Pro Perspective: Glenn Borgmann

From South Alabama to the Twins

Glenn Borgmann was born in 1950 in Paterson, NJ. Though first drafted in 1969, he decided to instead play college ball first at Miami-Dade College, followed by the University of South Alabama, where he played for the legendary Eddie Stanky. 

He excelled as a college ballplayer, and as a result, was drafted in the first round (9th overall) of the 1971 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins. Glenn decided then to sign with the Twins. 

Barely a year after he signed with the Twins, Glenn made his major league debut with the Twins. It came on July 1, 1972 in an away game against the Chicago White Sox.

Glenn started the game behind the plate, and in his first at bat hit flied out to center field off of White Sox pitcher Dave Lemonds.

Glenn would go on to play 9 seasons in the big leagues. In addition to the Twins, he spent one season (1980) with the Chicago White Sox. 

Borgmann was an excellent defensive catcher who led the AL in fielding percentage as a catcher in 1974 (.997) and led the AL in caught stealing percentage in 1978 (48.7%). He played in 474 MLB games, collecting nearly 300 big league hits. 

Q&A with Glenn

Glenn is a former big league catcher with over 3,600 innings of MLB playing time under his belt. He has played with many MLB all stars - names like Rod Carew, Bert Blyleven, Harmon Killebrew, and Tony Oliva.

I wrote Glenn a few months back hoping to get his perspective on my three key questions for catchers. He graciously signed a card for me and answered my questions, as you can read below. 

Like the others in the Pro Perspective series, I wanted to share these responses with the readers of Catchers Home with the hope that Glenn's input will help catchers eager to improve their game. 

Here are his responses to my questions, as you will also notice in the image below.

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

Answer: Playing in Yankee Stadium! 

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

Answer: Thinking ahead! Take Charge!!!

Question 3: If you could give one piece of advice to a young catcher hoping to make it to the next level, what would it be?

Answer: Be in charge and communication!

I think that Glenn's responses point to the importance of catchers exhibiting strong leadership.

There are always tangible things you can (and should) work on - think blocking drills, practicing receiving and framing, etc. However, intangible skills like communication and leadership are just as important, if not more so. 

Thanks for Reading

We have more Pro Perspectives ready to share with you, and they'll continue to be released in the following weeks and months. Be on the lookout for them!