Though many of you baseball fans might find a diving catch in the outfield or a diving stop at shortstop to win the game more exciting than a catcher blocking a ball in the dirt to save the game, the catchers duties are one of the most vital things to the game. They have to memorize signs, call pitches, throw runners out, block balls in the dirt and so on. Catchers have an enormous responsibility. That may be why today there is a lesser number of optimal catchers, making this list required much time spent on STATS.com/ But here are the top 5 catchers.

1)      Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians: He is one of the most productive catchers in the league, leading all catchers with 103  hits, 16 homeruns and a .549 slugging percentage, while  compiling a nice .323 batting average, second for all catchers. He has been one of the biggest reasons that the Indians are now tied for 1st place in the A.L. central with the Tigers. With Travis Hafner slumping, Martinez has picked up the pace to become one of the best catchers we’ve seen in a while.

2)      Jorge Posada, New York Yankees: Posada has never had such a breakout season as this one, batting a catcher high and a personal best .330 average, and having been second in catchers in hits with 99 and slugging with .520 average. He ahs also notched 10 homeruns and 50 RBI’s to boot. He has also thrown out 27 runners this year, tied for 4th place in the league, 2nd in the A.L.

3)      Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers: Though he can be easily overshadowed by bigger names like Magglio Ordonez, Pudge has been the driving force behind the Tiger success, both offensively and defensively. He has only allowed 1 past ball this year(which could be contested) and has thrown out 30 base stealers, 3rd in all of baseball. Add that to a .298 batting average and 91 hits, along with a .459 slugging, and you get a great catcher.

4)      Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners: One of the most unknown catcher today, Johjima has secretly put togetther a nifty line of .287, 77, and 9. He has only allowed 3 passed balls and has thrown out 21 runners while in his 2nd major league season. The Mariners are competing for the West because of Johjima.

5)      John Buck, Kansas City Royals: Yeah, I know what your thinking, “He’s on the Royals, he can’t be good.” But for all the bad the Royals have, Buck is one of the shining players in KC. 15 homeruns and 57 RBI’s give him a lot of potential power. He has become one of the leagues best catchers and will only get better.