Carlos Ruiz is still hitting .350 (in case you hadn’t noticed) |

In Monday’s action, Carlos Ruiz was a major contributor to the Phillies attack in an 8-3 romp over the Pirates, going 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and a stolen base. That performance pushed Ruiz’s batting average back above the .350 mark, just 4 points behind current NL leader David Wright.

So far this year, Ruiz is having one of the best seasons ever for catchers aged 33 or older. Ruiz was last batting below .300 on Apr 27 and, since racing past .350 with a 4 for 5 game on May 17, has been above the .350 mark on all but 5 days, and never lower than .344. Yet, it seems hardly anyone outside Philly has noticed.

After the break, I’ll take a closer look on what is so far a quite remarkable season.

These are the best qualifying seasons by OPS+ for catchers aged 33 or older.

Rk	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Mike Grady	167	1904	34	STL	101	363	323	44	101	15	11	5	43	31	42	.313	.376	.474	.850
2	Carlos Ruiz	164	2012	33	PHI	65	237	207	30	72	17	0	9	39	15	26	.348	.418	.560	.978
3	Ernie Lombardi	162	1942	34	BSN	105	347	309	32	102	14	0	11	46	37	12	.330	.403	.482	.886
4	Gabby Hartnett	158	1937	36	CHC	110	405	356	47	126	21	6	12	82	43	19	.354	.424	.548	.971
5	Jorge Posada	153	2007	35	NYY	144	589	506	91	171	42	1	20	90	74	98	.338	.426	.543	.970
6	Roy Campanella	152	1955	33	BRO	123	522	446	81	142	20	1	32	107	56	41	.318	.395	.583	.978
7	Bubbles Hargrave	152	1926	33	CIN	105	366	326	42	115	22	8	6	62	25	17	.353	.406	.525	.930
8	Gabby Hartnett	151	1935	34	CHC	116	461	413	67	142	32	6	13	91	41	46	.344	.404	.545	.949
9	Elston Howard	141	1963	34	NYY	135	531	487	75	140	21	6	28	85	35	68	.287	.342	.528	.869
10	Mike Grady	139	1905	35	STL	100	351	311	41	89	20	7	4	41	33	44	.286	.360	.434	.794
11	Mike Piazza	138	2002	33	NYM	135	541	478	69	134	23	2	33	98	57	82	.280	.359	.544	.903
12	Wally Schang	135	1926	36	SLB	103	332	285	36	94	19	5	8	50	32	20	.330	.405	.516	.921
13	Carlton Fisk	134	1990	42	CHW	137	521	452	65	129	21	0	18	65	61	73	.285	.378	.451	.829
14	Carlton Fisk	134	1983	35	CHW	138	545	488	85	141	26	4	26	86	46	88	.289	.355	.518	.874
15	Gabby Hartnett	129	1934	33	CHC	130	487	438	58	131	21	1	22	90	37	46	.299	.358	.502	.860

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/25/2012.

And, by WAR.

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Elston Howard	5.3	1964	35	NYY	150	607	550	63	172	27	3	15	84	48	73	.313	.371	.455	.825
2	Jorge Posada	5.1	2007	35	NYY	144	589	506	91	171	42	1	20	90	74	98	.338	.426	.543	.970
3	Elston Howard	5.0	1963	34	NYY	135	531	487	75	140	21	6	28	85	35	68	.287	.342	.528	.869
4	Roy Campanella	5.0	1955	33	BRO	123	522	446	81	142	20	1	32	107	56	41	.318	.395	.583	.978
5	Gabby Hartnett	4.8	1935	34	CHC	116	461	413	67	142	32	6	13	91	41	46	.344	.404	.545	.949
6	Carlton Fisk	4.7	1990	42	CHW	137	521	452	65	129	21	0	18	65	61	73	.285	.378	.451	.829
7	Gabby Hartnett	4.6	1937	36	CHC	110	405	356	47	126	21	6	12	82	43	19	.354	.424	.548	.971
8	Javy Lopez	4.5	2004	33	BAL	150	638	579	83	183	33	3	23	86	47	97	.316	.370	.503	.872
9	Lance Parrish	4.3	1990	34	CAL	133	523	470	54	126	14	0	24	70	46	107	.268	.338	.451	.789
10	Jorge Posada	4.1	2005	33	NYY	142	546	474	67	124	23	0	19	71	66	94	.262	.352	.430	.782
11	Carlton Fisk	4.1	1983	35	CHW	138	545	488	85	141	26	4	26	86	46	88	.289	.355	.518	.874
12	Mike Grady	4.0	1904	34	STL	101	363	323	44	101	15	11	5	43	31	42	.313	.376	.474	.850
13	Bubbles Hargrave	3.9	1926	33	CIN	105	366	326	42	115	22	8	6	62	25	17	.353	.406	.525	.930
14	Ernie Lombardi	3.8	1942	34	BSN	105	347	309	32	102	14	0	11	46	37	12	.330	.403	.482	.886
15	Gabby Hartnett	3.8	1934	33	CHC	130	487	438	58	131	21	1	22	90	37	46	.299	.358	.502	.860

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/25/2012.

Ruiz is currently at 3.3 WAR less than half-way through the season, so he’s certainly on pace to top this WAR list by the end of the season.

Are you surprised? I was, until I saw this. For many of the catchers in the two lists above, their best OPS+ or WAR season was in these lists, as can be seen from the table below.

[table id=60 /]

Of the above 13 catchers, only two (Hartnett and Parrish) played 100 games before their age 24 season. So, let’s use that as our benchmark and see how the other catchers who did play 100 games before age 24 fared in OPS+ when aged 33 or older.

Rk	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Gabby Hartnett	158	1937	36	CHC	110	405	356	47	126	21	6	12	82	43	19	.354	.424	.548	.971
2	Gabby Hartnett	151	1935	34	CHC	116	461	413	67	142	32	6	13	91	41	46	.344	.404	.545	.949
3	Gabby Hartnett	129	1934	33	CHC	130	487	438	58	131	21	1	22	90	37	46	.299	.358	.502	.860
4	Ted Simmons	126	1983	33	MIL	153	650	600	76	185	39	3	13	108	41	51	.308	.351	.448	.799
5	Yogi Berra	125	1959	34	NYY	131	521	472	64	134	25	1	19	69	43	38	.284	.347	.462	.809
6	Roger Bresnahan	125	1914	35	CHC	101	311	248	42	69	10	4	0	24	49	20	.278	.401	.351	.752
7	Lance Parrish	123	1990	34	CAL	133	523	470	54	126	14	0	24	70	46	107	.268	.338	.451	.789
8	Gabby Hartnett	114	1936	35	CHC	121	468	424	49	130	25	6	7	64	30	36	.307	.361	.443	.804
9	Benito Santiago	103	2002	37	SFG	126	517	478	56	133	24	5	16	74	27	73	.278	.315	.450	.765
10	Ivan Rodriguez	97	2006	34	DET	136	580	547	74	164	28	4	13	69	26	86	.300	.332	.437	.769
11	Ivan Rodriguez	95	2005	33	DET	129	525	504	71	139	33	5	14	50	11	93	.276	.290	.444	.735
12	Gary Carter	93	1988	34	NYM	130	503	455	39	110	16	2	11	46	34	52	.242	.301	.358	.659
13	Al Lopez	88	1943	34	PIT	118	428	372	40	98	9	4	1	39	44	25	.263	.341	.317	.659
14	Al Lopez	87	1942	33	PIT	103	332	289	17	74	8	2	1	26	34	17	.256	.338	.308	.646
15	Ivan Rodriguez	84	2007	35	DET	129	515	502	50	141	31	3	11	63	9	96	.281	.294	.420	.714

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/25/2012.

And, in WAR aged 33 or older.

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Gabby Hartnett	4.8	1935	34	CHC	116	461	413	67	142	32	6	13	91	41	46	.344	.404	.545	.949
2	Gabby Hartnett	4.6	1937	36	CHC	110	405	356	47	126	21	6	12	82	43	19	.354	.424	.548	.971
3	Lance Parrish	4.3	1990	34	CAL	133	523	470	54	126	14	0	24	70	46	107	.268	.338	.451	.789
4	Gabby Hartnett	3.8	1934	33	CHC	130	487	438	58	131	21	1	22	90	37	46	.299	.358	.502	.860
5	Ted Simmons	3.7	1983	33	MIL	153	650	600	76	185	39	3	13	108	41	51	.308	.351	.448	.799
6	Yogi Berra	3.7	1959	34	NYY	131	521	472	64	134	25	1	19	69	43	38	.284	.347	.462	.809
7	Bill Dickey	3.7	1943	36	NYY	85	284	242	29	85	18	2	4	33	41	12	.351	.445	.492	.937
8	Jim Sundberg	3.0	1984	33	MIL	110	395	348	43	91	19	4	7	43	38	63	.261	.332	.399	.731
9	Yogi Berra	3.0	1958	33	NYY	122	476	433	60	115	17	3	22	90	35	35	.266	.319	.471	.790
10	Ivan Rodriguez	2.8	2006	34	DET	136	580	547	74	164	28	4	13	69	26	86	.300	.332	.437	.769
11	Gabby Hartnett	2.7	1936	35	CHC	121	468	424	49	130	25	6	7	64	30	36	.307	.361	.443	.804
12	Gabby Hartnett	2.6	1938	37	CHC	88	353	299	40	82	19	1	10	59	48	17	.274	.380	.445	.825
13	Roger Bresnahan	2.6	1914	35	CHC	101	311	248	42	69	10	4	0	24	49	20	.278	.401	.351	.752
14	Ivan Rodriguez	2.5	2005	33	DET	129	525	504	71	139	33	5	14	50	11	93	.276	.290	.444	.735
15	Benito Santiago	2.4	2002	37	SFG	126	517	478	56	133	24	5	16	74	27	73	.278	.315	.450	.765

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/25/2012.

Hmm. A much less impressive list of seasons than for the catchers with later career starts. Lends more than a little credence to the notion that catchers have only so many games in them, regardless of when they start. So, perhaps then it shouldn’t be a great surprise that Ruiz, who played his first game at age 27, is having a career year now.

So, how will Ruiz’s season end up? No guarantees, but his career splits give some optimism that he can finish strong. Ruiz’s best month is May and his worst is June, after which he gets progressively better the remainder of the year, with August and September close to his May levels. This was the pattern of Ruiz’s 2010 season when he hit .302 for the year, and has been the pattern so far this year, dropping from a 1.180 OPS in May to .845 in June. To be sure, Ruiz has benefited from a .369 BABIP which is probably unlikely to be maintained for a full season. That advantage is reflected in Ruiz having 33% more ground ball outs than fly ball outs, despite having 20% more fly balls than ground balls put in play.

Finally, should Ruiz win the NL batting title, he will be only the third 33+ year-old catcher to lead his league in batting, joining Bubbles Hargrave (1926) and Ernie Lombardi (1942). Joe Mauer is the only other catcher of any age to win a batting title.

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deal

12 years ago

My #VoteChooch endorsement from Monday.

http://phungo.blogspot.com/2012/06/2011-phungo-cards-carlos-ruiz.html

Note – I voted for Marlon Byrd pre-suspension 🙂

Voomo Zanzibar

Bubbles Hargrave
What a great nickname!

— Hargrave, born Eugene Franklin Hargrave, is said to have received the nickname “Bubbles” because he stuttered when saying words starting with “B”. He is supposed to have hated the nickname. —

Oh, maybe not.

Tom

The big thing with Ruiz, and probably all catchers, is staying healthy. To perform at such a high level while absorbing collisions at the plate and countless baseballs to the head is amazing. In 2010 his June was actually cut short with a concussion after getting bonked with a broken bat.

Editor

John Autin

Doug, this is good stuff, but I have a couple of questions: (1) I’m a little confused about the sortable table labeled “Age of Best Seasons for Selected Catchers.” Correct me if I’m wrong: That table lists each individual who appears on one or both of the previous lists, and shows the age at which that player had his best season, as measured by OPS+ and by WAR. (2) When you discuss those who “played 100 games before their age 24 season” (or didn’t), is that total games through age 23, or 100 games in any season before age 23?… Read more »

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Doug

Reply to John Autin

John,

Yes to question 1.

Total games through age 23 for question 2.

I just arbitrarily showed the top 15 seasons (as measured by OPS+ and WAR) in all of the lists.

I was quite surprised that the catchers with the early career starts had so few good seasons at age 33 or older, especially compared to the other group of catchers who started later.

MikeD

Reply to Doug

Interesting, although it makes sense in that the later starters would have less wear-and-tear.

Yet to see if that’s truly the cause, we’d probably have to measure what the late starters were doing in the minors. For example, did Posada ever catch 100+ in a season in the minors before reaching the Bigs?

bstar

Doug, thanks for putting some numbers to the notion I’ve held recently while looking at catcher stats(specifically–where is Brian McCann in relation to a possible Hall of Fame path related to others before him). I’m convinced that what you say is true-it’s not just age that determines decline but, for catchers most especially, cumulative wear-and-tear. Johnny Bench is a great example. Perhaps the NL’s best hitter in the early 70s, an astute reader pointed out that an injury around ’72 or ’73 that Bench sustained kept him from ever again putting up numbers like he had previously. While this injury… Read more »

Hartvig

I do agree with the notion that for the overwhelming majority of catchers that there are only so many games they can catch before their performance falls off- and usually it’s off a cliff. That said, I would put serious money that if not for: 1) institutionalized racism in baseball 2) 2 years of military service and 3) Yogi Berra that Elston Howard would have had a Hall of Fame career. But the most eye popping season on the list for me was Pudge Fisk at age 42. Catching 116 games, 521 plate appearances and a OPS+ of 134. Even… Read more »

Reply to Hartvig

That age 42 seasons for Pudge Fisk is one of only 8 seasons at 4 WAR or better, by a player in his forties. The others: Mays, Wagner, Cobb, Appling (twice), Sam Rice and Darrell Evans. Only Appling also had such a season at 42.

It’s funny that Fisk a few years back blasted players taking steroids, pointing out how players were all of a sudden producing great seasons and remaining productive into the early 40s. Ironic, since Fisk became more durable in his 30s, and had one of most productive years WAR wise for a post-40 player, and the best ever by a catcher.

Many would accuse him of taking PEDs!

It’s funny that the post mentioned that no one seems to be noticing how well Ruiz is doing and then there are more comments about how the data was pulled than about Ruiz. If this was done on purpose as a subtle joke, bravo.