In Appreciation of the Atlanta Braves’ Catcher, A.J. Pierzynski
Sep 29, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski (15) celebrates his solo home run with teammates in the fourth inning of their game against the Washington Nationals at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Baseball-reference.com has a tool that “scores” major league players on their future Hall of Fame worthiness. It’s their ‘Hall of Fame Monitor Leaders‘ chart. As they put it, a score of 100+ makes you a “good possibility” for enshrinement while 130+ makes you a virtual lock. Looking at their list, I’m not so sure about those thresholds, but it’s useful to help sort out players for some interesting comparisons.
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Some scores of note:
- Ken Griffey Jr. – 235
- Johnny Bench – 214
- Vladimir Guerrero – 209
- Chipper Jones – 180
- Jim Thome – 156
- Dale Murphy – 116
- Andruw Jones – 109
- Jose Canseco – 103
- Fred McGriff – 100
- Javy Lopez – 66
Of notable catchers still active, Buster Posey scores a 58, Brian McCann 46, Yadier Molina 101… and A.J. Pierzynski is at 102.
When the Braves signed Pierzynski just before Christmas last year (this was the report via Fredi Gonzalez leaked in the Great Honey-Baked Ham Rumor), there were a lot of concerns about what kind of teammate he might be after his tenures in Chicago and Boston – especially Boston. The Braves might have had some hesitation as well – signing John Buck a month later.
Wanna guess who was right?
Everything Asked… And More
He’s 38 years old – will be 39 at the end of the year. He’s played in 111 contests, made 428 plate appearances, handled 893 innings behind the plate – committing just 2 errors in the process, and at .299 has the highest batting average on the entire team among those with anything over 50 ABs.
This season marks the 15th season in which he’s played 100+ games. The 14th for 100+ as catcher. By the weekend, it will be the 14th with at least 900 innings in harness.
On the all-time lists for Catchers, he’s 16th in games played… needing 3 more to pass Benito Santiago for 15th place. If he plays next season (why not?), then he could move up to 12th (1990). The next names on that list would be Jason Kendall (2085) and Yogi Berra (2120).
A.J. is already 14th all-time for plate appearances among catchers and 13th in hits (13 away from 2000)… Johnny Bench is 12th at 2048. Among those catchers with at least 5,000 lifetime trips to the plate (he has 7,548), Pierzynski ranks 24th in batting average at .282. Yadi Molina is at .283, by the way… and A.J. has 86 more home runs than he (186).
Sure – he’s hardly a defensive stud (though the fangraphs’ defensive metrics has liked him over the years). He’s had some comical “pitch framing” incidents this year. But he’s been there – day after day – during a year in which the Braves would have honestly preferred that they wouldn’t have needed him.
But he even won a game for us last night as part of a Summer in which those wins have been oh so hard to come by.
The Sum of a Season
Is A.J. Pierzynski actually a Hall of Famer? Probably not. The “experts” would refer to this 18-year veteran as a “compiler” – one who amasses stats over time as a simple result of continuing to play games. Regardless of the stats and the rankings on various leaderboards, he will fall short while the writers continue to contemplate a Mike Piazza and wait for Ivan Rodriguez.
But then again… as a catcher especially… when you are continuing to play games, it’s not because you just show up. You play because you’re a vital part of the team. That’s been all to evident in 2015 as Pierzynski earned and kept the playing time over Christian Bethancourt.
A.J. didn’t just fill a need. David Ross did that from 2009-2012. Gerald Laird did so in 2013-14. Pierzynski was asked to step up and be the starter and he did. Heck, it wasn’t in the plans that he’d max out his contract incentives – but it happened.
There are other catchers, both active and recent, who have earned the appreciation of their fans around the country: Posey, McCann, Molina, Jorge Posada, Russell Martin. A.J. is now working for his 6th team in his 18 seasons. The Twins didn’t believe they needed his services any longer once some kid named Mauer appeared. He ultimately wore out his welcome with the White Sox, but you have to wonder how much manager Ozzie Guillen had to do with that. After the White Sox, he’s been bouncing around a bit.
Braves fans have gotten to know him this year. And he hasn’t been the clubhouse terror many expected. Quite the contrary (which is especially evident given this season’s results). We don’t know at this point if the team will ask that he return for 2016. We don’t know if there will be a better offer made to him, either. So for the remaining 5 games of 2015 – let’s recognize and applaud the value, the professionalism, and the work that our Catcher has done for this club.
Well done.