Kelly Stinnett
Posted by Steve L. on November 30th, 2005 · Comments (2)
Reportedly, the Yankees have signed Kelly Stinnett to be a back-up catcher in 2006.
Supposedly, he’s hard-nosed. That’s always good in a catcher. But, he’s not much of a stick. His lifetime Offensive Winning Percentage is .399. But, it was .438 from 2001 to 2005 – and it’s been .484 over the last two seasons. So, maybe he’s getting better as he gets older?
I still have to wonder how much Randy Johnson’s input went into this move. It sure smells like the Yankees went out to get Unit a personal catcher – since the two have a history from Arizona.
I still have to wonder how much Randy Johnson’s input went into this move. It sure smells like the Yankees went out to get Unit a personal catcher – since the two have a history from Arizona.
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Who knows? From the looks of it, they (RJ & KS) were together in 1999 & 2000. Damian Miller was the starting catcher during that timeframe, and he caught the bulk of RJ’s starts.
I love the idea of a personal catcher. Why not? Since catchers shouldn’t play 162 games a year anyway, why not have a guy that one or two pitchers absolutely love working with? If it coaxes better performances out of those pitchers, doesn’t that give the team a better chance of winning? Was it so bad for Maddux to like playing catch with someone other than Javy Lopez? Did the Braves not enjoy all those 18-2 seasons in the mid-90s?