The Florida/Miami Marlins have had a number of talented catchers appear on the roster since the inaugural 1993 season. 

This article focuses on these players, as we showcase the best Miami Marlins catchers in team history based on each player's career and single season wins above replacement (WAR).

Keep scrolling to learn more…

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Background on the Marlins

The Florida Marlins (now Miami Marlins) got their start in the 1993 MLB expansion, joining the majors that season alongside the Colorado Rockies. 

In the Marlins' fifth season (1997), they made it to the World Series and won the title in dramatic fashion with a game seven walk off in extra innings. 

Six years later (2003), the Marlins won another World Series championship over the New York Yankees.  

The Marlins were powered to their two World Series championships - as well as many seasons before and after - by a variety of talented players.

Included in this list are a number of Marlins catchers that have stood out due to their offensive and defensive production. 

This article highlights these catchers in more detail, as we highlight Miami's best backstops since the team's start back in 1993.

Wins Above Replacement (WAR)

Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, is an advanced statistic in baseball Sabermetrics that is used to summarize a players total contribution to his team. 

For more information on WAR, click here. 

In our opinion, WAR does a fantastic job at showing the comprehensive value of a player.  So for this article, we researched every catcher to have played for the Florida or Miami Marlins since 1993, then we ranked them using the WAR calculation developed by Fangraphs (also known as fWAR).  

Continue reading to learn more about the top three Marlins catchers in franchise history based on career WAR and single-season WAR.

Top 3 Marlins Catchers by Career WAR

Please note: The catcher must have at least 100 defensive games played as a member of the Marlins to be eligible for our career WAR list.

#1. Ivan Rodriguez, 69.2 career WAR

One of the best catchers of all time, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez holds many records for his position, including most hits (2,844) and most gold gloves (13) by a catcher. 

Pudge enjoyed a 21 year career in the big leagues. Although he first came to fame during his time with the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez spent one productive and memorable season with the Florida Marlins (2003).

Over the course of his career, Pudge hit .296 with 311 home runs, 1,332 RBIs and a .798 OPS. Behind the plate he maintained a .991 fielding percentage and he threw out 46% of runners attempting to steal.

Pudge won a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003. He was a 14 time all star, won 13 gold gloves and seven silver sluggers, and he was the 1999 AL MVP. Pudge was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

#2. J.T. Realmuto, 31.3 career WAR

The second highest career WAR by a Marlins catcher belongs to J.T. Realmuto.

J.T. started his big league career in Miami, where he spent five seasons. Now with the Philadelphia Phillies, Realmuto owns a .273/.330/.456 slash line through the 2023 season. He has over 1,100 career hits, 154 home runs and 578 RBIs.

J.T. has an absolute cannon of an arm and in his career he has thrown out 202 base runners (34% CS%). He is a regular league leader in pop time, and he also owns a .994 fielding percentage as a catcher.

Realmuto is a three-time all star, a three time silver slugger award winner and a two-time Gold Glover. He’s also finished in the top 15 for the NL MVP award two times so far in his career.

#3. Benito Santiago, 28.7 career WAR

Benito Santiago was the first catcher in Marlins history. He was the opening day catcher for the Florida Marlins inaugural game in 1993, and he remained with the Marlins through the 1994 season.

Santiago came to Miami after seven seasons with the San Diego Padres, where he won a Rookie of the Year award and made four straight all star teams.

Over his 20 year MLB career, Santiago hit .263 and collected 1,830 hits, 217 home runs and 920 RBIs. 

In 11,927 chances behind the plate, Santiago kept a .987 fielding percentage and He threw out 530 runners attempting to steal (35%).

Honorable Mention: Charles Johnson, 25.7 career WAR

Charles Johnson is not only one of the best Florida Marlins catcher to play, but one of the greatest African American catchers in modern baseball history.

The two-time all star and four-time Gold Glove award winner helped the Marlins win their first World Series title in 1997. 

The Florida native spent 12 years in the big leagues, seven years of which were spent with the Marlins. During his career, Johnson hit .245/.330/.433 with 167 home runs and 570 RBIs.

In 9,791 innings caught, Johnson maintained a .993 fielding percentage and he gunned down 39% of runners attempting to steal, 8% better than the league average during that time period.

Top 3 Seasons by Marlins Catchers, Ranked by WAR

Please note: The catcher must have at least 70 defensive games played in one season as a member of the Marlins to be eligible for the single-season WAR list.

#1. 2018 - J.T. Realmuto (4.9 WAR)

The best season by a Miami Marlins catcher, based on WAR, was J.T. Realmuto's 2018 campaign. It would be his last season in Miami before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.

J.T. made his first MLB all star team and won his first silver slugger award in 2018. That season, he hit .277/.340/.484 with 132 hits, 21 home runs and 74 RBIs.

Behind the dish, J.T. kept a .992 fielding percentage and he had a 38% CS%, which was ten percentage points above the league average in 2018.

#2. 1997 - Charles Johnson (4.8 WAR)

Arguably the best season in Charles Johnson's career came in 1997 with the Florida Marlins. He was named to his first MLB all star team that year.

In 124 regular season games, Johnson hit .250 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs. 

Defensively, he led the NL with a very rare perfect 1.000 fielding percentage behind the plate and he had a 47% CS%, which rightfully led to a gold glove award.

Johnson was a major contributor to the Marlins' 1997 World Series championship against the Cleveland Indians. He went 10 for 28 (.357) at the plate with a home run and three RBIs. He also had a clutch hit in the bottom of the 9th of game seven, helping pave the way for the Marlins dramatic win.

#3. 2003 - Ivan Rodriguez (4.5 WAR)

According to WAR, the third best year by a catcher in Marlins history was Ivan Rodriguez's 2003 season.

That year, Pudge hit .297/.369/.474 with 152 hits, 16 home runs and 85 RBIs. Behind the plate, he had a .992 fielding percentage and a CS% of 33%.

Pudge played in all six games of the 2003 World Series. He hit .273 in the Series and helped lead the Marlins to their second championship in franchise history. 

List of All Marlins Catchers With a 2.0+ WAR Season

For catchers, a season with a WAR that's 2.0 or better generally means that they had a good year. 

A few Marlins catchers have reached or exceeded this number since the team got its start in 1993.   

Check out the below list to learn more about each Marlins catcher to have had a 2.0 + WAR in a single season.

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Marlins Catchers over the Last 10 Years

Please note: the following catchers are listed based on the order of games caught per season for the Marlins. Catchers with the most games caught per season start at the top. 

2014 Marlins - Finished fourth in NL East 

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia (primary)
• Jeff Mathis
• J.T. Realmuto

 

2015 Marlins - Finished third in NL East

• J.T. Realmuto (primary)
• Jeff Mathis
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia
• Tomas Telis
• Jhonatan Solano

 

2016 Marlins - Finished third in NL East

• J.T. Realmuto (primary)
• Jeff Mathis
• Tomas Telis

 

2017 Marlins - Finished second in NL East

• J.T. Realmuto (primary)
• A.J. Ellis
• Tomas Telis

 

2018 Marlins - Finished fifth in NL East

• J.T. Realmuto (primary)
• Bryan Holaday
• Chad Wallach
• Tomas Telis

 

2019 Marlins - Finished fifth in NL East

• Jorge Alfaro (primary)
• Bryan Holaday
• Chad Wallach
• Wilkin Castillo
• Tyler Heineman

 

2020 Marlins - Finished second in NL East, lost NLDS

• Jorge Alfaro (primary)
• Francisco Cervelli
• Chad Wallach
• Ryan Lavarnway
• Brian Navarreto

 

2021 Marlins - Finished fourth in NL East

• Jorge Alfaro (primary)
• Sandy Leon
• Alex Jackson
• Chad Wallach
• Nick Fortes
• Payton Henry

 

2022 Marlins - Finished fourth in NL East

• Jacob Stallings (primary)
• Nick Fortes
• Payton Henry

 

2023 Marlins - Finished third in NL East, lost NL Wild Card Series

• Nick Fortes (primary)
• Jacobs Stallings
  

 

Complete List of All Marlins Catchers Over the Last 10 Years

The below list shows every Miami Marlins catcher who played in at least one defensive game as a catcher for the team since 2014. 

Catchers are listed in alphabetical order by first name.

• A.J. Ellis
• Alex Jackson
• Brian Navarreto
• Bryan Holaday
• Chad Wallach
• Francisco Cervelli
• Jacob Stallings
• J.T. Realmuto
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia
• Jeff Mathis
• Jhonatan Solano
• Jorge Alfaro
• Nick Fortes
• Payton Henry
• Ryan Lavarnway
• Sandy Leon
• Tomas Telis
• Tyler Heineman
• Wilkin Castillo

 

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by Catchers Home to check out this article. We hope you found it to be interesting! 

If you have questions or comments to share, drop us a note by visiting our contact page or by emailing scott (at) catchershome (dot) com.

 

Sources for this Article

• Baseball Almanac
• Baseball Reference
• Fangraphs
• Miami Herald