Are you interested in what brands of catcher's gear current pro catchers are using?
Then you've come to the right place! Keep scrolling to learn which brands are currently dominating the MLB landscape...
2021 MLB Catchers Gear
Brands that pro catchers wear can vary based on their personal preference or based on endorsements.
And endorsements in particular are getting increasingly common with MLB backstops.
Who can blame the brands? Besides the pitcher, the catcher is the only other player on the TV screen for practically the entire game. It's a great way for companies to get their brand in front of a huge audience on a regular basis.
Personally, I find it super interesting to see what the pros are wearing - endorsements or no endorsements.
Each season, I enjoy digging in and surveying the current landscape of brands dominating the major leagues.
Since we are now more than halfway through the season, I looked at the brand of gear that each team's majority catcher is wearing in 2021.
Each team's majority catcher (meaning, who has caught the most innings thus far) through July 22, 2021 is shown in the table below.
[table id=34 /]
The brands each MLB catcher uses are listed below. Topics are organized by equipment type.
So, let's dig in.
Chest Protectors
Most Common Brand: Nike
Watch almost any big league game this season and you're bound to notice the Nike swoosh featuring prominently on the chest of one (or both) of the catchers.
Approximately 57 percent (17 out of 30) of MLB starting catchers in 2021 wear a Nike chest protector, which is a slight decrease over last year's rate. If you include Yadier Molina's Jordan brand chest protector under the Nike umbrella, then that number grows even higher.
Six other brands are represented among the remaining 12 starting catchers. You can see the specifics below.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Carson Kelly, Nike
- Atlanta Braves: William Contreras, Nike
- Baltimore Orioles: Pedro Severino, Nike
- Boston Red Sox: Christian Vazquez, Nike
- Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras, Nike
- Chicago White Sox: Yasmani Grandal, Force3
- Cincinnati Reds: Tucker Barnhart, Nike
- Cleveland Indians: Austin Hedges, Easton
- Colorado Rockies: Dom Nunez, All-Star
- Detroit Tigers: Jake Rogers, Mizuno
- Houston Astros: Martín Maldonado, All-Star
- Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez, Rawlings
- Los Angeles Angels: Kurt Suzuki, Nike
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Will Smith, Nike
- Miami Marlins: Jorge Alfaro, Nike
- Milwaukee Brewers: Omar Narváez, Rawlings
- Minnesota Twins: Ryan Jeffers, Nike
- New York Mets: James McCann, Nike
- New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez, Nike
- Oakland Athletics: Sean Murphy, Rawlings
- Philadelphia Phillies: J.T. Realmuto, Nike
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Jacob Stallings, Nike
- San Diego Padres: Victor Caratini, Nike
- San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, Marucci
- Seattle Mariners: Tom Murphy, All-Star
- St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, Jordan (Nike)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Mike Zunino, Nike
- Texas Rangers: Jose Trevino, All-Star
- Toronto Blue Jays: Danny Jansen, Nike
- Washington Nationals: Yan Gomes, Mizuno
Catcher's Helmet or Mask
Most Common Brand: All-Star
This year, All-Star remained on top to win the majority for this category. There are 12 (40 percent) starting MLB catchers that wear an All-Star catcher's helmet or mask this season.
Please note that many of these catchers are wearing highly customized All-Star masks or helmets.
Tied for second is Force3 with eight catchers (27 percent) each wearing their gear. To learn more about Force3, check out our post on this innovative brand.
Details on who wears what mask or helmet is below. It's also interesting to note that just 53 percent of these MLB catchers wear a traditional style catcher's mask, while the other 47 percent opt for a "hockey-style" catcher's helmet.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Carson Kelly, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Atlanta Braves: William Contreras, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Baltimore Orioles: Pedro Severino, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Boston Red Sox: Christian Vazquez, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Chicago White Sox: Yasmani Grandal, Force3 / (wears a mask)
- Cincinnati Reds: Tucker Barnhart, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Cleveland Indians: Austin Hedges, Easton / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Colorado Rockies: Dom Nunez, All-Star / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Detroit Tigers: Jake Rogers, Mizuno / (wears a mask)
- Houston Astros: Martín Maldonado, All-Star / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez, Rawlings / (wears a mask)
- Los Angeles Angels: Kurt Suzuki, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Will Smith, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Miami Marlins: Jorge Alfaro, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Milwaukee Brewers: Omar Narváez, Rawlings / (wears a mask)
- Minnesota Twins: Ryan Jeffers, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- New York Mets: James McCann, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Oakland Athletics: Sean Murphy, Rawlings / (wears a mask)
- Philadelphia Phillies: J.T. Realmuto, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Jacob Stallings, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- San Diego Padres: Victor Caratini, Nike / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, Marucci / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Seattle Mariners: Tom Murphy, All-Star / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, Jordan (Nike) / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Mike Zunino, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Texas Rangers: Jose Trevino, All-Star / (wears a catcher's helmet)
- Toronto Blue Jays: Danny Jansen, Nike / (wears a mask)
- Washington Nationals: Yan Gomes, Mizuno / (wears a mask)
Leg Guards
Most Common Brand: Nike
Like chest protectors, Nike dominates this category.
17 (57 percent) MLB catchers - 18 if you count Yadi's Jordan catchers gear - wear Nike leg guards behind the plate.
The other 12 starting catchers wear a variation of six different brands. You can see more in the below list, which mirrors the Chest Protector section (above). In fact, all 30 of these catchers use the same brand of leg guards and chest protector.
It's interesting to note of these 2021 MLB catchers, only three (10 percent) use knee savers while the other 27 (90 percent) do not.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Carson Kelly, Nike
- Atlanta Braves: William Contreras, Nike
- Baltimore Orioles: Pedro Severino, Nike
- Boston Red Sox: Christian Vazquez, Nike
- Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras, Nike
- Chicago White Sox: Yasmani Grandal, Force3
- Cincinnati Reds: Tucker Barnhart, Nike
- Cleveland Indians: Austin Hedges, Easton
- Colorado Rockies: Dom Nunez, All-Star
- Detroit Tigers: Jake Rogers, Mizuno
- Houston Astros: Martín Maldonado, All-Star
- Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez, Rawlings
- Los Angeles Angels: Kurt Suzuki, Nike
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Will Smith, Nike
- Miami Marlins: Jorge Alfaro, Nike
- Milwaukee Brewers: Omar Narváez, Rawlings
- Minnesota Twins: Ryan Jeffers, Nike (uses knee savers)
- New York Mets: James McCann, Nike
- New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez, Nike
- Oakland Athletics: Sean Murphy, Rawlings (uses knee savers)
- Philadelphia Phillies: J.T. Realmuto, Nike
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Jacob Stallings, Nike
- San Diego Padres: Victor Caratini, Nike
- San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, Marucci (uses knee savers)
- Seattle Mariners: Tom Murphy, All-Star
- St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, Jordan (Nike)
- Tampa Bay Rays: Mike Zunino, Nike
- Texas Rangers: Jose Trevino, All-Star
- Toronto Blue Jays: Danny Jansen, Nike
- Washington Nationals: Yan Gomes, Mizuno
Catcher's Mitt
Most Common Brand: Rawlings
One single brand dominates our final category, catcher's mitts. Any guesses on what brand it is?
No, it's not Nike or All-Star. It's Rawlings. Approximately 73 percent (22 of 30) of all starting pro catchers in 2021 use Rawlings catcher's mitts.
Second place belongs to All-Star. Behind All-Star is Mizuno, followed by Wilson, Easton and Force3.
Specifics can be found below.
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Carson Kelly, Rawlings
- Atlanta Braves: William Contreras, Rawlings
- Baltimore Orioles: Pedro Severino, Rawlings
- Boston Red Sox: Christian Vazquez, Rawlings
- Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras, Rawlings
- Chicago White Sox: Yasmani Grandal, Force3
- Cincinnati Reds: Tucker Barnhart, Rawlings
- Cleveland Indians: Austin Hedges, Easton
- Colorado Rockies: Dom Nunez, All-Star
- Detroit Tigers: Jake Rogers, Mizuno
- Houston Astros: Martín Maldonado, All-Star
- Kansas City Royals: Salvador Perez, Rawlings
- Los Angeles Angels: Kurt Suzuki, Rawlings
- Los Angeles Dodgers: Will Smith, Rawlings
- Miami Marlins: Jorge Alfaro, Rawlings
- Milwaukee Brewers: Omar Narváez, Rawlings
- Minnesota Twins: Ryan Jeffers, Rawlings
- New York Mets: James McCann, Rawlings
- New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez, Rawlings
- Oakland Athletics: Sean Murphy, Rawlings
- Philadelphia Phillies: J.T. Realmuto, Rawlings
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Jacob Stallings, Rawlings
- San Diego Padres: Victor Caratini, Rawlings
- San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, Rawlings
- Seattle Mariners: Tom Murphy, Wilson
- St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina, Rawlings
- Tampa Bay Rays: Mike Zunino, Rawlings
- Texas Rangers: Jose Trevino, All-Star
- Toronto Blue Jays: Danny Jansen, Rawlings
- Washington Nationals: Yan Gomes, Mizuno
Wrapping It Up
What were the key things we learned in this post?
First, that Nike is the dominant catcher's gear brand among MLB catchers today. Please note: Unfortunately Nike does not manufacture new gear for amateur catchers (as of the date of publication. See our comprehensive post for more details.)
Second, that the majority of catchers wear Rawlings catcher's mitts these days. Click HERE to see our detailed post on Rawlings catcher's gear.
Third, that the majority of players have endorsements to use a certain brand's gear. Some that stand out are Yasmani Grandal and Force3, Buster Posey and Marucci, and Omar Narváez and Rawlings.
Now, there are some people that really want to use all the gear that the pro's use.
If that's you, then it's pretty clear based on the data that you should wear a Nike chest protector and leg guards, an All-Star mask or catcher's helmet, and a Rawlings catcher's mitt.
(Please note: if you're looking specifically for Nike catcher's gear, then check out our post.)
We hope this post was informative and helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Thank you for reading!
Scott Perry
Scott Perry is the owner and lead author at Catchers Home. He's a former baseball player, a current coach, a husband and a Dad. He remains as passionate about baseball today as he was as a kid.