Once again, backup catcher Anthony Recker found himself on the receiving end of another masterful pitching performance – this time by Dillon Gee – who tossed eight shutout innings in the Mets 4-0 win against the Marlins on Sunday.
With yesterday’s performance, Recker lowered his Catcher’s ERA to 2.54, the eighth-best mark in the majors and nearly two runs better than starting backstop Travis d’Arnaud, who has a 4.34 Catcher’s ERA.
The Mets are now a perfect 6-0 in games that Recker starts as catcher, and 22-14 overall dating back to last season’s starts behind the dish. Check out the baseball lines at Allpro to see the Mets chances of improving to 7-0 when Recker starts again.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com spoke to Recker, who told him that what he takes the most pride in is his work with the pitching staff.
“I think I did a pretty good job last year, and I’ve tried to carry it over into this year,” Recker said. “Just knowing the hitters that are coming up, and especially knowing my staff, knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are — this being my second year, I obviously have a much better idea of what their strengths and weaknesses are, and I’m able to use that to the best of my ability.”
DiComo writes:
Offensively, he already has two home runs (both in games he started). Compare that with last season, when he didn’t hit his second homer until June 18, largely because he started only eight times over the first two months.
Defensively, he spent significant time this spring working on his throwing mechanics and footwork. At least partially as a result of that, he has thrown out both runners who have attempted to steal on him this season.
Terry Collins likes what he sees and last week he told reporters that he intends to start Recker more often and certainly more frequently than he did last season.
In his limited play, Recker has two home runs – bested only by Lucas Duda who has four – and is third on the team with a .781 OPS and a 123 OPS+. Additionally, he’s already accumulated a .50 WAR which is also third on the team behind Duda and Juan Lagares.
