One storyline I'm hearing early and often this postseason is that Ivan Rodriguez is some sort of super-winner. He led the Marlins to their unlikely championship, then helped to engineer the
Great Tiger Turnaround.
Not to single out Phil Rogers, because the TV guys are talking about it a lot more, but
his recent column just about sums up the argument:
Though he has moved around more than some other great players, he has established a pattern that reflects nicely on him. His teams win. Texas has been to the playoffs three times in its history, all of which came during the 12 seasons the homegrown I-Rod was the regular catcher. Florida won the World Series in 2003, the only year Rodriguez played there. The Tigers have made the journey from 119 losses to the World Series during Rodriguez's three years with the team.
Everything stated there is absolutely true. Rodriguez makes teams better -- he's above-average offensively, and far above-average defensively. I'm sure his presence makes it easier for pitchers to work with runners on, because he does the holding.
But here's what's interesting: Compared to that noted cancer, slacker and ne'er-do-well A.J. Pierzynski, we could nickname Rodriguez
"Losing Catcher." In the two years Pierzynski's teams were perceived to be underachievers, they won
91 and
90 games.
Here's how they stack up (starting with their first full season):
 |
 |
16 yrs.
Regular season: 1,269-1,257 (.502)
Postseason: 19-17
|
6 yrs.
Regular season: 549-422 (.565)
Postseason: 16-10
|
This isn't saying Pierzynski's a comparable player. He's not going to Cooperstown like Rodriguez is, and is nowhere near equal in terms of offense, defense, or foot speed. Well, A.J.'s a better hitter than Rodriguez
now, but he's also five years younger, which is like a difference of eight or nine in catcher years.
However, it's easy to declare any player a "Winner" regardless of position when they have great players around them. Rodriguez and Pierzynski both won their rings with pitching staffs having career years, and Rodriguez is on the verge of earning another one via the same route. They didn't win when their pitchers couldn't deliver, and that's about the long and short of it.