Yankee catchers Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra won 4 and 5 consecutive World Series.

Yankees #8: Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. Wednesday, April 19, 2023

The New York Yankees have the most retired numbers, too many. One of those numbers (8) is shared by two Hall of Fame catchers of comparable accomplishment: Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra...

Here are the best hitting catchers since 1903 (data from stathead.com):

Playing in the AL or NL, At least 4500 Plate Appearances, Played at least 75% of games at C, in the regular season, requiring Adjusted OPS+ >= 120, sorted by descending Adjusted OPS+.

Rk	Player	OPS+	From	To	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB
1	Mike Piazza	143	1992	2007	23-38	1912	7745	6911	1048	2127	1348	344	8	427	1335	17	20	759	1113	.308	.377	.545	.922	143	3768
2	Buster Posey	129	2009	2021	22-34	1371	5607	4970	663	1500	1040	293	9	158	729	23	9	540	721	.302	.372	.460	.831	129	2285
3	Mickey Cochrane	129	1925	1937	22-34	1482	6211	5169	1041	1652	1136	333	64	119	830	64	47	857	217	.320	.419	.478	.897	129	2470
4	Bill Dickey	127	1928	1946	21-39	1789	7065	6300	930	1969	1352	343	72	202	1209	36	32	678	289	.313	.382	.486	.868	127	3062
5	Johnny Bench	126	1967	1983	19-35	2158	8674	7658	1091	2048	1254	381	24	389	1376	68	43	891	1278	.267	.342	.476	.817	126	3644
6	Ernie Lombardi	126	1931	1947	23-39	1853	6353	5855	601	1792	1298	277	27	190	990	8	9	430	262	.306	.358	.460	.818	126	2693
7	Gabby Hartnett	126	1922	1941	21-40	1990	7300	6432	867	1912	1216	396	64	236	1179	28	32	703	697	.297	.370	.489	.858	126	3144
8	Yogi Berra	125	1946	1965	21-40	2120	8364	7555	1175	2150	1422	321	49	358	1430	30	26	704	414	.285	.348	.482	.830	125	3643
9	Roy Campanella	123	1948	1957	26-35	1215	4816	4205	627	1161	723	178	18	242	856	25	20	533	501	.276	.360	.500	.860	123	2101
10	Jorge Posada	121	1995	2011	24-40	1829	7150	6092	900	1664	1000	379	10	275	1065	20	21	936	1453	.273	.374	.474	.848	121	2888

Dickey and Berra are almost dead even.

Of the ten catchers above, only Posada is not in the Hall of Fame.

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After presenting Dickey and Berra, four other catchers above will be examined: Cochrane, Posey, Bench and Campanella.

The Yankees with Bill Dickey as the starting catcher won four consecutive World Series: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939.

The Yankees with Yogi Berra as the starting catcher won five consecutive World Series: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953.

In the table below seasons are for Dickey and Berra being the starting catcher, but note:

Dickey: 1942 and 1943, although the starter, played fewer than 90 games each season.

Berra: backup catcher as noted. Elston Howard was the starting catcher on the five consecutive pennant winners 1960-1964; WS champs 1961, 1962. Berra managed the 1964 team that lost the WS in seven games.

	Dickey	Dickey	Dickey	Dickey		Berra	Berra	Berra	Berra	Berra
	year	Finish	OPS+	WS OPS		year	Finish	OPS+	WS OPS
1	1929	2	117		1	1947	WS	115	.516	backup
2	1930	3	120		2	1948	3	120
3	1931	2	119		3	1949	WS	111	.180
4	1932	WS	121	.964	4	1950	WS	135	.694
5	1933	2	135		5	1951	WS	130	.624
6	1934	2	121		6	1952	WS	131	.731
7	1935	2	109		7	1953	WS	141	1.158
8	1936	WS	158	.454	8	1954	2	137
9	1937	WS	144	.602	9	1955	1	120	1.083
10	1938	WS	143	1.038	10	1956	WS	142	1.248
11	1939	WS	133	.979	11	1957	1	109	.894
12	1940	3	82		12	1958	WS	119	.575
13	1941	WS	109	.508	13	1959	3	125
14	1942	1	108	.563	14	1960	1	118	.830	backup
15	1943	WS	173	.794	15	1961	WS	115	1.045	LF
					16	1962	WS	85	.500	backup
					17	1963	1	139	.000	player/coach
						1964	1			manager

Mickey Cochrane, five pennants, three WS champs, As & Tigers:

1929: OPS+ 124; WS OPS 1.058 As
1930: OPS+ 134; WS OPS 1.002 As
1931: OPS+ 149; WS OPS .460 As
1934: OPS+ 117; WS OPS .563 Tigers; P-Mgr; AL MVP
1935: OPS+ 138; WS OPS .726 Tigers; P-Mgr

Buster Posey, WS champs, San Francisco Giants:

2010: OPS+ 133; WS OPS .783
2012: OPS+ 171; WS OPS .779; NL MVP
2014: OPS+ 143; WS OPS .395

Johnny Bench, four pennants, 2 WS champs, Cincinnati Reds

1970: OPS+ 141; WS OPS .618; NL MVP
1972: OPS+ 166; WS OPS .828; NL MVP
1975: OPS+ 140; WS OPS .637
1976: OPS+ 109; WS OPS 1.667

Roy Campanella, five pennants, one WS champ, Brooklyn Dodgers

1949: OPS+ 131; WS OPS .922
1952: OPS+ 120; WS OPS .456
1953: OPS+ 154; WS OPS .769 ; NL MVP
1955: OPS+ 152; WS OPS .926 ; NL MVP
1956: OPS+ 088; WS OPS .487