Braves’ Drake Baldwin figures in historic MLB day for catchers

The catcher position in baseball is constantly in a state of evolution, and this could not have been more apparent on Thursday. For instance, Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin proved to be the difference on offense on Thursday in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he hit a leadoff home run in the first inning against ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Moreover, Baldwin helped ace Chris Sale pitch a dominant outing against the reigning World Series champion — with Sale throwing a complete game shutout to seal the Braves’ four-game series sweep of the Dodgers.

But Baldwin wasn’t the only catcher who made waves on Thursday. In a 13-2 win for the Kansas City Royals over the Toronto Blue Jays, catcher Carter Jensen set the tone for that dominant victory as he hit a leadoff home run as well. This marked the first day in MLB history in which two catchers hitting leadoff for the game hit a home run on their very first plate appearance of the night, as per OptaSTATS on X.

It’s not too often that catchers hit leadoff in the big leagues. The leadoff spot was traditionally dedicated to speedsters who can eke out base hits and wreak havoc on the basepaths when they get there.

The sabermetric revolution then opened the eyes of managers all over MLB. Those who hit in the top of the order get more plate appearances over the course of a whole season, so it made sense to have the best hitters lead things off regardless of speed on the basepaths.

Moreover, on-base percentage became more of an influential stat, as teams wanted to have a runner on base as early as possible while hiding weaker hitters towards the bottom of the order.

Baldwin has been a brilliant hitter for the Braves this year, as he entered play on Thursday with a .357 OBP (OPS of .808). Meanwhile, Jensen may not be the best at getting on base (.305 OBP entering play vs. the Blue Jays on Thursday), but his pop makes him worth allocating more at-bats for.

The post Braves’ Drake Baldwin figures in historic MLB day for catchers appeared first on ClutchPoints.