The St. Louis Cardinals have had their share of great men behind the plate over the years, but five catchers stand above them all.
From the stout players with big potential for power to the durable defensive stalwarts, throughout baseball history, the position of catcher has always employed an array of characters and skill sets. The Cardinals, throughout their own history, have had a host of them anchor their pitching staff.
Yet, it is also a position that, for the most part, eludes traditional statistical evaluation. Baseball Reference’s model for Defensive WAR fails to accurately account for pitch framing, a vital job of the catcher.
Therefore, catchers whose defensive acumen outweighed their offensive output are often buried in baseball history.
Nevertheless, we still possess a number of accurate lenses through which to view players historically, and these are five all-time best Cardinals catchers based on those metrics.
The Top Five Catchers in Cardinals History
5. Darrell Porter
Darrell Porter, who spent a decade with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals to start his career, had certainly left behind his better years before coming to St. Louis as a free agent. Through five seasons with the Cardinals, Porter had only a .237 batting average. In comparison to Ted Simmons, an all-time Cardinals great who had been traded to the Brewers immediately preceding Porter’s arrival, Porter was rejected by fans.
Yet, the veteran and his powerful left-handed bat undeniably made their mark on the franchise during the 1982 postseason. That season, Porter won the MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series. In the NLCS, he slashed an absurd .556/.889/.714 with six RBI, and his home run in Game Six of the World Series was the most pivotal moment of the entire season.
#OTD 1952 – Darrell Porter was born in Joplin, MO.
Porter won the MVP awards in both the 1982 NLCS and the World Series, helping the Cardinals win their 9th Championship.
We lost Darrell way too soon when he passed away at the age of 50 in 2002. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/c5mUk5QZv4
— Augie Nash (@AugieNash) January 17, 2025
While Porter’s regular season statistics don’t signify his time with the Cardinals as anything special, his accolades in the postseason alone make him worthy of this list.
4. Walker Cooper
Walker Cooper, an underrated Cardinals great, played his first six seasons with the team. In those years, he was an All-Star and MVP candidate three times.
After spending a decade bouncing around the league, he returned to the Cardinals for his final two seasons, producing decent numbers offensively but playing a limited number of games behind the plate.
Sportsman’s Park, St Louis, Oct 9, 1944 – Cardinals rookie Ted Wilks is congratulated by batterymate Walker Cooper after getting the last out in Game 6 to win the 1944 World Series. The Cards beat their city rivals the St Louis Browns 3-1 to secure their 5th series title pic.twitter.com/vVB4C3wgCk
— Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) October 19, 2021
However, even with those final two seasons taken into account, Cooper has some of the best offensive numbers of all time amongst Cardinals catchers. Across eight total seasons, he produced 8.9 bWAR, slashing .296/.446/.334. He also won two World Series with the organization, in 1942 and 1944. Cooper is not a well-remembered part of Cardinals history, but his presence both at and behind the plate earns him a spot on this list.
3. Tim McCarver
While Tim McCarver didn’t get the accolades he probably deserved, his resumé with the Cardinals could arguably place him on the top of this list.
Through 12 seasons with the team, McCarver produced a 20.4 bWAR, slashing .272/.388/.329. He won two World Series with the team, in 1964 and 1967, and was the stalwart of those historic teams in the 1960s. Despite all of this, he only made the All-Star game twice in his entire career and finished second in MVP voting once.
Also a longtime broadcaster for the Cardinals, McCarver, who passed away in 2023, will live on in the franchise’s memory forever.
Tim McCarver gave his heart, body and soul to St. Louis baseball. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PTgXfp863Y
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) February 18, 2023
2. Ted Simmons
Ted Simmons, one of the league’s all-time greats, finally got the recognition he deserved when, in 2020, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Modern Baseball Era Committee.
Simmons played 13 seasons with the Cardinals, producing 45.0 bWAR, which is sixth-most in franchise history, and slashing .298/.459/.366. Through those 13 seasons, he amassed 1,704 hits and 929 RBI, making six All-Star games and winning one Silver Slugger Award.
Ted Simmons was a problem from 1970-1985. Only Reggie Jackson had more RBIs during that timeframe than Simmons’ 1,320. pic.twitter.com/s7FUx3raKy
— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) September 29, 2024
Although the Cardinals dealt him to the Brewers later in his career, facing off against the Cardinals in the epic 1982 World Series, Simmons will always be a true Cardinals hero.
1. Yadier Molina
Arguably the greatest defensive catcher of all time and a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, Yadier Molina was the obvious choice for the first spot on this list of legendary Cardinals catchers. Through 19 seasons with the Cardinals, Molina caught 2,184 games, the fourth-most in MLB history. Across those two decades, Molina amassed 2,186 hits and 1,022 RBI, won eight consecutive Gold Gloves, was a ten-time All-Star, and two-time World Series champion.
Yadier Molina was SPECIAL 👏 pic.twitter.com/UikzUtnP5B
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) January 9, 2025
While Molina had his offensive moments, getting top-ballot MVP votes in 2013, it is his prowess at anchoring and commanding a pitching staff that has cemented him in baseball history. His durability and loyalty, in all likelihood, will never see another rival in the game again, and any other pick to sit atop this list would be, frankly, ridiculous.
Photo Credit: © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
