I have been doing a lot of reading leading into the baseball season - Bleacher Reports articles on the Giants, Fantasy Baseball info/articles anything on ESPN and MLB.com - and there seems to be a bit of a debate on who is the best catcher in baseball. From a fantasy perspective I have a pretty good one in my keeper league in Brian McCann but the debate typically comes down the Yadier Molina or Buster Posey. I tend to think Buster is better offensively and Molina has an edge on defense. The majority seem to be going with Yadier as the best today.
As you can probably guess, I have a favorite and it is none other than the Giants Buster Posey. I think his offensive advantage outweighs Molina's defensive edge. The Giants' pitchers say great things about how Posey calls a game, I think his defense is underrated. What do you think? Share your thoughts on who you think is the best catcher, it could be a fun debate.
A nice little lot of cards I received in the mail today got me thinking about this and since this is a card blog I may as well share them. I picked up this 4 card lot for 8 bucks and I am very happy with the purchase.
First up is a pair of Busters from 2013 Triple Threads. I really like this picture of Buster in his gear without a helmet - great shot used by Topps. The card on the left is the base version and the one on the right is the amethyst parallel out of 650. These are my first Posey cards from this set and I may need to get closer to a rainbow.
Next up is a commemorative patch out of this year's Topps Flagship product. I assume this is one of the one per blaster extras. For a manupatch, this was executed quite well. I like the nice Giants patch and the layout of the card. Very happy with this card.
The final card is another 2014 Topps card, this time a relic from the Trajectory set. Decent design, I am surprised (pleasantly) that this is a relic only insert set and there aren't regular insert cards. Who knows, they could be planned for Series 2.
I am really happy with these cards of the man I think is the best catcher in the game and at a great price. So who do you think is the best catcher? Any votes for Buster?
Molina has done it for a bit longer and maybe unmatched defensively; while Posey maybe the superior offensive player, his hitting stats took a swoon in the second half of 2013, so who knows how he will bounce back this year.
ReplyDeleteIf he is healthy, he might nab his second MVP award.
I'm in the Posey camp. I think the bat puts him over the top. To get that kind of production from a catcher is so unique. How long do you think he stays at catcher?
ReplyDeleteEven though I am a Cards fan and write a blog (http://yadiermolinabaseballcards.blogspot.com) about Yadi cards. He beat Buster in ALL offensive cats last year. Now I like Buster and perhaps Yadi will regress and Buster will do better in 2014.
DeleteBut the stats don't lie from MLB.com.
1 Yadi Games 136, AB 505, Runs 68, BB 80, SO 55, SB 3, AVG .319,SLG .477, OPS .836
2 Buster Games 148, AB 520, Runs 61, BB 72, SO 70, SB 2, AVG .294, SLG .450, OPS .821
Though Yadi according to MLB.com wasn't the best defensive catcher last year. that honor goes to Martin of the Bucs
I already said it once on Brady's post... but I guess it needs to be said again:
ReplyDeleteKurt Suzuki... all day... every day. ;-)