Chicago Cubs: Top five catchers in club history

Chicago Cubs: Bob O’Farrell, 1915-1925, 1934

As far as catchers go, and Cubs players in general, Bob O’Farrell is probably not a name brought up in many conversations. O’Farrell began his professional baseball career with the Cubs in 1915, at the age of 18.

Throughout O’Farrell’s first three seasons in the big leagues, he saw only six games of action, amassing 12 plate appearances. He did slash .364/.417/.545 with a .962 OPS. The 1918 season was his coming-out party of sorts if that was even a thing in 1918, where O’Farrell played in 52 games for Chicago. O’Farrell hit .283 that season along with his first professional home run.

From 1919-1924, which encompassed the meat of his career with the Cubs, O’Farrell carried a .282/.371/.405 line and racking up twice as many walks (235) to strikeouts (132). In terms of his fielding, O’Farrell was solid across the board. He had a career-high 66 percent caught-stealing rate.

After leaving Chicago, O’Farrell joined the Cardinals, where he won an MVP his second season with the club. Following his stint in St. Louis, O’Farrell jumped to the New York Giants for five years before going back to St. Louis and then once again returning to Chicago in 1934. O’Farrell is not one of the most talked-about, but he is on this list for his time in Chicago and the quietly impressive production over his Cubs career.