Yadier Molina, catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, is the younger brother of catcher Jose Molina of the Tampa Bay Rays and former catcher Bengie Molina. The youngest Molina, who has been with the Cardinals since 2004, may well be the most talented of the three, particularly in his fielding abilities. Since 2008, Molina has won five consecutive Gold Glove awards (2008-2012).
Joe Mauer, catcher for the Minnesota Twins, is the only major league catcher to have won a batting title three times. Mauer was already a star player in high school and he was chosen the USA Today High School Player of the Year in 2001. The previous year, he won the same award for his accomplishments as a football player. Mauer's batting average in his senior year in high school was an impressive .605.
Buster Posey, catcher for the San Francisco Giants, also occasionally plays first base. But Posey did not start out as a catcher or a first baseman but, rather, as a pitcher and a shortstop. He played both of those positions in high school but in his second year of college, he switched from shortstop to catcher. In his junior year, he won the Dick Howser Trophy for his talent as a college baseball player.
Russell Martin, this year's starting catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was first drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002. After several years in the minors, Martin was called up to the major leagues in May, 2006. In 121 games for the Dodgers that season, Martin batted .282, with 117 hits, 26 doubles, and 10 home runs. He made just six errors in 117 games in his rookie year.
Matt Wieters, catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, was a star baseball player at Georgia Tech. The Orioles drafted him in 2007 and after just one year in the minor leagues, Wieters was catching for Baltimore in 2009.
Brian McCann, catcher for the Atlanta Braves, started his baseball career in 2003 with the Braves' minor league teams. During the 2005 season, he played with the Braves, usually catching for John Smoltz. In his eight seasons with the Braves, McCann has had impressive success with his bat. He has won five Silver Slugger awards (2006, 2008-2011) and in 2010, he won the All Star Game MVP award.