Red Sox Rankings: American League East Catchers
By Drew Peabody
Though he doesn’t hit for average like he used to McCann has been the kind of run producer that the Yankees were looking for when they signed him to a five year, 85 million dollar contract before the 2014 season. McCann’s average has fallen to .232 each of the last two seasons, compared to a .268 lifetime average. The Georgia native is on a streak of eight straight seasons of 20 or more homers. His 94 RBI last season, equaled a career high. With a 120 games played in 10 of his 11 career seasons, McCann is the picture of durability, something you want in your first string catcher.
It seems as if the wear and tear of catching 1280 games has caught up to McCann offensively. McCann had an OPS of .823 while in Atlanta, but has only had a .724 OPS as a Yankee. One reason is that McCann’s ability to hit doubles has gone out the window. This actually started while he was in Atlanta, but he has not had more than 20 doubles in a season since 2010. This is the reason for his declining OPS over his career. McCann improved from 2014 to 2015 in homers, RBI, OBP and SLG percentages. Getting used to the crucible of New York sports certainly helped him.
Any team would be thrilled to have McCann’s production year after year from the catcher position. That said, it is the only position where someone with 101 OPS+ can be considered one of the top hitters at that position. On defense, McCann had a career low of one passed ball in 2015, though he chased a career high 55 wild pitches. A combination of solid defense and home run power puts McCann at the top of the AL East catchers.
Next: 2. Russell Martin