Kurt Suzuki, Catcher


Date of Birth: 10/4/1983
Birthplace: Wailuku, Hawaii
College: California State University at Fullerton

Kurt Suzuki, catcher, was first drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2004. He played in the minor leagues until 2007, when he was called up to the Athletics for 68 games.

In 2008, his first full season in the major leagues, Suzuki batted a career high .279 with 148 hits and 25 doubles in 148 games. The next year was his best season. He batted .274 with career highs in hits (156), doubles (37), home runs (15), and RBIs (88) in 147 games in 2009.

Suzuki signed a four-year contract extension with the Athletics in July, 2010. That season, he batted .242 in 131 games. The following season, he batted .237 in 134 games. In August, 2012, after 75 games with the Athletics, they traded him to the Washington Nationals.

After 79 games and a batting average of just .222 with the Nationals in 2013, Washington traded Suzuki back to the Athletics. He finished the season with a .232 batting average in a total of 94 games . As a catcher in 2013, Suzuki played in 93 games and he made 35 assists, 621 putouts, and 6 errors with a fielding percentage of .991.

In December, 2013, Suzuki signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins. He signed a two-year, $12 million contract extension on July 31, 2014. He finished the 2014 season with 130 hits, 34 doubles, 61 RBIs, and a career high .288 batting average in 131 games.

Suzuki finished the 2015 season with 104 hits, 17 doubles, 50 RBIs, and a .240 batting average in 131 games. As a catcher in 130 games, he made 35 assists, 825 putouts, and 3 errors and he had a .997 fielding percentage. However, players found it easy to steal off him. He caught just 14 players trying to steal while 80 runners were successful at advancing a base.

In 2016, Suzuki batted .258 in 106 games. He had 89 hits, 24 doubles, and 49 RBIs. Defensively, as the Twins' catcher in 99 games, he made 28 assists, 679 putouts, and 5 errors. He had a .993 fielding percentage and he caught players trying to steal 18.8% of the time.

Suzuki became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Atlanta Braves on January 30, 2017. He finished the 2017 season with 78 hits, 13 doubles, a career high 19 home runs, 50 RBIs, 39 strikeouts to 17 walks, and a .283 batting average in 81 games. Defensively, as a catcher, he made 42 assists, 553 putouts, and 3 errors. He caught players trying to steal 23.6% of the time.

Suzuki finished the 2018 season with 94 hits, 24 doubles, 50 RBIs, 43 strikeouts to 22 walks, and a .271 batting average in 105 games. Defensively, as a catcher in 93 games, he made 33 assists, 744 putouts, and 5 errors. He caught players trying to steal 19.4% of the time and he had a .994 fielding percentage. In the postseason, he batted .250 with 2 hits and 2 RBIs in 8 at-bats in 4 games.

Suzuki became a free agent on October 29, 2018. A month later, on November 20, he returned to the Nationals. He finished the 2019 season with 74 hits, 17 home runs, 63 RBIs, 36 strikeouts to 20 walks, and a .264 batting average in 85 games. Defensively, as a catcher in 75 games, he made 27 assists, 666 putouts, and 3 errors. He caught players trying to steal 10% of the time. In the postseason, he had 3 hits, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 11 strikeouts to 4 walks, and a .100 batting average in 30 at-bats in 10 games.

Suzuki played in 33 games in 2020. He finished the season with 30 hits, 8 doubles, 2 home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 strikeouts to 11 walks, and a batting average of .270. Defensively, he was the Nationals' catcher in 30 games.

Suzuki elected free agency on October 28, 2020. He signed with the Los Angeles Angels on January 15, 2021. He finished the 2021 season with 49 hits, 44 strikeouts to 12 walks, and a .224 batting average in 72 games.

Suzuki became a free agent again on November 3, 2021. He re-signed with the Angels on March 16, 2022.

Suzuki elected free agency on November 6, 2022.

Career batting statistics for Suzuki through 2021 include:

  • 1,584 games played
  • 1,396 hits
  • 291 doubles
  • 139 home runs
  • 715 RBIs
  • 722 strikeouts to 372 walks
  • .257 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Suzuki as a catcher through 2021 include:

  • 1,496 games played
  • 586 assists
  • 10,528 putouts
  • 72 errors
  • 23% caught stealing percentage
  • .994 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Kurt Suzuki
ESPN - Kurt Suzuki