Top 5 catchers in Blue Jays franchise history by WAR

The Toronto Blue Jays have had a memorable collection of catchers throughout their team history. The then-young duo of Alan Ashby and Rick Cerone did the heavy lifting at the position over the first three years of the franchise’s existence. 

Ernie Whitt was on the inaugural roster but saw scant playing time in the bigs in 1977 and 1978. He became the starting backstop in 1980 and was a mainstay there for a decade, providing stability at that spot not seen since. Whitt's catching partner for five years has become one of the most cherished figures in Jays' lore, Buck Martinez. 

His legendary tag at home plate moments after suffering a broken leg is unforgettable. Martinez became a star in the broadcast booth but had a decent backup before that and enjoyed a 17-year MLB career. 

Pat Borders was in blue from 1988-1994 and was the starting catcher on the back-to-back World Series-winning teams in ‘92 and ‘93. He hit a career-high 13 home runs and won World Series MVP in the first title year. Charlie O’Brien became the first MLB catcher to wear the now-common hockey-style mask and enjoyed his best season in 1996.

Darrin Fletcher played the last five years of his career in Toronto and reached career-highs of 20 homers in 2000 and 80 RBI in 1999. J.P. Arencibia had one of the best debuts possible, with four hits and two home runs, and displayed impressive power. Ultimately, a low batting average and high strikeout rate doomed his time in T.O. 

In recent years, the Blue Jays' depth at the position has been abundant and has traded Gabriel Moreno and Reese McGuire and let Luke Maile walk in free agency. As much criticism as the Moreno trade has generated, the current combo of Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk is one many teams would love to have. Here are the top five catchers in terms of WAR (bWAR). 

#5 Alejandro Kirk 6.9 WAR

Alejandro Kirk made his Blue Jays debut during the bizarre, truncated 2020 season, getting called up for nine games and showing he was ready for the big leagues. The Tijuana native hit .375 (9-for-24) with a homer and three runs driven in. His best game came on September 21st when he went 4-for-4 with a home run and three runs scored. Despite the limited playing time, the fan-favorite produced 0.2 WAR. 

Fans weren’t sure what to expect from Kirk in 2021 with a chance for extended reps both at the plate and behind it. A hip flexor injury caused the 25-year-old to miss a large portion of the middle of the season and he was limited to 60 games played. Overall in 2021, Kirk hit .242 with eight homers, 24 RBI, and a .764 OPS (105 OPS+) and a 0.9 WAR, a performance that felt somewhat disappointing.

A month into the 2022 season, the buzz on Kirk’s ascendancy seemed like it could be fool’s gold. On May 1st, the young backstop had a .232 average (13-for-56) with zero extra-base hits and a single run scored. Over the next two and a half months, Kirk hit .337 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles, and a .969 OPS. That extended hot streak earned the burgeoning star the starting catcher assignment in the All-Star Game.

In the season’s second half, Kirk returned to earth with a .246/.340/661 slash line with three homers, but his season numbers were impressive. A .285 average with 14 home runs, 63 RBI, and a .786 OPS. That helped him win the Silver Slugger Award, and he finished the season with 3.9 WAR, the highest single-season total for a catcher in team history. 

That kind of production pales compared to last year’s, but Kirk had his moments in 2023. The dip in his BAbip from .299 in 2022 to .265 in 2023 helped lower his batting average to .250 with eight home runs, 43 RBI, and a 1.9 WAR. He also saw his caught stealing percentage fall from 26% to 18% with the new, larger bases. His projections for 2024 are more in line with 2022’s gaudy stats.

3. Russell Martin 8.3 WAR

When Russell Martin signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Blue Jays, a nation erupted in joy. The transaction and the trade for Josh Donaldson signaled that the franchise was ready to compete after a playoff drought that spanned two decades. 

The veterans brought presence and accountability to the Jays, and the team responded with one of their best seasons ever. Martin’s first season in Toronto was his best in blue as he hit .240 with 23 home runs (tied with J.P Arencibia for the most by a catcher in team history), 77 RBI, and a 3.2 WAR. He also threw out a league-best 44% of runners attempting to steal, the highest mark of his career. 

The Jays were contenders in 2016, and Martin was at the forefront of their success. His numbers slipped a bit, but he still went deep 20 times, drove in over 70 runs, and produced a solid WAR of 2.0. Surprisingly, Martin only threw out 11 of 72 attempted base-stealers, the lowest career rate.

The team started to change the following season, and the competitive window had closed, and injuries limited Martin’s effectiveness and his time on the field. For the first time since 2010, he played in fewer than 100 games. Although he played less, Martin showed more versatility, appearing in ten games at third base. 

2018 was Martin’s last year in Toronto, and it felt like the end of an era. Jose Bautista was already gone, John Gibbons managed his last game in blue, and Donaldson was on his way out. Martin played 21 games at third base, three at shortstop, and even one in leftfield. Gibbons even let him manage the final game of the season.

2. Gregg Zaun 10.8 WAR

By the time Gregg Zaun came to the Blue Jays in 2004, he was 33, in his tenth season. He was expected to add depth and some veteran experience gained through being a part of six different MLB teams. 

The ‘04 team struggled, going 67-94, but Zaun took advantage of his best opportunity for steady playing time.  Playing in the most games of his career, he enjoyed one of his best seasons, hitting .269 with a career-high 24 doubles, six homers, a .761 OPS, and a 2.3 WAR, and also threw out a respectable 28% of attempted base-stealers. 

Toronto made a 13-win improvement in 2005, and Zaun had his best season and reached career-highs in games played, hits, runs, and RBI. The Blue Jays signed Bengie Molina as their starting catcher in 2006, and the duo’s production contributed to another seven-win improvement that season.  Zaun embraced his role as a backup and occasional DH and hit a career-best 12 homers, with a .825 OPS and a 3.6 WAR.

Zaun parlayed that into a two-year free-agent deal to stay in T.O., undeterred by the fact that the team was also pursuing Rod Barajas, whom they’d sign two years later. Zaun’s most memorable moment with the franchise was a walk-off grand slam in an extra-innings win over the Rays in 2008. 

Zaun was a self-made player and worked hard to get a chance to start. Once that happened, the crafty veteran was at his best with the Blue Jays and is one of the most underrated at he position in franchise history. 

1. Ernie Whitt 19.4 WAR

Some fans may not know that Ernie Whitt was a charter member of the 1977 Blue Jays, and that’s because he didn’t get many opportunities to play. The coaching staff preferred to go with the tandem of Alan Ashby and Vic Cerrone, and Ernie got into just 25 games in 1977 and ‘78.

Manager Bobby Mattick made Whitt the starting catcher in 1980, and it was one of the few bright spots of a lousy 67-95 season. In 1982, Bobby Cox took over the managerial reigns, and the club took a significant step towards respectability with a 78-84 record. Whitt continued to show improvement, with a .261 average, 11 home runs, and a 0.9 WAR. 

The best was yet to come, and 1983 marked another big step forward for Ernie and the Blue Jays. Whitt enjoyed his best season yet with 17 homers, 56 RBI, a .805 OPS, and a 3.4 WAR while throwing out 38% of base-runners. The team shook off its expansion-era ineptitude and finished 89-73, their first winning season. 

Durability, toughness, and power were the staples of Whitt’s game, and he played in over 100 games in nine of his ten seasons (he played 74 of 108 games in the strike-shortened 1981 campaign) with the Jays and reached double-digits in home runs every year from 1989 to 1989. The high mark for power production came in 1985 and 1987 with 19 homers. Whitt was named an All-Star in ‘85 and drove in 1 career-high 75 runs in ‘87. 

Ernie Whitt remains one of the most beloved alumni in Blue Jays history. He is, by far, the leader in home runs by a catcher and catcher WAR. As well as Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk have done to work towards those gaudy totals, catching Whitt's totals would take years of steady production to get close. Put Jansen's upcoming free agency into substantial historical perspective.