The New York Mets have often valued the catcher position both defensively and for offensive production. Rarely have they gone through lengthy droughts of not having at least some competency in either area.
A rarely discussed point about Mets catchers in team history is caught stealing percentage. It’s not the most glamorous stat and until it actually makes a difference, no one really talks about it.
Several Mets catchers have managed to lead the league in caught stealing percentage. Here’s every one of them.
Every Mets catcher with a league leading caught stealing percentage
Chris Cannizzaro - 1962 and 1965
Double n, double z, one r Chris Cannizzaro was an O.G. Mets player who lasted for several seasons. Taken from the St. Louis Cardinals in the expansion draft, he never hit a home run until 1968 when he was years removed from his Mets days. Cannizzaro was a two-time leader in caught stealing with 55.6% in 1962 and 52.5% in 1965. Although he didn’t lead the league in 1964, he had an even better 59.3%.
Alex Trevino - 1979 and 1980
A strange theme of Mets catchers leading the league in caught stealing and dark days for the team’s record is emerging. Alex Trevino was the NL leader in caught stealing percentage in 1979 and 1980. A homegrown Mets player later used in the George Foster trade, he threw out 47.7% of attempted base thieves in 1979 and 44.3% the following year.
Charlie O’Brien - 1990
Another year of the Mets missing the playoffs but a catcher excelling at throwing out base runners, Charlie O’Brien was the NL leader in this category in the ill-fated 1990 season. He threw out 45.7% of attempted robbers. This one deserves a slight asterisk because O’Brien came over in late August from the Milwaukee Brewers via trade. However, in the short time he was in New York, he managed to qualify by throwing out 16 of 35 base stealers.
Vance Wilson - 2002
In his first full year as the Mets backup catcher, Vance Wilson made himself noticed by leading the league in throwing out runners. It was a different era where the home run reigned supreme. Wilson was still tested and proved himself with a 49% caught stealing rate.
Luis Torrens - 2025
Freshest in our minds is what Luis Torrens did in 2025. Even with MLB rule changes favoring base runners, Torrens managed to gun down 40.8% of attempted base stealers. An example of how good this is: the previous two league leaders in the NL were at 33.3% in 2024 and 38.6% in 2023. Those are the two lowest totals to ever lead the NL in MLB history.
