Milwaukee Brewers: The Top 5 Catchers In Franchise History

When we think back to great players that have worn the Milwaukee Brewers uniform over the years, a few that come to mind are Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers, Robin Yount and others. However, an often-overlooked position in Brewers history is the catcher position.

Since the Brewers came to Milwaukee in 1970, we haven’t seen many big names come through at catcher, but we have had some talented players set up behind home plate. Including two that helped us reach the 1982 World Series, several All-Star appearances and some individual Brewers record holders.

Below I ranked the top five Brewers catchers in the team’s history, including an honorable mention. The criteria to make this list considers a number of statistical categories, playoff performances, and I only factored into the rankings their time in Milwaukee. Let the fun begin!

Honorable Mention: Darrell Porter

Years as a Brewer: 1971-1976

Getting his first start as a Brewer at 19 years old, Porter spent the first six seasons of his MLB career with the Brewers. During his time in Milwaukee, he had a batting average of .229 with 54 home runs, 226 RBIs, and an OPS of .709.

His time here also included a third place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1973 and an All-Star appearance in 1974. Most of his production as a Brewer came in a four-year span (1973-1976), as he only appeared in 40 games through his first two years.

However, in his final season with Milwaukee in 1976, he saw his batting average, home runs, and RBIs all drop off drastically from where they had been in the past three seasons. The following season, he was no longer a Brewer and had moved on to the Kansas City Royals.

Fast forward to the 1982 season as a St. Louis Cardinal, Porter was huge factor in deciding the World Series as he was named World Series MVP. During the series he posted a batting average of .286, with one home run and five RBIs. And as we all remember that was against the Brewers, another reason he can’t be included in the top five (I’m not bitter).

5. Dave Nilsson

Years as a Brewer: 1992-1999

Nilsson spent his entire eight-year MLB career in Milwaukee where he had a career batting average of .284 with 470 RBIs and an OPS of .817. His career started off relatively slowly compared to how he finished up due to injuries, where he spent some time on the disabled list or in the minors on rehab assignments.

An unusual aspect of his career was that during the MLB offseason, he played in the Australian Baseball League for a few seasons. You have to wonder that if playing year round as Nilsson did, contributed to the injuries that he suffered from and shortened his career.

However, one thing you couldn’t argue was Nilsson’s production on the field for the Brewers. His breakout year came in 1996 where he posted career highs in batting average with .331 and 84 RBIs. Nilsson also knocked 13 balls out of the park that season.

As a Brewer he was a one time All-Star and, surprisingly, it wasn’t that 1996 season. His time finally came in 1999, his last season with the team where he posted a batting average of .309, a career high 21 home runs, 62 RBIs, and an incredible OPS of .954.

Nilsson was also very efficient defensively. He posted a career .988 fielding percentage as a catcher and only had 19 errors recorded over his career at catcher. Whether it was at the plate hitting or behind the plate, Nilsson got the job done.

One of Nilsson’s strengths was his ability to play multiple positions. In addition to catcher, he also played outfield, first base, and DH. This ability to play multiple positions only allowed him to play in 309 games as catcher for Milwaukee. So Nilsson starts off our countdown at #5.

He was solid with the bat and a heck of a defender during his time here but due to injuries and his ability to play multiple positions, his time at catcher was limited compared to the others on the list. But when he was behind home plate, he sure was effective.

4. BJ Surhoff

Years as a Brewer: 1987-1995

Surhoff kicked off his career in Milwaukee at the age of 22 and was the Brewers number one pick in the 1985 MLB Draft. He ended up playing nine seasons with the Brewers. That included 704 games at the catcher position, but during his 19 year career, he ended up playing every position except for pitcher.

During his time with the Brewers, he posted a batting average of .275, with 524 RBIs, and a .703 OPS. The 1995 season he ended up with a career best average of .320 that finished fifth overall in the AL. He also put up 73 RBIs in the 1995 season. Surhoff wasn’t just known for his offense as a Brewer, he has a career fielding percentage at catcher of .988. Making minimal mistakes from the player calling the game is a quality every team wants in their catcher.

Once Surhoff left the Brewers, his home run numbers jumped up drastically compared to what they had been at in Milwaukee. It wasn’t until his last season in Milwaukee that he put up double digit home runs (13) and that number continued to climb with the Baltimore Orioles. As a Brewer he was known more for putting the ball in play, rather than knocking it out of the park.

Unfortunately, during his time in Milwaukee he was unable to have a postseason appearance even with 3 winning seasons (1987, 1988, and 1992). He wouldn’t see his first postseason action until he got to Baltimore. BJ Surhoff comes in at the #4 spot because he was a well rounded player as a Brewer. He was steady on the offensive end and provided a good bat. While defensively, he was very reliable and committed few mistakes behind the plate.

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.

2. Charlie Moore

Years as a Brewer: 1973-1986

Moore made his first appearance with the Brewers on September 8, 1973. And from that point on, he would play most of his career in Milwaukee. 1987 was spent with the Toronto Blue Jays.

It was a long career with the Brewers that spanned 14 seasons and a whopping 1,283 games. During that time, he had a batting average of .262 and posted 401 RBIs. His best full season  at the plate came in 1979 where he logged a .300 batting average with a .759 OPS.

Moore was also an important part during the 1982 postseason run. In the 1982 regular season, he played in 133 games and posted a career high in RBIs with 45, while posting a .254 batting average.

It wasn’t until that postseason when Charlie Moore’s bat caught fire. On that postseason run, he put up a .462 batting average in 13 at-bats in the ALCS and .346 batting average on 26 at bats in the World Series. Including the 1981 postseason appearance, he had a cumulative batting average of .354 over 48 at bats.

In his career he was never much of a power hitter, Moore’s career high in home runs came during the 1982 season where he had six long balls. However, he was quite effective at putting the ball in play.

Moore may not have had the All-Star appearances that Ted Simmons did in his career or some of the other individual accomplishments that other players on this list have.  But I give him the #2 position in the rankings because of his spectacular postseason performances.

To be blunt, those are ridiculous numbers to put up and when the Brewers called on him in some of the biggest games in team history, Charlie Moore answered the call.

Another aspect that landed him at #2 was his longevity with the Brewers. 14 seasons is a long career for anyone and he was able to spend that with the Crew, putting up good numbers year after year.