89 best hitting seasons for catchers 1920-2017.

89 catcher seasons meet these criteria 1920-2017:
Played at least 75% of games at C
OPS+ >=135
Qualified for league batting title
sorted by greatest Adjusted OPS+

Most seasons and their rank (top ten BOLD):
Mike Piazza 10: 1,2,5,16,19,21,28,59,67,84
Gabby Hartnett 5: 11,25,41,53,73
Ernie Lombardi 5: 9,23,31,65,71
Yogi Berra 5: 52,56,76,82,86
Ted Simmons 5: 30,38,50,61,85
Bill Dickey 4: 12,40,45,88
Gary Carter 4: 32,43,68,70
Johnny Bench 4: 6,44,54,62    Rank 54: 45 HR

Not only does Mike Piazza have twice as many such seasons as any other catcher listed but Piazza has three seasons in the top ten.

#	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Mike Piazza	185	1997	28	LAD	NL	152	633	556	104	201	32	1	40	124	69	11	77	3	0	5	19	5	1	.362	.431	.638	1.070	*2/DH
2	Mike Piazza	172	1995	26	LAD	NL	112	475	434	82	150	17	0	32	93	39	10	80	1	0	1	10	1	0	.346	.400	.606	1.006	*2/H
3	Buster Posey	171	2012	25	SFG	NL	148	610	530	78	178	39	1	24	103	69	7	96	2	0	9	19	1	1	.336	.408	.549	.957	*23/HD
4	Joe Mauer	171	2009	26	MIN	AL	138	606	523	94	191	30	1	28	96	76	14	63	2	0	5	13	4	1	.365	.444	.587	1.031	*2D/H
5	Mike Piazza	166	1996	27	LAD	NL	148	631	547	87	184	16	0	36	105	81	21	93	1	0	2	21	0	3	.336	.422	.563	.985	*2/H
6	Johnny Bench	166	1972	24	CIN	NL	147	653	538	87	145	22	2	40	125	100	23	84	2	0	12	18	6	6	.270	.379	.541	.920	*29/35
7	Chris Hoiles	162	1993	28	BAL	AL	126	503	419	80	130	28	0	29	82	69	4	94	9	3	3	10	1	1	.310	.416	.585	1.001	*2/HD
8	Carlton Fisk	162	1972	24	BOS	AL	131	514	457	74	134	28	9	22	61	52	6	83	4	1	0	11	5	2	.293	.370	.538	.909	*2/H
9	Ernie Lombardi	162	1942	34	BSN	NL	105	347	309	32	102	14	0	11	46	37		12	1	0		17	1		.330	.403	.482	.886	*2H
10	Roy Campanella	159	1951	29	BRO	NL	143	562	505	90	164	33	1	33	108	53		51	4	0		19	1	2	.325	.393	.590	.983	*2/H

Five catchers, two of them twice each, have hit at least 40 home runs ... that's a total of seven times. More on that in the next post and whether Yankee Gary Sanchez (career: 53 HR in 674 AB) can do it.

Note: Javy Lopez hit 43 HR in 2003 but did not have enough PA to be listed in this post; OPS+ 169!

Javy Lopez: most Home Runs in a season as a catcher. Friday, February 8, 2019