Los Angeles Angels single best season at each position: Catcher

The Los Angeles Angels have been a team since the 1960’s. In that time, some incredibly good players have played with the team, coaches have worked with the team, and announcers have been in the booth for the Halos. In what will be a recurring weekly article, we will take a look at the best season at each position on the field, DH, the five best starting pitching seasons, a reliever, a closer, and a super utility type.

How we’ll do it: Using stats, the two strongest players will be scored using overal WAR, dWAR, oWAR, and a few larger awards (MVP, CY Young, All-Star, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger.) Whichever player ranks higher in the number stats will get awarded points accordingly:

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WAR = 3 points

oWAR/ d WAR = 1 pt.

SS/ GG = 1

MVP / CY Young = 5pts.

MVP/ CY Young top 10 = 1 pt.

Not to take away from the traditional counting stats, they’re still a factor in determining a good season. However, heading this route and using both calculated numbers like WAR and human dictated awards gave the best combination of baseball’s allure and history without overthinking the whole process.

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With that said, the best catching season in Los Angeles Angels history is:

Bob Boone – 1982. His score – 5. That season, the second generation backstop had a 3.5 WAR (1.4 oWAR, 3.0 dWAR.) Those numbers, along with serviceable offensive numbers and a gold glove put Boone over the top. Most notable of Boone’s offensive output was that he did manage to drive in 58 runs while walking more than he struck out (39:34) and a top 20 MVP finish (16th.)

On the defensive side he had a .988 % fielding percentage while leading the league with a 58% caught stealing. The rock solid catcher threw out 64 would-be-base-stealers on the season while also making 7 putouts from behind the plate. Boone also played all 143 games at catcher. He started 140 of them, and more importantly, played in 130 complete games at catcher for 1250.1 innings.

Boone’s closest competitors were Bengie Molina’s 2005 season (his last in an Los Angeles Angels uniform) and Lance Parrish’s 1990 season. Parrish’s 4.4 WAR is largely offensive (24 HR and 70 RBI). Additionally, Molina’s 2.4 WAR is still respectable, but was less balanced, owing much more to his oWAR.

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Even with some better looking hitting numbers, his production was almost equal to Boone, while being 2.1 dWAR behind the elder catcher. Funny enough, both Boone and Molina had the same amount of hits and doubles while Molina was outpaced by Boone in innings by almost 400 innings.

Honorable mention: Bengie Molina 2005 ( 1 point ), Lance Parrish 1990 (3 points)

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