A.J. Pierzynski’s Remarkably Consistent, Brilliant Career
Whether Friday’s retirement was real or staged, a long successful career is on the brink of completion
The most remarkable part of A.J. Pierzynski’s career is his consistency. He played at least 128 games for 12 straight seasons, mostly as a catcher. While many career-catchers, if they’re lucky, move to the American League as designated hitters in their twilight years, Pierzynski has spent his age-38 and 39 seasons catching for the Atlanta Braves. As of September 12, his 1,887 games starting at catcher ranks sixth in baseball history.
Pierzynski had short flashes of greatness, but mostly was league-average and, by most metrics, struggled to reach that definition. According to FanGraphs, Pierzynski only hit 2 WAR — what is considered the mark of an average player — five out of his sixteen seasons in his career. However, he did not receive a “below replacement” WAR until 2014 between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. He bounced back in 2015 with a 2 WAR, and he most likely will finish below replacement this season, perhaps finally marking an end to his illustrious career.
Before we go any further, I’ll identify myself as not only a Chicago White Sox fan but a Polish person; there was no chance I wasn’t going to adore Pierzynski when he came to my team in 2005. And of course he played a large part in my best baseball memory, the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox. But I also consider myself fairly knowledgeable about baseball and know when to appreciate a solid, good-to-great baseball player. And there was more to his career than just ’05.
Pierzynski was drafted in 1994 by the Minnesota Twins. In his first full season in 2001, he slashed .289/.322/.441; not bad for a rookie. In his sophomore season, he earned an All-Star bid hitting .300/.334/.439. His 2003 season was even better, going .312/.360/.464. Baseball Prospectus has Pierzynski’s 2003 worth 6.1 WARP, by far his career-high. This was buoyed by a career-high 21.2 FRAA, BP’s pitch-framing statistic.
The Twins were smart in marketing their young catcher at this point, because not only did that turn out to be his “career year,” at least statistically, but they performed a legendarily lopsided trade with the San Francisco Giants. For Pierzynski, they received future-ace Francisco Liriano, and their closer for the next decade in Joe Nathan.
It got worse for San Francisco, after missing the playoffs for the first time in three years, they released Pierzynski after just one season. There were many reports that he wore out his welcome quickly and the team just couldn’t deal with it. Either way, the Giants had given up a haul for what became absolutely nothing.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams took a chance on Pierzynski during the offseason. The White Sox had traded catcher-of-the-future Miguel Olivo during the 2004 season, and Sandy Alomar Jr. was approaching the end of his career. The White Sox had put a lot of their efforts in a strong pitching staff but needed someone to command the troops. It was a risky move, but on the recommendation from White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson, Williams brought him in.
Pierzynski didn’t shine in 2005, nowhere near his 2003 numbers, as he slashed only .257/.308/.420. But when the postseason came around, he was behind the plate for each of the team’s eleven games, on their way to a World Series sweep of the Houston Astros. He was there for the four straight complete games in the ALCS, including Game 2, when he did this:
Pierzynski was much better in 2006, even garnering MVP votes. The White Sox arguably had a better all-around team than the previous year’s, but they fell just short of the postseason.
Throughout his White Sox career, the team and their fans knew they could count on Pierzynski to be behind the plate.
· 2007–136 games
· 2008–134 games
· 2009–139 games
· 2010–128 games
· 2011–129 games
· 2012–135 games
His wRC+ was never special — 81, 85, 92, 80, 92 — but respectable for an everyday catcher. However, the fans also knew that he was the face of the team, even a face that could take a punch, as it did from Chicago Cubs’ Michael Barrett in 2006.
The “brawl heard around Chicago” helped a marketing campaign to earn Pierzynski the vote-in All-Star vote that season. “Punch AJ” was the perfect slogan for a guy who has always been attached to other fans’ contempt. He is always trying to push the envelope, but it was his baseball intelligence that led to White Sox fans, such as myself, loving him and to others simply hating him.
In 2012, Pierzynski had an out-of-nowhere year, slashing .278/.326/.501 while hitting 27 home runs, earning him the Silver Slugger. But the White Sox had a disappointing season, falling three games behind the Detroit Tigers and missing the playoffs.
After the season, the team and their catcher parted ways. Pierzynski’s 2012 season earned him a dollar figure the White Sox didn’t want to commit, and they were ready to move on with Tyler Flowers at the catcher position.
It’s been a series of one-year contracts since then, but the elder Pierzynski is still earning his paycheck. Maybe Friday’s act was just that, and he will continue to play catcher well into his forties. Either way, there is a very good chance that he won’t stray far from baseball.
I personally believe he has been great as an analyst for FOX the last few postseasons. We also have seen many catchers have success as a manager and maybe his next stage in baseball is coaching. Or he may go into pro wrestling.
Hawk Harrelson once called A.J. Pierzynski “the smartest man in baseball (and the biggest [jerk]).” Sometimes Hawk makes proclamations that are a tad out-of-touch, but this one I have to agree with.
There were many plays like the “dropped third strike” that I remember fondly. It felt like he knew the rule book inside-and-out and had spotted all the loopholes. I would like to have someone like that in the booth, or in the dugout, in the very near future (I have no interest in seeing him on the wrestling mat).
