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It may have been Josh Gibson from the Negro Leagues. Carlton Fisk and Johnny Bench were good hitting catchers that lasted a long time. Roy Campenella Johnny Bench that is a tough question i would say either Yogi Berra or Johnny Bench Ivan Rodriguez is probably the best current one though I never saw Josh Gibson play, but of those I did I would pick Yogi Berra because he was Mr. Clutch. Casey Stengal considered him to be his most valuable player. No other catcher played on as many world series winners as he did. Mike Piazza should be considered one of the greatest offensive catchers ever, but he was short on defense. I prefer Johnny Bench. Great offense and defense. i'm going to tell you why it was yogi berra hands down. #1 because catching is an extreamly important position on any team and Nobody played on as many winning teams as yogi#2 more importantly you have to judge players by the era in which they played. from 1950 -1960 yogi bera won mvp 3 times and came in sedond in the voting 2 times... 5 out of ten years yogi was at least the 2nd most valuble player of the decade...[ that almost sounds like a "yogi-ism"..my homage lol]. best cather?... by these standards he may be the best player period. oh ,#3 just look at his stats in the clutch and in the world series... this is the man you want on your team... hands down jogi hell i dont know there are alot of them i agree ivan is def the best of the modern era Ivan rodriguez was a great defensive catcher that suspiciously bulked up in the early 2000's through the Barry Bonds vitamin plan, and became a good hitter. Mike Piazza was hands down the best hitting catcher in the history of the game, but though he is probably my favorite player of all time, he was not good enough defensivly to be considered the greatest catcher in history. I would give that honor to Johhny Bench who was a two way force with the Cincy Reds in the 70's. The greatest catcher I personally got to watch play albeit towards the end of his great career was Johnny Bench but I have to give due respect to Yogi Berra as anyone who can be apart of as many championships as him has to be considered. Plus, he is the source of some great quips. Choo Choo Coleman , Phillies and Mets.. josh gibson
Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 in Buena Vista, Georgia - January 20, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was a catcher for the Homestead Grays and later the Pittsburgh Crawfords in baseball's Negro Leagues.
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 215 pounds at the peak of his career, Gibson is widely considered among the very best power hitters in baseball history, but never played in Major League Baseball as racial segregation excluded African-Americans during his lifetime. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, elected in 1972.
He has been credited with as many as 84 homers in one season. His Baseball Hall of Fame plaque says he hit "almost 800" homers in his 17-year career. His lifetime batting average was higher than .350, with other sources putting it as high as .384, the best in Negro League history. It was reported that he won nine home-run titles and four batting championships playing for the Crawfords and the Homestead Grays. In two seasons in the late 1930s, it was written that not only did he hit higher than .400, but his slugging percentage was above 1.000. The Sporting News of June 3, 1967 credits Gibson with a home run in a Negro League game at Yankee Stadium that struck two feet from the top of the wall circling the center field bleachers, about 580 feet from home plate. Although it has never been conclusively proven, Chicago American Giants infielder Jack Marshall said Gibson slugged one over the third deck next to the left field bullpen in 1934 for the only fair ball hit out of the House That Ruth Built.
Due to the color line, the Negro Leagues operated mostly "under the radar." This fact has made statistical accuracy difficult to bear out. But it has also led to various amusing and unverifiable "Tall Tales" about immortals such as Gibson. A good example: In the last of the ninth at Pittsburgh, down a run, with a runner on base and two outs, Gibson hits one high and deep, so far into the twilight sky that it disappears from sight, apparently winning the game. The next day, the same two teams are playing again, now in Washington. Just as the teams have positioned themselves on the field, a ball comes falling out of the sky and a Washington outfielder grabs it. The umpire yells to Gibson, "You're out! In Pittsburgh, yesterday!"
Gibson died of a stroke at age 35 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, just three months before Jackie Robinson became the first black player in modern major league history. The stroke is generally believed to be linked to drug problems that plagued his later years.
Gibson is buried in the Allegheny Cemetery in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville.
In 1996, Gibson was played by Mykelti Williamson in the made-for-cable film Soul of the Game, which also starred Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige, Blair Underwood as Jackie Robinson, Edward Herrmann as Branch Rickey and Jerry Hardin as Commissioner Happy Chandler.
In 1999, he ranked 18th on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, the highest-ranking of five players to have played all or most of their careers in the Negro Leagues. (The others were Paige, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell and Oscar Charleston.) That same year, he was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Johnny Bench.
Curently, Pudge! Josh Gibson by far. I was gonna say Bench but saw someone else put Gibson and had forgot about him. Without a doubt it was Johnny Bench of the REDS! Thought by many to have the best arm ever and was the all time leader in HRs by a catcher! A Hall of Famer....#5 rules!
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