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There’s a mystery about the career of Ivan Rodriguez that I’ve spent a day or two trying to solve. It’s not a big deal, and I’m not even sure that it’s very revealing. But this is how it goes in baseball. Sometimes you go down a rabbit hole, and you’re...
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Baseball reference says Kendall caught 2,205 games …
Sorry 2,025
He did specify that they started > 2000 games, not just played, so that’s likely where the discrepancy lies?
You are correct. Both Kendall and Carter played more than 2,000 games as a catcher, but Carter “only” started 1954, and Kendall 1990. Missed that.
I never forgot the “skinny “ IRod pics after steroid testing started for real. Possibly that was part of why his later career was so pitiful.
…or perhaps he just got old, like everyone else does.
IRod’s decline (mainly offensive) was after his age-32 season. Bench was done after age 32. Gary Carter also had a big decline after age 32. It’s catching, man, it takes a lot out of even the greatest. IRod had more in the tank than Bench or Carter, though not (nearly) as much as Fisk. I don’t know if he was a roid rager or not, but the usual pattern of aging for catchers seems to fit IRod to a T.
Agreed. If you look at his career it’s an almost perfect bell curve that peaks in his age 27-28 seasons.
Because he came up so young (age 19) it just seemed like he was so much older when he hit his peak years because he was a 10 year vet and most 10 year vets are in their 30’s, not their late 20’s.
By the time steroid testing began IRod’s numbers had already been dropping for a few years since his peak was 99-00.
Regarding the OPS+ list, Mauer must be left off because he didn’t get 7,500 plate appearances specifically as a catcher. For the record, he did get to 7,960 with an OPS+ of 124. Before his career-altering concussions he was on pace for something closer to 130-140.