So how did the catcher for the Cincinnati Reds go from the worst catcher’s ERA in baseball in 2016 to the National League Gold Glove winner in 2017? Yadier Molina of the Saint Louis Cardinals and Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants were the other two finalists. Their reputations precede them.
Molina led the NL in games caught. Barnhart was sixth. Posey didn’t even catch 100 games in 2017.
Molina also caught more innings than any other NL catcher. Barnhart and Posey were seventh and eighth, respectively. Molina was clearly the ironman of NL catchers.
This trio, though, is three of the top four catchers at throwing out base stealers.