Catcher & Salary

[TRW]

How much should be spent on the 2 catching positions? I know throwing arm is of prime importance. Assuming equal arm-strength, is it better to go w/a big rbi guy for 5mill+ or a mediocre run producer w/a decent avg. I seem to have an affinity for Bench & wondered why I always get him even though I don't rank him high. I started looking thru some of the last few teams I've owned & noticed most owners allocate about 2.5-4mill for both catchers. Am I wasting salary that could be used elsewhere?

[crackerjaxon]

I bat Bench, when I have him, 6 or 8, and he does well there. His D is good and he will hit the occasional HR. He does hit a lot of doubles and usually hits for low average. His card doesn't reflect the dominant hitter we all knew when he was with the Big Red Machine. Lance Parrish is the best bargain in catchers, I think. Carter is the best RBI guy. I have had absolutely no luck with Roy Campanella who, it seems, is injured ALL the time. My best performance from the catcher's spot has been a platoon of Parrish/Yeager at Fenway 67. Bill Dickey will rock and roll as well-- especially as the RBI guy on a Forbes type team-- he doesn't seem as injury prone as Campy.

But then, I'm struggling to get to .500 all time now.

[egvrich]

It's not just his Arm Strength (though I agree it is the most important). You also have to look at his E rating (fielding errors), his T rating (throwing errors) and his PB rating (passed balls).

IMHO a catcher's range is the least important of his ratings.

A quick and easy way to get an idea of a catcher's defensive prowess is to add up all of his ratings and you get a total number. Using that simplified (and non-scientific) method, Rick Dempsey is the best defensive catcher in the game for $1.36 mill (or whatever the amount is).

And yes, the reason you always get Bench is because he isn't used very often. There are better values for a lower price.