The Most Home Runs by a Catcher in a Season ...Middle East

Perez. Bench. Piazza. Let’s take a look back and revisit some of the best power-hitting seasons by a major league backstop.

The gear weighs on them in the summer heat. They’re battered and they’re bruised – sometimes too many to count. Their knees ache.

For major league backstops, the season is a grind. There’s a reason why people refer to catcher’s equipment as the “tools of ignorance.”

And why many players are eventually moved out from behind the plate to preserve their legs and lengthen their careers.

But all that is what makes it so impressive when a catcher can put together a banner offensive season to go along with the work behind the dish.

In the long history of Major League Baseball, only seven backstops have hit 40 or more home runs in a single season.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane into some of those years before listing the rest of the best power seasons by a catcher. We should note that to qualify for this all-time leaderboard, a player has to have appeared in at least 75% of the games at catcher.

The 40 Club

48 – Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals (2021)

Perez never had more than 27 home runs or 80 RBIs in a season before his magical 2021 campaign. Perhaps well-rested after playing in only 37 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he played in a career-high 161 in 2021. He surpassed Johnny Bench’s record for homers by a catcher with his 46th on Sept. 20 and finished in a tie with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the MLB lead with 48. He also ended up batting .273 with 121 RBIs on the way to earning his seventh All-Star appearance and fourth Silver Slugger Award.

Un hombre muy fuerte! A great man. Congrats @SalvadorPerez15. Most home runs by a catcher in a season. Catching Royal-ty. #MLB @Royals t.co/2lv5A6fftf

45 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds (1970)

Bench was a key part of the Big Red Machine in the 1970s, and he had his best season in 1970 with career highs in home runs and RBIs while matching a career best with a .293 batting average. The Hall of Famer’s 148 RBIs that season set the record for the most batted in by a catcher.

43 – Javy Lopez, Atlanta Braves (2003)

Lopez saved his best season with the Braves for last in 2003 when he finished with career highs that included a .328 batting average, 43 home runs and 109 RBIs. A year later, the All-Star catcher was one of the prized pickups of the Baltimore Orioles’ spending spree, agreeing to a $22.5 million, three-year deal.  

41 – Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers (1953)

Campanella was one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball during his time. The Hall of Famer made eight straight All-Star Games starting in 1949 and won National League MVP honors in 1951, ’53 and ’55. But 1953 was arguably his best season, hitting 41 homers and driving in 142 RBIs – the most by a catcher at the time.

41 – Todd Hundley, New York Mets (1996)

Mickey Tettleton was the long ball king of switch-hitting catchers until Hundley’s breakout 1996 season. Hundley, son of former big-league backstop Randy Hundley, never had more than 16 homers in a season until slugging a combined 71 in 1996 and ’97. Tettleton had the four previous single-season highs for a switch-hitting catcher with 31 in 1991, and 32 in 1992, 1993 and 1995.

40 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds (1972)

With 10 Gold Glove Awards, two NL MVPs and two 40-homer seasons, Bench is regarded by many to be the best catcher of all time. “I don’t want to embarrass any other catchers by comparing him with Johnny Bench,” Reds manager Sparky Anderson once said. Bench hit 112 home runs between 1970-72, and only Hank Aaron (119) had more over that span.

Most Home Runs 1970-72

40 – Mike Piazza, Los Angeles Dodgers (1997)/New York Mets (1999)

Piazza had a pair of 40-homer seasons, but he also had seven other seasons in which he belted 32 or more. As a result, you’ll see his name up and down this list. With 427 home runs, the Hall of Famer easily holds the mark for most career homers by a catcher – ahead of Bench’s 389. He also ended up with a .308 average – the highest career mark for a catcher since the start of the integration era (1947).

The 35+ Club

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