Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez the best catcher ever?

On Wednesday night, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez caught his 2,227th career game to surpass Carlton Fisk record for most games played by a catcher. I was surprised this didn’t get more attention. I would put this milestone up there with Cal Ripken Jr. consecutive games played record. It takes a really good durable player to play for 18 years as a catcher, especially with many of those years in the Texas heat.

Ivan Rodriguez got the nick name “Pudge” because he used to be pudgy. A few years ago, he started to loose his pudginess. Rodriguez is not a great offensive player. If he was, he wouldn’t be a catcher. He would have been moved to another position. Look at Victor Martinez or the talk about moving Joe Mauer. That is because playing catcher does take a toll on the body and slow you down at the plate. Ivan Rodriguez production would not have been that good for a first basemen or outfielder, but for a catcher it is. That is because usually you don’t get that production out of a catcher.

So is Ivan Rodriguez the best catcher ever? I would argue that he is. Rodriguez is one of the best hitting catchers of all time. He isn’t the best, but among the top 20 best offensive catchers. He has 2,650 career hits, 301 homeruns, seven silver slugger awards, and won the 1999 AL MVP. He also was the 2003 NLCS MVP. He is a 14 time All-Star and started 12 of them. He has won 13 gold glove awards which is most for a catcher. Thus, Ivan Rodriguez could be the best all around catcher ever.