Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Gibson says having a catcher like Adley Rutschman who impacts the game in a multitude of ways is a “massive advantage” and notes that it’s no coincidence that the Orioles began winning once Rutschman was called up last May.
The Orioles are 95-71 since Rutschman joined the team on May 21, 2022. Prior to that, the club had been through a litany of catchers during its rebuild, none of whom stood out from an offensive or defensive perspective.
Gibson, 35, is in his 11th major league season and prior to coming to Baltimore had worked with special two-way catchers in Joe Mauer and J.T. Realmuto. Now, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound right-hander has a chance to throw to Rutschman.
“I think catchers play a huge role in a lot of aspects of the team,” Gibson said on Glenn Clark Radio May 12. “Every player has an important job on defense and offense. … I think when you have a catcher who impacts the game in a huge way on both sides of the baseball, it gives you a massive advantage. I think that’s what we have in Adley.”
Rutschman was named Most Valuable Oriole last year despite not playing a full season. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound catcher led the Orioles in fWAR (5.3) and bWAR (5.2) in just 113 games. He hit .254/.362/.445 with 49 extra-base hits, setting a new single-season franchise record for doubles with 35 along the way. He also threw out 11 of 36 potential base-stealers (30.6 percent).
This year, Rutschman is even better. He is batting .285/.407/.462 with 14 extra-base hits entering play May 19 and has still managed to throw out 6 of 22 potential base-stealers, even with new rules geared toward juicing up the running game.
“When you have a special talent behind the plate, it tends to really stand out,” Gibson said. “Those guys can be team leaders and those guys can impact a game in so many ways every single day. You can go out there and play shortstop and you might get four balls hit to you all game. Adley’s in every single play that he’s behind the plate.”
Rutschman is lauded for the work he puts in behind the scenes preparing for games and the relationship he has with pitchers. That comes through when he greets pitchers after innings and hugs whichever pitcher polished off a win in the ninth inning.
It’s apparent to longtime Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey what Rutschman brings to the table from a leadership perspective.
“It’s the precision, the attitude, the attention to detail,” Dempsey said on GCR May 15. “It even has to get a little better, but already you see how much it’s brought to this organization. The fact that he will run out to the mound and celebrate with a pitcher when you’re coming off of a victory, the attitude of how you’ve got to get better when you lose a ballgame. He just never gives up. I think that’s [how] all the players have to rally behind him.”
Gibson pitched for the Phillies in 2021 and 2022, and he saw firsthand the impact that Realmuto had on the club. Last year, Realmuto started 130 games behind the plate and still managed to bat .276/.342/.478 with 53 extra-base hits. Oh, and he caught 30 of 68 potential base-stealers (44 .1 percent).
Realmuto certainly figured prominently into the Phillies’ pennant-winning mix in 2022, and Gibson sees a correlation between Rutschman and the Orioles’ success as well.
“I don’t think there’s any coincidence that that happens,” Gibson said. “You don’t normally see a great catcher on a below-average team. I guess Realmuto was on the Marlins there for a little bit. I’d say that would probably count as one, but it just doesn’t happen as often. Those guys are normally staples on really good teams.”
Check out Gibson’s work with Big League Impact’s #ALLWIN Baltimore campaign and how you can help here.
For more from Gibson, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Dempsey, listen to the full interview here:
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