Blue Jays: Ranking the top five catchers in franchise history

As the torch gets slowly passed this season and next from Russell Martin to Danny Jansen behind the plate, let’s look back at some of best catcher’s in the relatively short franchise history of the Toronto Blue Jays.

As the Blue Jays play out the remainder of the 2018 season, we’re bound to get a look at even more young players from the minor league system. One of those youngsters debuted on Monday and picked up two hits in his first game as a big leaguer.

Danny Jansen looks like he may be the real deal behind the plate, and he’s got Blue Jays fans excited. The fan base has longed for a homegrown franchise catcher for decades, and Jansen might finally be the talented receiver we’ve been waiting for.

Injuries to infielders like Brandon Drury and Yangervis Solarte allowed the Blue Jays to call up Jansen from Triple-A Buffalo, while shifting incumbent starting catcher Russell Martin to third base. Martin has shown an acceptable ability to be used as a utility player this season, and for now this scenario allows for regular playing time for Jansen as the catcher.

It’s also a window into the future for Jays fans as Jansen slowly takes the reigns behind the plate from Martin. The latter has one year remaining on his current contract, but with Jansen looking ready to take over, Martin could be in for a part-time catching role that includes some utility duties, which may suit him just fine at this stage of his career.

The promotion of the youngster also got me thinking about the history of Blue Jays’ catchers, and who may rank at the top of the list. In all honesty, it hasn’t been a position of strength throughout franchise history, which is why Russell Martin’s signing was so celebrated, and why fans are so excited about Jansen’s potential.

That said, there have been a few pretty solid catchers throughout the 41 year  history of the team. Let’s have a look at some of the best to put on a Blue Jays uniform.

#5- Charlie O’Brien/Pat Borders

I chose to go with a tie in fifth place, mostly because I wanted to include Pat Borders in this list, even if he doesn’t totally belong according to the stats. He’s also what I would consider to be the top “homegrown” franchise catcher, which I’ll talk about more later on.

Starting with him, the two-time World Champion played parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jays after breaking into the big leagues in 1988. By 1990 he was the starting catcher in Toronto, and he was of course the backstop on the championship teams in 1992 and 1993. He’s likely best known for his performance in the 1992 World Series against Atlanta when he slashed .450/.500/.750 in 20 at bats, and was named the series MVP.

As far as the stats go though, Borders was a pretty average catcher. According to baseballreference.com, his career WAR total sits at 3.6, which is pretty low. That said, he left the Blue Jays with 4.4 bWAR earned across seven seasons, so he definitely had his best years in a Blue Jay uniform. He also collected some hardware, so I’m sure he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about his career.

Tying with Borders at the fifth spot was the second biggest surprise on this list, at least for me. Charlie O’Brien wasn’t a Blue Jay for long, but he played surprisingly well while he was in town. In just two seasons he managed to accumulate 3.5 WAR while playing in just 178 games.

His short tenure came during the 1996-97 seasons, and he really held down the fort with his defence in particular, earning marks of 1.3 and 2.0 dWAR, all while earning barely more than a million dollars for his two seasons of work. He played during an easily forgotten period of Blue Jays history, but he represents one of the better value signings the club has ever made.

#4- Darrin Fletcher

You could make an argument that O’Brien deserves to be higher on this list based on the WAR numbers, but I’ve placed Darrin Fletcher just above him.

Fletcher is a 14 year veteran of the big leagues, with the last five seasons coming in Toronto with the Blue Jays. He played with the team from 1998-2002, and quietly put together some solid seasons while he was in town. He was well known and liked around Canadian baseball circles as well, as he had spent six seasons with the Montreal Expos prior to signing with Canada’s other franchise.

He was excellent for his first three years with the Blue Jays, but his best season came in 2000 when he slashed .320/.355/.514 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI in 118 games played. He was worth 2.3 bWAR that season, and had accumulated 5.3 bWAR to that point through his first three seasons in Toronto. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to keep up the pace, and was worth just -0.3 over the next two campaigns, bringing his Blue Jay total to an even 5.0.

Fletcher played during an era of pretty explosive offence in baseball, so while the numbers he put up are somewhat easy to forget about, they’re impressive when you go back and re-visit them. He wasn’t a standout defender, but he consistently put up above-average defensive numbers. When you add that to the offensive contribution he brought to the table, you’ve got a quietly valuable player, which is exactly what he was during his time in Toronto.

2- Russell Martin

I’ll admit that when I started out to write today, I was going to make an argument that Russell Martin was the greatest catcher in Blue Jays history. However, after doing more research and having my memory jogged, I can’t make that argument any longer.

That said, being the second best in the history of a 41 year franchise is nothing to sneeze at, and Martin has been very good during his time playing in his home country. He’s absolutely had his struggles in 2018, but even if he continues in this way through the end of his contract (which finishes up at the end of the 2019 season), I’d still argue that signing him as a free agent before the 2015 season was an excellent move. I don’t think the Blue Jays make the playoffs in 2015-16 without him, and despite the disappointing finish to both seasons it was still a highlight in franchise history.

The Canadian backstop was outstanding in his first season in Toronto, earning 3.0 bWAR, an All-Star berth, and even an MVP vote. He slashed .240/.329/.458 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI, and brought his signature defence and handling of the pitching staff, which was a welcome addition to the Blue Jays. He followed that up with another excellent year in 2016 before spending half of last season on the disabled list.

In total he’s been worth 8.2 bWAR so far during his three plus seasons north of the border, and there’s a good chance he’ll get to double digits before his tenure is over. He may have to split some catching duties with the young and talented Danny Jansen, but Martin has shown that he’s capable of handling third base, and has also appeared at second, shortstop, and even left field. While he’s not an ideal utility-type, he’s been serviceable during times when other regulars have been on the disabled list, such as right now with Brandon Drury, Yangervis Solarte, and Josh Donaldson.

The “Manalyst” might have a higher WAR total than Martin as of right now, but when you add up the leadership qualities and all of the other intangibles, I would go with Martin 10 times out of 10.

#1- Ernie Whitt

Let me make something clear here. When I said I was going to make an argument that Russell Martin was the best Blue Jay catcher of all-time, I hadn’t forgotten about Ernie Whitt. Admittedly though, I forgot just how good he was, which I think is a common theme for the Blue Jay of 12 seasons.

Whitt was a bit of a late bloomer, and didn’t become a full-time starter in the big leagues until he was 28 years old in 1980 with the Blue Jays. However, once he earned the job he was quietly excellent for the team, helping shape the franchise in the early years of it’s existence. He was an American League All-Star in 1985, but had arguably his best season in 1987 when he was 35 years old.

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

That season he slashed .269/.334/.455 with 19 home runs, 75 RBI and 24 doubles. He was worth 2.6 bWAR that year (not his highest single season total), and played well on defence as well, earning a 1.5 dWAR rating as well. Most catchers are slowing down at that point in their careers, but for Whitt it was probably the best baseball of his career.

In total he managed 18.3 bWAR during his time as a big leaguer, but he actually earned 19.2 bWAR during his tenure with the Blue Jays. He was a key cog in the successful Blue Jays teams of the eighties, which doesn’t get the credit they deserve for making the postseason in 1985 and 1989. Perhaps if they had made the World Series in either year, or hadn’t been overshadowed by the success of the Jays in the 90’s, Whitt would be more appreciated for what he did on the field.

He is appreciated within Baseball Canada circles though, as he’s been the manager of the National team since 2004. He was also been inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, and was honoured in the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame back in 1997. He also spent time as the bench coach and first base coach for the Blue Jays back in 2005, which was during John Gibbons‘ first tenure as the skipper in Toronto.

There were a few others that I considered for the list like J.P. Arencibia (2.4 bWAR), and Buck Martinez (3.6 bWAR), but beyond that there haven’t been a lot of successful catchers in team history. That’s part of what makes Danny Jansen’s arrival with the Blue Jays so exciting, as the fans have hoped for a homegrown franchise catcher for many years. The only one on my top five list that started his career in Toronto was Pat Borders, so the organization is definitely due for success for one of their own.