.842 OPS hitter or a .680 OPS hitter....this sure is tough. Oh wait, majority are saying Martin is the better catcher? The poll isn't Martin vs Mathis
Ryan Thomas - 14 years ago
Actually...Napoli is not a "base clogger", he has 17 steals in 3 years and is pretty mobile for a big catcher. Of course, Martin is more mobile. Martin's carrer OBP is .368 compared to Napoli's .358. They are very similar in their abilities to get on base. But the similarities stop there. Napoli has the highest home run per at bat rate of any catcher in history (Mike Piazza is second-- look it up). Also, Martin is regressing SEVERELY each year in all offesive categories. Napoli is getting better.
Napoli splits time with Mathis (to form an offense/defense tandem) and Martin plays every day. Napoli is significantly better offensively. Martin is better defensively.
Roman Gomez - 14 years ago
Ok, we all know Russell Martin has had his share of problems over the last couple of years in particular the playoffs. But if we're comparing him to Mike Napoli conventional baseball wisdom will say (at least in my opinion) Martin is a little better. What I like obout Martin over Napoli is the fact that Martin still has the ability to get on base in particular with his ability to take a walk. If Martin hits .280 you have to figure his OBP has to be close to 400. The other thing is that Martin does provide a little speed is not a "base clogger" or a groundball DP waiting to happen like Napoli.
Napoli obviously has an edge over Martin in the power department but not enough to say Napoli is a difference maker with his power. Defensively, once again you have to give the edge to Martin, unfortunately almost by default. Martin is no Yadier Molina but he's not going to hurt you behind the plate, whereas Napoli still seems to be getting comfortable with the position although he has made some improvements. So in the end, I think a 60 / 40 split to Martin is fair.
.842 OPS hitter or a .680 OPS hitter....this sure is tough. Oh wait, majority are saying Martin is the better catcher? The poll isn't Martin vs Mathis
Actually...Napoli is not a "base clogger", he has 17 steals in 3 years and is pretty mobile for a big catcher. Of course, Martin is more mobile. Martin's carrer OBP is .368 compared to Napoli's .358. They are very similar in their abilities to get on base. But the similarities stop there. Napoli has the highest home run per at bat rate of any catcher in history (Mike Piazza is second-- look it up). Also, Martin is regressing SEVERELY each year in all offesive categories. Napoli is getting better.
Napoli splits time with Mathis (to form an offense/defense tandem) and Martin plays every day. Napoli is significantly better offensively. Martin is better defensively.
Ok, we all know Russell Martin has had his share of problems over the last couple of years in particular the playoffs. But if we're comparing him to Mike Napoli conventional baseball wisdom will say (at least in my opinion) Martin is a little better. What I like obout Martin over Napoli is the fact that Martin still has the ability to get on base in particular with his ability to take a walk. If Martin hits .280 you have to figure his OBP has to be close to 400. The other thing is that Martin does provide a little speed is not a "base clogger" or a groundball DP waiting to happen like Napoli.
Napoli obviously has an edge over Martin in the power department but not enough to say Napoli is a difference maker with his power. Defensively, once again you have to give the edge to Martin, unfortunately almost by default. Martin is no Yadier Molina but he's not going to hurt you behind the plate, whereas Napoli still seems to be getting comfortable with the position although he has made some improvements. So in the end, I think a 60 / 40 split to Martin is fair.