Newly-signed New York Mets backstop James McCann met with the team’s media corps via Zoom on Thursday afternoon, introducing himself as a catcher who prioritizes his defense, game-calling, and building a foundation of trust with his pitchers.

“The first thing to know about me is I’m gonna always pride my game on my defense,” McCann told reporters. “I’ve always felt that way because I truly feel the catcher can impact the game tenfold defensively […] especially over the course of the season.”

McCann addressed the strides he took as a receiver last season (MMO’s Dilip Sridhar took a great look at his framing progress earlier this month) after working with longtime MLB coach Jerry Narron, who told McCann “it wasn’t my hands or abilities that was holding me back, it was my setup”.

The results came on quickly, with McCann seeing marked improvement in his framing metrics on both corners of the plate, as well as at the lower edge of the zone last season (61.6% and 75.5% strike rates on the left and right corners, respectively; 61.8% at the knees).

His improved defense surely adds to his allure, but McCann’s real passion behind the dish lies in getting the most out of his staff. And that starts with building a relationship with his pitchers.

“I think that, especially in a day and age where everything is measured through metrics or through analytics, there’s one thing that we haven’t, as a baseball community, come up with is a value for the relationship between a catcher and a pitcher,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that go into that. I think the first thing is trust.”

“What makes somebody tick — honestly, the easiest way to figure that out is going through game-like experiences,” McCann said. “How does someone react to a certain situation. That comes from experience […] I take a lot of pride in figuring that out and helping guys reach the level of their potential.”

During his time in Chicago, McCann became right-hander Lucas Giolito‘s favorite receiver, culminating with both being named to the AL All-Star team in 2019 and McCann catching Giolito’s no-hitter last season.

Trust goes a long way. Giolito’s 3.23 ERA over 37 starts with McCann behind the plate (Giolito’s most productive battery combination, by far) is clear evidence of that.

Considering the ilk of New York’s pitching staff — Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard throwing to a catcher who can handle the low pitch should be fun — McCann’s penchant for putting his guys in the best situation to succeed could have tremendously positive ripple effects.