Eddie Taubensee

An interview with the former catcher

 Pro Perspective: Eddie Taubensee

Teams:

• Cleveland Indians, 1991, 2001; Houston Astros, 1992 - 1994; Cincinnati Reds, 1994 - 2000

From High School, to the Minors, then Cleveland

Eddie Taubensee was born on October 31, 1968 in Beeville, Texas. Taubenesee would go on to play High School ball at Maitland High School in Maitland, Florida. 

He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Cleveland Indians. Eddie stood 6 ft 4 in tall and weighed 205 pounds during his big league playing days.

He spent a number of years in the minors playing for teams like the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Greensboro Hornets and the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Eddie Taubensee went on to make his major league debut for the Indians at the young age of 22 on May 18, 1991, against the Oakland Athletics, catching pitchers Charles Nagy and Doug Jones.

He would go on to play 11 seasons in the big leagues, first with the Indians, then for a short period with the Houston Astros, before spending the bulk of his career (and his best seasons) with the Cincinnati Reds.

Eddie would finish out his MLB playing career with the Cleveland Indians, retiring after the 2001 season. 

Over the course of his MLB career, Eddie Taubensee appeared in 975 total games, 871 as a catcher. He collected 94 home runs, 784 hits, 419 RBIs and maintained a very respectable lifetime batting average of .273.

Defensively, Taubensee had a career .988 fielding percentage as a catcher and he gunned down 186 runners caught stealing, for a 23% career CS%.

Eddie Taubensee finished in the NL's top 5 for Defensive Games as a Catcher twice (1998 and 1999) and he finished 3rd in the NL for Putouts as a Catcher in 1999.

Although he is no longer playing professionally, Eddie is still active in professional baseball. A recent coaching stint of his was serving as the hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants' farm club the Augusta GreenJackets. 

Q&A with Eddie Taubensee

Eddie Taubensee is a former catcher with tons of big league experience who has been a teammate to some of the game's recent superstars, including men like Barry Larkin, Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio.

I wanted to get his perspective on the questions I typically ask MLB catchers. So I wrote Eddie a letter a few weeks back, and he took the time to write me back, sign my card, and answer my questions. Check out his responses below: 

Question 1: What is your favorite memory from playing in the major leagues?

Answer: My 1999 season with the Reds when we won 96 games. 

Question 2: What do you think is the most important skill that a catcher should have?

Answer: Toughness, along with leadership.

Question 3: If you could give one piece of advice to young catchers hoping to play at the next level, what would it be?

Answer: Embrace the hardness of catching. 

Eddie's response to my last question is pretty unique among the input I've received from other catchers thus far. His guidance to "embrace" (literal definition = to accept willingly and enthusiastically) the hardness of catching I think is both wise and foundational to excelling at the position.

Young catchers would do well to follow his advice by being tough, being a leader, and not complaining about the difficulties of the position but excelling in spite of them.

Keep a good attitude, practice consistently and get physically stronger each day.  

Thanks for Reading

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