Happy Belated Birthday to the late and great Hall of Fame Catcher Ray Schalk. Throughout his eighteen-year career, seventeen with the Chicago White Sox and one with the New York Giants, Schalk left behind a legacy as one of if not the greatest defensive catcher in baseball history.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1912-1929):

.253 BA 1,345 HITS 11 HR 593 RBI 579 RUNS .340 OBP

• 1917 World Series Champion

Everyone knows that Catcher is the most demanding position to play in baseball, especially back when Schalk played when you factor in that there were even more bunts and stolen base attempts during that time. Schalk revolutionized the way the Catching position was played; he was credited as the first catcher to back up infield throws to first base as well as outfield throws to third base. During his career, he led AL Catchers in Fielding Percentage eight times, which is a record. Nine times, Schalk led in Putouts, four times he led in Double Plays,and twice in Assists. Career-wise, Schalk had a 51.32% of throwing out base stealers, which is 8th all-time. Only Carlton Fisk & Yogi Berra have caught more Shutouts than Schalk (144). Schalk had a great way of handling his team’s pitchers. It wasn’t just the four no-hitters he caught. Any pitch you can think of Shine balls, Spit Balls, Knuckleballs, and Emory Balls. Also, this guy set the standards of longevity for Catchers, getting behind the plate for 100 or more games for eleven straight years.

While his lifetime batting average of .253 is the lowest of any positional hall-of-fame player, you have to give Schalk an offensive pass for what he did behind the plate, historically when it comes to Catchers and Shortstops who were you as offensively gifted, but we’re incredibly exceptional defensively like a Ray Schalk have gotten enshrined and rightfully so.

References:

1. Ray Schalk via Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Schalk

2. Ray Schalk Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schalra01.shtml