Every time I watch Posey hit...

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Ivan Rodriguez

Great fielder, both okay hitters at this point in their careers, but most of their value came from fielding. Rodriguez didn't become a great hitter until his 7th year in the league. Little suspicious, but I think he's a good comp to Wieters.

I wish, but no.

Pudge already had 4 seasons with an OPS over .800 by his age 26 season, Wieters has zero. He was also consistently batting over .300 at that point and is a career .296 hitter. I don't see that for Matt. The defense was close, but even there I give the nod to Pudge.

[Frobby]

Here is a list of catchers by rWAR (not necessarily complete). Not all of these guys played catcher their entire careers. (* denotes Hall of Fame)

Bench 72*

Carter 66*

Fisk 64*

Rodriguez 64

Berra 56*

Piazza 56

Torre 54

Dickey 52*

Hartnett 51*

Cochrane 49*

Downing 48

Simmons 47

Tenace 44

Lombardi 44*

Munson 43

Freehan 41

Bresnahan 39*

Posada 39

Kendall 38

Porter 38

Sundberg 37

Parrish 36

Campanella 32*

[Frobby]

If this were true, then it stands to reason that you would see a decline in his BA/OBP/SLG during the second half of the season compared to the first. So far the opposite is true in every category in every year he's been in the majors.

A better theory is that Wieters wears down in the hot weather. That would explain his career .809 OPS in April and .852 in September. But frankly, I don't want to hear excuses. His offense is above average for a catcher, just not stellar. There are a lot of catchers who did their best hitting beginning in their late 20's, while other guys peaked early. We'll just have to see whether Wieters gets any better offensively, or whether he is what he is.

[JDubs]

O

I've said this before about Matt Wieters. IMRAOAO, the following is his biggest strength:

One of the things that I greatly admire Wieters for is (what I have perceived as) an almost completely oblivious attitude toward all of the hype and the pressure that everyone tried to push on him when he was drafted in 2007, and when he first came up to the Orioles in 2009. Matt Wieters has been working consistently and diligently on becoming the next ........ the next Matt Wieters. Not the next Johnny Bench. Not the next Joe Mauer with power. Not the next, whomever. Simply, the next Matt Wieters.

He wasn't born yesterday, so he had to have been aware of the criticism (and doubtfulness about him ever reaching his incredible potential) that the press and everyone else gave him because he didn't immediately come up and hit 30 home runs and/or knock in 110 runs and bat .320. He simply went about his business on the field during the season as well as working hard in the off-season (in between the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Matt lost 5 pounds and decreased his body fat %), and ever so gradually, he has come into his own, both on offense and on defense.

I have scoured the Internet in an attempt to figure out what "IMRAOAO" means and all I can find is you (I suspect, "Colts and Orioles" on ColtsFreak forum) using the abbreviation elsewhere. No idea what it means.

[Camden_yardbird]

He looks a lot like Yadi to me. Great defensive catcher who has occasional pop and will surprise you with his offensive prowess in streaks during the year and during his peak years (which he has not yet gotten to).

[Icterus galbula]

I think Lance Parrish is a pretty good comp

[El Gordo]

A better theory is that Wieters wears down in the hot weather. That would explain his career .809 OPS in April and .852 in September. But frankly, I don't want to hear excuses. His offense is above average for a catcher, just not stellar. There are a lot of catchers who did their best hitting beginning in their late 20's, while other guys peaked early. We'll just have to see whether Wieters gets any better offensively, or whether he is what he is.

The main thing that holds Wieters offense back, IMO, is his OBP. It seems to me he has the plate discipline to do better here. I think his focus has been so much on defense and handling the pitching, that he just hasn't focused as much on the bat. He can get by with an above average bat for a C. I think in the next few seasons we will see the OBP and the OPS climb to above .800 as he starts to concentrate on it more..

[ChinMusic]

I have scoured the Internet in an attempt to figure out what "IMRAOAO" means and all I can find is you (I suspect, "Colts and Orioles" on ColtsFreak forum) using the abbreviation elsewhere. No idea what it means.

My guess is In My Rat's A$$ Of An Opinion. Just a guess though. I've never seen it before either.

[Spoonless]

In My Rarely Acknowledged Or Accepted Opinion?

Invisible Monsters Roaring At Otters Are Outrageous?

[sfosfan]

I was going to bawl you out for starting yet another thread comparing Wieters to Posey, when we just had one yesterday. But your question of who Wieters does compare to is a good one.

I think Charles Johnson is a decent comp. .762 career OPS, four Gold Gloves. Bill Freehan (.752 OPS, five Gold Gloves in a weaker offensive era) is a pretty good comp, too. Freehan was worth 41.3 rWAR in his career, Johnson was worth 21.0. I'd say they bracket Wieters' value pretty well.

Ok we won't bawl him out, but this thread at least deserves the horse:

Yesterday I learned that Wieters had an OPS of over .900 while batting cleanup. For a guy that hit .249 all year, that stat gives me a little hope. As for who to best compare Wieters to, I cannot think of anyone. Johnson is probably as good a choice as any, but I can't recall any othe catcher who hit the snot out of the baseball his whole life the way Wieters did before arriving with the O's (don't get me started on Posey). Let's hope that Wieter's cleanup spot success wasn't a fluke.

[Billy Button]

I think Lance Parrish is a pretty good comp

Ha! Lance Parrish, one of the first generation muscle men along with Brian Downey and Ron Gant. A 19-year career. I like this comparison. 162 game career averages: .252 B.A.; 26 HRs; 87 RBI. Not bad.

[LA2]

Ha! Lance Parrish, one of the first generation muscle men along with Brian Downey and Ron Gant. A 19-year career. I like this comparison. 162 game career averages: .252 B.A.; 26 HRs; 87 RBI. Not bad.

Downing, not Downey. It's important to remember that Downing played less than half of his games behind the plate; he was an outfielder and DH as much as a catcher. I remember him even batting lead-off for the Angels--Gene Mauch's enlightened idea based on Downing's high OBP. He became a good coach, too, which is something I cd see Wieters doing in the future--after the O's win a few championships, of course.

[Annie]

Ok we won't bawl him out, but this thread at least deserves the horse:

Yesterday I learned that Wieters had an OPS of over .900 while batting cleanup. For a guy that hit .249 all year, that stat gives me a little hope. As for who to best compare Wieters to, I cannot think of anyone. Johnson is probably as good a choice as any, but I can't recall any othe catcher who hit the snot out of the baseball his whole life the way Wieters did before arriving with the O's (don't get me started on Posey). Let's hope that Wieter's cleanup spot success wasn't a fluke.

:agree:

[Moose Milligan]

Ok we won't bawl him out, but this thread at least deserves the horse:

Yesterday I learned that Wieters had an OPS of over .900 while batting cleanup. For a guy that hit .249 all year, that stat gives me a little hope. As for who to best compare Wieters to, I cannot think of anyone. Johnson is probably as good a choice as any, but I can't recall any othe catcher who hit the snot out of the baseball his whole life the way Wieters did before arriving with the O's (don't get me started on Posey). Let's hope that Wieter's cleanup spot success wasn't a fluke.

Sorry, but I chuckled at the part where you said that he hit .249 all year.

He is what he is at this point, IMO.

[byrdz]

Who called Wieters a buster??