Six Catchers

By Jim Joanos

This column is being written while I am making plans to travel to Omaha to watch a few of the 2008 College World Series baseball games. By the time that you read it, this year's college baseball season will be history. Only the memories will remain.

This past year the Florida State University was led by a remarkable young man, Buster Posey. Posey has already been named the outstanding college baseball player of the year by at least one institution and I would suspect, by the time you read this will have received several other equally impressive awards. While he could play anywhere on the diamond, Posey primarily served the team as its catcher.

FSU has been most fortunate through the years to have had a number of excellent catchers. Space does not allow me to elaborate or even list all of the good catchers that the team has had through its history. However, I would like to mention the six that have been named First Team All-Americans.

BUDDY TEAGLE, 1962. Many FSU fans know that Dick Howser was FSU's first ever first team All-American when he was so named in 1957 and 58. Buddy Teagle was the second when he attained that honor from the American Baseball Coaches' Association ("ABCA") in 1962. Teagle was not only great behind the plate but batted .325 as well for the Seminoles. Teagle was a team leader for the 1962 team that went 23-14, including a regional championship and fourth place at the College World Series where they won two and lost two. Teagle has been selected and will be invested into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in September.

Paul Dirks, Buddy Teagle and Ken Suarez

KEN SUAREZ, 1964.
Ken Suarez followed Buddy Teagle as the team's catcher. He helped the team get to the college world series in 1963 and in 1964 became an ABCA first team All-American. His 1964 season was nothing short of amazing as he led the team in all phases of batting including average (.404), runs, hits, home runs, total bases, base on balls and runs batted in. In 1964, he became FSU's first baseball Olympian as he was named to the USA's national team. Following college, he played professional baseball including nine years in the major leagues (three with Kansas City, four with the Cleveland Indians, and two with the Texas Rangers). He was admitted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

TERRY KENNEDY, 1976 & 77. Terry Kennedy was a first team All-American in both 1976 and 77. Sporting News named him the 1977 College Baseball Player of the Year. He set school records in RBI, home runs and slugging percentage in 1977. After FSU, he played fourteen years in the major leagues for four different teams. He was an All-Star four years and played on two National League Championship teams. In 1982 Kennedy entered the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Terry Kennedy

PEDRO GRIFOL, 1991. Pedro Grifol played for FSU from 1989 through 91 after which he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins' organization. In 1989, he was a second team Freshman All-American by Baseball America ("BA"). In 1991 he was selected as a first team All-American by both ABCA and BA. He played on two College World Series teams at FSU (1989 and 91). During the 1991 season he batted .344, fielded an almost unbelievable .998, led the team in RBIs (80) and in home runs (16).

Pedro Grifol

TONY RICHIE, 2002. Tony Richie was FSU's main catcher for three years, 2001, 02 and 03. He was a College Baseball ("CB") First Team Freshman All-American in 2001. In 2002, he was a first team CB selection as well as second team CB and ABCA All-American and a third team National College Baseball Writers' Association ("NCBWA") selection. That was a year in which FSU won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. In 2003, he was a Second Team All-American for BW, CB, and ABCA and a third team pick on the NCBWA team. All three of the teams that he played on reached the Super-Regional level in NCAA post season play. In the 2003 major league draft, he was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round. Since leaving FSU he has escalated up the Cubs' chart to the AAA level.

Tony Richie

BUSTER POSEY, 2007 & 08. Buster Posey was selected a First Team Freshman All-American by College Baseball in 2006 as a shortstop. In his sophomore year, he changed positions and became a catcher. It was a great move. As a sophomore, the first year that he played catcher, he was chosen by CB as a first team All-American, on BA's second team and ABCA's third team. I would suspect that by the time that you read this, Posey's resume will include a number of accolades in addition to the National Player of the Year and First Team All-American honors that have already been bestowed upon him by Collegiate Baseball. He is a scholar, also, sporting almost a 4.0 grade average and was recently named The Academic Player of the Year by the Sports Information Directors in conjunction with ESPN, the Magazine. He is also a finalist for a number of other awards and will be playing in this year's College World Series.

Buster Posey

After studying the feats of these six catchers and some of the others who have served FSU's baseball teams in that capacity, you could make a case for nicknaming the institution as "Catcher U". Hope that we have more great ones in the future.