Philadelphia Phillies: 50 greatest players of all-time
6. . C. 1994-06. Mike Lieberthal. 42. player
Some argue that Mike Lieberthal is the greatest catcher in Phillies history. The numbers can back that up for the man who spent 12 seasons in Phillies pinstripes. While not overly impressive, his .275 batting average is the best in team history for catchers with at least 1,000 games.
Lieberthal’s 1,137 hits, 150 home runs and 255 doubles are the most among all Phillies catchers.
Those numbers are impressive, but they likely didn’t live up to many’s expectations when Philadelphia took Lieberthal third overall in the 1990 MLB Draft out of Westlake High School in California.
Lieberthal came up four seasons later and took over as the everyday catcher in 1997. He made back-to-back all-star games and won a Gold Glove in 1999, but hit over .280 just once in his first nine seasons.
A big reason Lieberthal struggled to perform consistently was injuries, especially those to his legs. He tore up his knee in 2001, had pelvic surgery and injured his ankle within a couple of years.
Lieberthal did bounce back from the knee injury and had four consecutive productive seasons with Philadelphia, hitting .283 and averaging 14 home runs a year.
Unfortunately, Lieberthal played in one of the worst eras in Phillies baseball, barely missing their playoff runs in 1993 and 2007. Since retiring he was inducted onto the Wall of Fame with other franchise legends in 2012.