Long-Term Battery Combinations

Submitted by Howard Johnson

The most comforting words that can be heard by any hard-core fan of professional baseball is the annual mid-winter pronouncement that “Pitchers and catchers will report on ….” Given those are the two positions involved on every pitch of every game, each performs within the confines of a space rigorously defined by the official rules and no play can start without them in their proper positions, they are arguably the two most important defensive positions in the game. Almost universally, the catcher (often with direction from his superiors in the dugout) signals to the pitcher the type of pitch to be thrown (subject to the pitcher’s approval) and positions himself accordingly. Any misunderstanding or miscommunication between the two can result in calamity, especially with runners on the bases or the batter down to his last strike. As such a certain familiarity between the two players is required. In many cases, the makeup of the battery is simply a result of whom the manager has selected to use in the day-to-day management of the team. Other cases arise where a pitcher is thought to perform better (or thinks he does) with a particular catcher and management reacts accordingly.

Pursuit of this topic was inspired by an on-air remark by a Cardinal telecaster that Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina had passed Bob Gibson and Tim McCarver to become that club’s most prolific battery (based on starts). The thought then arose, “Where do they stand overall and how should one go about measuring that standing”? Two possibilities for measurement exist: (1) batters faced and (2) outs recorded, commonly divided by three and presented as innings pitched. The Retrosheet event and deduced event files allow for compilation of either of those outcomes from 1941 to the present, as well as, the vast majority of games beginning with the National League’s 1921 season. But, what to do with those other games? Retrosheet also has published “proofed” box scores of all games played in the Major Leagues, accompanied by computer readable files, covering the period 1908-1940. Innings pitched and batters faced by the pitchers are accounted for in those files, but substitutions at catcher not coincident with a pitching change are problematic as to who was playing when the events occurred, thus joint batters faced becomes a quantity impossible to correctly assign or reasonably estimate. Newspaper accounts and box scores can be employed to gain a “reasonable estimate” of the joint innings played by the principals. Innings pitched in games involving relief pitchers gradually began appearing in newspaper box scores in the 1900s, as did the time of pinch hitter appearances. Game accounts, again, fill in much of the void, but often only to the nearest full inning. Therefore compilations of outs recorded by each battery in games with battery substitutions during those early years are estimates (albeit probably very good ones) and are subject to refinement as better information becomes available. Outs recorded are used throughout to avoid the use of fractional innings.

As of the end of the 2017 season 132 battery combinations had logged at least 3000 outs (1000 innings) since the establishment of the modern pitching distance of 60 feet 6 inches. Those results are included in the table that accompanies this article. The number one slot belongs to the Hall-of-Fame duo of Red Faber and Ray Schalk who were teammates on Chicago White Sox teams from 1914 (Faber’s debut) through Schalk’s departure in 1928 ( Schalk did not catch Faber after 1926). Likely inaccuracies in the 3rd place Cy Young-Lou Criger compilation could well mean that that pair might actually surpass Warren Spahn-Del Crandall for 2nd. Nevertheless, those three pairs, each with more than 7500 outs (2500 innings) are the clear leaders in battery usage. Another 34 pairs, while falling short of the top three, accounted for at least 4500 outs (1500) innings. Improved data from the early years, could propel Urban Shocker-Hank Severeid, into the 1500 inning circle, but unless someone can find a missing inning somewhere for Sandy Koufax and John Roseboro they must remain on the outside. Contained in that group is one battery still active together in 2017, Wainwright-Molina (4816 outs, 30th all-time) who, as fate would have it are for now one spot behind Gibson-McCarver (4844), all with the Cardinals in both instances. Among the remaining 95 batteries are combinations both famous (i.e., Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane) and obscure (“Brewery Jack” Taylor and Jack Clements), including one pair still active in 2017 – Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey (3601 outs, good for 71st place).

The 1000-inning battery club contains 122 different pitchers and 87 different catchers. In five batteries, both pitcher and catcher are members of the Hall of Fame. The pitcher is a Hall of Famer in an additional 41 batteries and another 26 present a Hall of Fame catcher without a pitcher so honored.

Nine pitchers are listed twice:Steve Carlton (Bob Boone, Tim McCarver), Hooks Dauss (Oscar Stanage, Johnny Bassler), Whitey Ford (Yogi Berra, Elston Howard), Bob Gibson (Tim McCarver, Ted Simmons), Carl Hubbell (Gus Mancuso, Harry Danning – whose careers were nearly coincident), Walter Johnson (Eddie Ainsmith, Muddy Ruel), Christy Mathewson (Frank Bowerman, Chief Meyers), Mike Mussina (Chris Hoiles, Jorge Posada), and Cy Young (Chief Zimmer, Lou Criger).

Catchers on the list multiple times are:
5 Gabby Hartnett – Bush, Root, Malone, Warneke, Lee
4 Jim Hegan – Feller, Lemon, Garcia, Wynn
4 Yogi Berra – Reynolds, Raschi, Lopat, Ford
3 Roy Campanella – Erskine, Roe, Newcombe
3 Mickey Cochrane – Grove, Walberg, Earnshaw
3 Rick Dempsey – Flanagan, Martinez, McGregor
3 George Gibson – Camnitz, Adams, Willis
3 Steve O’Neill – Morton, Bagby, Coveleski
3 Lance Parrish – Wilcox, Morris, Petry
2 Earl Battey – Pascual, Kaat
2 Bob Boone – Carlton, Lonborg
2 Del Crandall – Spahn, Burdette
2 Bill Dickey – Gomez, Ruffing
2 Rick Ferrell – W. Ferrell, Leonard
2 Bill Freehan – Lolich, McLain
2 Jerry Grote – Seaver, Koosman
2 Bubbles Hargrave – Luque, Rixey
2 Randy Hundley – Hands, Jenkins
2 Gus Mancuso – Hubbell, Schumacher
2 Tim McCarver – Gibson, Carlton
2 Chief Meyers – Mathewson, Marquard
2 Yadier Molina – Carpenter, Wainwright
2 Jorge Posada – Pettite, Mussina
2 Johnny Roseboro – Drysdale, Koufax
2 Mike Scoscia – Valenzuela, Hershiser
2 Ted Simmons – Gibson, Forsch
2 Billy Sullivan – White, Walsh
2 Ernie Whitt – Clancy, Stieb
2 Steve Yeager – Sutton, Hooton

The batteries which have reached the 1000-inning plateau, generally fall into three distinct categories. By far the most common pairing consists of a long-term, single team relationship between a regular rotation starter and the team’s everyday catcher (Faber-Schalk, Spahn-Crandall, Lolich-Freehan). Among this group are catchers whose team had a stable group of starting pitchers (Hartnett, Hegan, Berra). A second much smaller group comprises tandems who changed teams, either in a single trade (Alexander-Killefer, Dickey-Thole, Taylor-Clements), rejoined each other via a later exchange (Carlton-McCarver, Marquard-Meyers) or just moved around together, like Young and Criger with their joint odyssey through three teams in two leagues during the turbulent period of the late 1890s and the early 1900s. A third very small group would imply pitcher preference for a particular catcher who was otherwise a backup receiver. Between Eddie Plank’s arrival with A’s in 1901 through Doc Powers’s ultimately fatal collapse after catching Plank’s 1909 season-opening complete game, Powers caught in just over 71% of all games in which Plank appeared. The ill-fated receiver appeared in only 37.5% of all other A’s games during that period (allowing for the month in 1905 that Powers spent “on loan” to the injury-riddled Highlanders). Powers only had one 100-game season as a catcher (1901) and never caught in more than 70 games in a season otherwise. Eddie Ainsmith became Walter Johnson’s “designated receiver” when it became apparent that he was only receiver on the team who could withstand the sustained punishment of catching Walter Johnson’s fastballs. Ainsmith started 474 games as a Senator, 210 of those were started by the “Big Train.” Ainsmith caught over 100 games once and 89 in another, otherwise catching in no more than 75 games in any season, and starting only 58 in that one.

Data compiled from the following sources: Retrosheet.org and local newspapers archived on-line at Newspapers.com, and Proquest.com.

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