up with a fielding percentage of .994, even with his career average. He also
caught 19 attempting to steal bases.
His year with the bat was not the greatest. He had a total of 251 at-bats as he went long eight times and batted in 32 runs. His batting average of .223 was below his .238 career average. His .286 on-base percentage did match his career average though.
6. Kurt Suzuki (Washington Nationals): Nicknamed as "Kurt Clutch," the catcher from Hawaii is sixth on our list. The 29-year-old had an impressive college baseball career for Cal State Fullerton. In 2004, he won the Johnny Bench Award as
the country’s top collegiate catcher. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2004. After playing through the ranks of Minor League, Kurt made his Major League debut in June of 2007.
His 2012 season was split between playing for Oakland Athletics and the Washington Nationals. Overall, he played 117 games during the regular season. He had 815 put-outs and 81 assists. He also committed five errors in the 881 chances he had. His overall
fielding percentage was .994, exactly same as his career average. Suzuki caught 28 trying to steal bases and also affected seven double plays. He did not participate in any of the Washington Nationals’ post-season games as a catcher.
During the 2012 season, Suzuki had a total of 408 at-bats as he hit six home-runs and 43 RBI’s. He batted with an average of .235 and an on-base percentage of .276. Both these numbers are below his career average. In the 43 games that he played for the Nationals,
his batting average was .267.
5. Michael McKenry (Pittsburgh Pirates): The catcher from Knoxville, Tennessee is fifth on our list of top catchers of 2012. In his three year long Major League career, he has represented Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was drafted
by the Rockies in 2006. The catcher played for several teams in the Rockies farm system and made his Major League debut against the Cincinnati Reds in later part of 2010 season.
Nicknamed as “the Fort”, the 27-year-old caught in 607 innings during 81 games. He had a fielding percentage of .994, with 495 put-outs and 41 assists. McKenry made three errors as well but he also caught 13 batters trying to steal bases.
Michael had 240 at-bats in 88 games. His average was an acceptable .233 with 12 home-runs and 39 RBI’s. His on-base percentage was .320 and his season numbers were better than his career average.
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Continued in Part 3
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