Milwaukee Brewers: The Top 5 Catchers In Franchise History

3. Ted Simmons

Years as a Brewer: 1981-1985

After spending the first half of his career with the Cardinals, where he was a multiple time All-Star and received MVP votes in a few seasons, Ted Simmons made his way to Milwaukee. He struggled his first season with Milwaukee, which could be attributed to switching from the NL to the AL.

Despite the struggles that first year, he was a stand out player and continued to have success with the Brewers just as he had in St. Louis. Simmons put up a .262 batting average and 394 RBIs during his five year career here in Milwaukee.

In his five year career with Milwaukee, it included All-Star appearances in 1981 and 1983. And 1983 ended up being his best season in a Brewers uniform. In ’83, he had a batting average of .308 and a career high in RBIs that season with 108. Also, in that season, he had a fielding percentage of .975, very efficient defensively.

He was a key contributor all around to the Brewers and not just during his amazing run in 1983. To this day, he is still in the Brewers records books. In the 1985 season, he struck out only once in every 16.5 at bats. We can look back at the acquisition of Ted Simmons as a success and key part to the Brewers postseason runs during that time period.

However, during his time with the Crew, his postseason numbers don’t match his regular season success where he has total batting average of .186 over three series. This isn’t meant to take away from Simmons great career as a Brewer. He had a number of great individual accolades and the Brewers may not have been in position to have the success that they did that season without him. Frankly, he should be in the Hall of Fame by now.

But the reason he comes in at #3 on my list and not higher up is due to the postseason performances. They are not quite up to par with the next two individuals.