Pittsburgh Pirates All-Time 25-Man Roster
Catcher
Jason Kendall (with Pittsburgh from 1996 to 2004)
.306/.387/.418, 1252 G, 5283 PA, 108 OPS+ (with Pirates)
The catcher position for the Pirates all-time 25-man roster came down to three players: Jason Kendall, Manny Sanguillen, and Tony Pena. Pena is a personal favorite of mine because I was 11 years old when he was an all-star in 1982. I loved the way he caught the ball with one leg out to the side and how eager he was to throw to any base to pick off a runner. He was fun to watch, but his career with the Pirates just wasn’t long enough to beat out Kendall or Sanguillen for a spot on the Pirates all-time roster.
The starting spot has to go to Jason Kendall. It’s easy to forget just how good Kendall was with the Pirates because his hitting fell off a cliff after he left Pittsburgh. With the Pirates, Kendall was an above average hitter with great on-base percentages, solid power, and three seasons with 20 or more steals. With the four other teams he played for in the final six years of his career, he was a well below average hitter, with mediocre on-base percentages and almost no power.
Kendall was a first round pick (23rd overall) in the 1992 amateur draft out of Torrance High School in Torrance, California. After success in the minor leagues, he was ranked the #26 prospect in baseball by Baseball America before the 1996 season. He came up that year with the Pirates and was an all-star and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Todd Hollandsworth and Edgar Renteria.
From 1997 to 2000, Jason Kendall was 15th in WAR (per FanGraphs) among all National League players, right between Vladimir Guerrero and John Olerud. Among catchers, he was second to only Mike Piazza. Over this four-year stretch, Kendall hit .317/.409/.468 and averaged 22 steals per year (he was also hit by pitch an average of 22 times per year).
If you’re a baseball fan of a certain age, you no doubt remember the single play Jason Kendall is most known for. On July 4, 1999, Kendall tried to beat out a bunt against the Milwaukee Brewers and destroyed his ankle as he crossed first base. It was the type of injury you remember forever, like when quarterback Joe Theismann was sandwiched between Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson on Monday Night Football in 1985. Kendall missed the rest of the 1999 season, but came back to hit .320/.412/.470 in 2000.
Kendall struggled at the plate in 2001 and 2002, hitting a combined .274/.342/.357, but came back with two more strong years in 2003 and 2004 (.322/.399/.403 in 297 games). During his time with the Pirates, Jason Kendall was the heart and soul of the team. He was gritty and tough, a catcher who had over 570 plate appearances seven times in nine years. He had three seasons with double-digit power and three seasons with 20 or more stolen bases. He was terrific at getting on base, both by banging out hits and getting hit by pitches, including a league-leading 31 beanings in 1998.
As good as Kendall was, he played for Pittsburgh during a time when they never had a winning record and regularly finished well out of first place. When his salary increased to a certain point, the Pirates started looking to trade him. They found a willing partner following the 2004 season and traded Kendall to the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Mark Redman and Arthur Rhodes, plus cash.
After leaving the Pirates, Kendall never found the same level of success that he had in the ‘Burgh. He played for the A’s, Cubs, Brewers, and Royals over the next six years. He was fortunate enough to make the post-season three times, which he never would have done had he not been traded away. He is remembered fondly for his nine years in black and gold.