Devin's Cooperstown - The Catcher

As I viewed the All- Star game and saw the pre-game festivities of all the great baseball players over time on one baseball field, it led me to think of the times growing up during church of me and my brothers making our own all-star teams of who we thought were the best players (this was a great way to "ponder" during church). While thinking of this I decided that I wanted to come up with a list of the best baseball players that I have seen in my day. I will go position by postition and identify who I feel makes my "Cooperstown". Entrance into this "Cooperstown" will be based on impact that the player had on the game of baseball with consideration of their statistics. Regrettably Eric Davis, even though he had a great batting stance, and many other notables such as John Kruk, Daryl Strawberry, and Doc Gooden didn't make this list but don't be surprised if the great Will "The Thrill" Clark or my brother Ryan's favorite Mike Schmidt atleast get some consideration. I will induct one player a week by position and your comments are welcome.

Catcher: Starting behind the dish is appropriate because that is where we find the field general. My catcher needs to be feared as one who you don't want to steal on. I don't need a catcher who can hit .300 but I need a catcher who can be a threat and not someone who hits below his weight I have seen many great catchers in my day, notably, Gary Carter, Ivan Rodriguez, Sandy Alomar Jr. , Mike Piazza. For me it boils down to Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez. Sure I like the mullet sported by Mike Piazza and he is one of the great hitting catchers but for me I'm going to go with Ivan Rodriguez. His arm is to be feared and he has surprising speed for a catcher. He is clutch with men in scoring position and has a competitive drive to win the big game. He also hits for average and will one day go down as one of the great catchers of all time.

"Devin's Cooperstown" Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez - Detroit Tigers