A down year for Patrick Bailey and he’s still been a Top 10 catcher in baseball
September 9, 2025
A down year for Patrick Bailey and he’s still been a Top 10 catcher in baseball
23 comments
#thatsmycatcher
Standout stat here is that he’s 50% better defensively than the next best catcher in the league. He’s definitely inspiring confidence and helping the stats of our pitchers.
Statistically he’s the worst offensive catcher listed here. Defensively he’s great but it’s year 3 and he’s getting worse offensively
The people that have given up on Bailey don’t understand catching. The number one priority of a catcher is to play good defense—any offense is usually seen as a bonus. If you have both, then you’re a generational catcher.
Bailey is by far the best defensive catcher in the league and that won’t change until a fully automated strike zone is implemented (which won’t be for a while). Even with his nonexistent bat, he’s better than any catcher the Giants could realistically get this offseason. If he could figure out how to hit even at league average, he’ll be the best catcher in baseball.
As much as we want him to be like Buster Posey on offense, the reality is Posey is a crazy outlier. Most catchers that inspire confidence in pitchers and focus so much on their skills behind the plate are going to be Yorvit Torrealba level hitters. You have to pick your poison unless you luck into someone like Posey with such a defense-first position.
Defensive WAR is a lot harder to see intuitively than Offensive WAR. It’s less obvious. But it matters just as much.
Two things can be true:
He’s great defensively, top of the league. He’s also pitiful offensively, literally bottom of the league.
Up until 2 weeks ago, this team (as it is currently built), could not afford to have a black hole in the lineup. Great teams have lineups where the opposing pitcher doesn’t get a “break”. Having someone who is close to an automatic out (aka the *worst* hitting starting position player in the league), paired with other below-average hitters, lead the Giants to have one of the worst offenses in the league for a months’ long stretch.
It’s also really obnoxious that people on this sub act as if appreciating defense makes them a smarter fan. Everyone has different interests in baseball. Some love high strikeout monster pitchers like Timmy. Others prefer efficient innings-eaters like Matt Cain. Some prefer dudes that hit a ton of dingers (name any of the HR greats), while some prefer to watch Ichiro/Tony Gwynn types slap the ball all over the place for hits, exit velo be damned.
Some personally prefer not watching a dude with a sub .250 OBP/sub 90 average exit velo/sub .300 SLG% in the lineup, regardless of what he does on defense. That doesn’t make them less “smart” than a fan who enjoys…pitch framing 🤷🏼♀️
Is it a down year though or an average year for him.
Down year is being nice about it
He’s the worst and the best and defense by a good margin.
His offense is not improving, and he’s downright lost at the plate. When ABS system is implemented (and the MLB seems to be fast tracking this with the horrible umpiring this year, alright I’ll take my foil hat off) pitch framing won’t matter. How much will his “value” decrease when that metric no longer exists?
The Belt Wars have evolved into the Bailey Wars.
I’d be willing to sacrifice some of that defense for even slightly below average offense from Bailey. He’s a terrible hitter and arguably shouldn’t be a starting catcher when the rest of the lineup can’t compensate. Farhan rushed the dude for whatever reason.
These comparisons don’t mean that much. I’d rather have Bailey as my catcher than anyone else above him on the list except that guy with the large behind.
He’s very unique. He is the WORST offensive starting catcher in baseball. He is also the best defensive catcher.
Very unique. If he could hit even at a 25th percentile starting catcher level he’d be among the best in the game.
But it is pretty hard to field a good hitting lineup when you have a gaping hole like Bailey out there.
And he can and should win the GG
Is this a down year offensively for Bailey or is this just who he really is?
We cannot afford a guaranteed double play every time he’s up with runners on, not if we want a ring. We simply don’t have to bats to make up for him rn.
For a wildcard level club? Sure, he’s great
The worst hitter on the list is crazy
Gotta remember the pitch framing genius next time he takes strike three down the middle to kill a rally
He is still young, let’s give him a couple more years.
I am convinced if he just tried to hit singles he could bat 300. lol.
23 comments
#thatsmycatcher
Standout stat here is that he’s 50% better defensively than the next best catcher in the league. He’s definitely inspiring confidence and helping the stats of our pitchers.
Statistically he’s the worst offensive catcher listed here. Defensively he’s great but it’s year 3 and he’s getting worse offensively
The people that have given up on Bailey don’t understand catching. The number one priority of a catcher is to play good defense—any offense is usually seen as a bonus. If you have both, then you’re a generational catcher.
Bailey is by far the best defensive catcher in the league and that won’t change until a fully automated strike zone is implemented (which won’t be for a while). Even with his nonexistent bat, he’s better than any catcher the Giants could realistically get this offseason. If he could figure out how to hit even at league average, he’ll be the best catcher in baseball.
https://preview.redd.it/8jlwa44yy5of1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0fa6b2f31e96d381f3d1d37ceecbed50049b6a1f
As much as we want him to be like Buster Posey on offense, the reality is Posey is a crazy outlier. Most catchers that inspire confidence in pitchers and focus so much on their skills behind the plate are going to be Yorvit Torrealba level hitters. You have to pick your poison unless you luck into someone like Posey with such a defense-first position.
Defensive WAR is a lot harder to see intuitively than Offensive WAR. It’s less obvious. But it matters just as much.
Two things can be true:
He’s great defensively, top of the league. He’s also pitiful offensively, literally bottom of the league.
Up until 2 weeks ago, this team (as it is currently built), could not afford to have a black hole in the lineup. Great teams have lineups where the opposing pitcher doesn’t get a “break”. Having someone who is close to an automatic out (aka the *worst* hitting starting position player in the league), paired with other below-average hitters, lead the Giants to have one of the worst offenses in the league for a months’ long stretch.
It’s also really obnoxious that people on this sub act as if appreciating defense makes them a smarter fan. Everyone has different interests in baseball. Some love high strikeout monster pitchers like Timmy. Others prefer efficient innings-eaters like Matt Cain. Some prefer dudes that hit a ton of dingers (name any of the HR greats), while some prefer to watch Ichiro/Tony Gwynn types slap the ball all over the place for hits, exit velo be damned.
Some personally prefer not watching a dude with a sub .250 OBP/sub 90 average exit velo/sub .300 SLG% in the lineup, regardless of what he does on defense. That doesn’t make them less “smart” than a fan who enjoys…pitch framing 🤷🏼♀️
Is it a down year though or an average year for him.
Down year is being nice about it
He’s the worst and the best and defense by a good margin.
His offense is not improving, and he’s downright lost at the plate. When ABS system is implemented (and the MLB seems to be fast tracking this with the horrible umpiring this year, alright I’ll take my foil hat off) pitch framing won’t matter. How much will his “value” decrease when that metric no longer exists?
The Belt Wars have evolved into the Bailey Wars.
I’d be willing to sacrifice some of that defense for even slightly below average offense from Bailey. He’s a terrible hitter and arguably shouldn’t be a starting catcher when the rest of the lineup can’t compensate. Farhan rushed the dude for whatever reason.
These comparisons don’t mean that much. I’d rather have Bailey as my catcher than anyone else above him on the list except that guy with the large behind.
He’s very unique. He is the WORST offensive starting catcher in baseball. He is also the best defensive catcher.
Very unique. If he could hit even at a 25th percentile starting catcher level he’d be among the best in the game.
But it is pretty hard to field a good hitting lineup when you have a gaping hole like Bailey out there.
And he can and should win the GG
Is this a down year offensively for Bailey or is this just who he really is?
We cannot afford a guaranteed double play every time he’s up with runners on, not if we want a ring. We simply don’t have to bats to make up for him rn.
For a wildcard level club? Sure, he’s great
The worst hitter on the list is crazy
Gotta remember the pitch framing genius next time he takes strike three down the middle to kill a rally
He is still young, let’s give him a couple more years.
I am convinced if he just tried to hit singles he could bat 300. lol.
No one doubts his overall skill
By check those offensive rankings