Hunter Goodman’s Bid for History and the All-Star Game
Is Goodman having the greatest season ever by a Rockies catcher? It's not such a far-fetched suggestion.
Before Elias Díaz earned a place on the National League All-Star team in 2023, it felt like the Colorado Rockies would never have a catcher be their representative for the Midsummer Classic.
Now, they’ve got another in Hunter Goodman putting together the makings of the greatest offensive season for a catcher in Rockies history.
When thinking about the best for the franchise at the position, fans of Colorado will bring up the performance of Yorvit Torrealba during the run to Rocktober and the 2007 World Series. Others will harken to the heroics of Tony Wolters in the 13th inning of the 2018 NL Wild Card Game.
There are more backstops that come to mind. Chris Iannetta, one of only two players in franchise history to be a part of three playoff seasons (2007, 2009 and 2018). Wilin Rosario, whose 28 home runs as a primary backstop in 2012 were followed by a 21-homer campaign. Then there’s the Díaz, the 2023 All-Star Game MVP.
As we approach the midway point in 2025, Goodman is making his mark offensively and on pace to set every hitting record for a catcher during 33 years of Rockies baseball.
“I’ve seen a guy who’s gotten a lot more comfortable and confident in what he’s doing at the big league level,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said of Goodman.
Rookie Braxton Fulford was Goodman’s first roommate in the minors when the two were drafted in the fourth and sixth rounds, respectively, in 2021.
“One thing that I really noticed this year is his ability to minimize the strikeouts, and if he’s late in the count or something, he’s going to put the ball in play,” Fulford said. “Versus in the past, he might have maintained a big swing that led to a strikeout. So I think that’s something that’s been huge for him.”
While Goodman is walking less than 5.0% of the time, his strikeout percentage has dropped in each of his last two seasons in the Majors.
“I feel like I’m getting up to the box with a lot of confidence, and I’ve been able to stay calm and just go up there and keep that same approach I’ve had all year,” Goodman said of his success. “I’m able to kind of just go up there and be me this year.”
The University of Memphis produced is an easy favorite to join Rosario and Charles Johnson as the only primary catchers to hit 20 or more home runs with Colorado. His team-leading 14 home runs through the first 73 games put him on pace to surpass Rosario’s club record of 28 home runs in 2012.
Goodman has already matched Rosario with 11 home runs away from Coors Field, a standard set by the Baby Bull in 2013. In terms of most multi-homer games by a starting catcher, Goodman has that franchise record with four such performances. One more this year and he’ll have the single-season mark as well.
Better As A Backstop
When manager Bud Black wrote out his Opening Day roster on March 28 in Tampa Bay, Kris Bryant was hitting cleanup as the designated hitter, and Jacob Stallings was on the bench as the backup catcher.
On June 18, all three guys are no longer contributing to the club. Bryant is on the 60-day injured list for lumbar degenerative disc disease, and both Black and Stallings have been relieved of their duties with Colorado.
The moves lined up favorably for Goodman, who was battling with the club’s top catching prospect, Drew Romo, only a few months prior during Spring Training. The 25-year-old Goodman has started at catcher 41 times this season and has served as the DH in 26 contests. Those 71 games played have him tied with Ryan McMahon for the most on the roster.
And he’s tied with Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners for most games by a primary catcher.
Another thing Goodman has in common with Raleigh: both perform better at the plate when they’re playing behind the plate.
“I see a guy who’s finally got an opportunity to catch every day – which historically in the minor leagues, he’s always hit better when he’s caught,” Schaeffer said. “It all comes back to being relaxed. That’s the main thing. He’s playing with freedom.”
His batting average is nearly a hundred points higher, and his OPS is .967 compared to .670 on days when he’s the designated hitter. For Raleigh, his OPS is double when he’s behind the plate than when he’s waiting around for his turn at the plate.
The Rapid Rise
Goodman hit 21 home runs with the Tigers his junior year. He played well during his first taste of professional baseball in the Arizona Complex League in 2021.
His first full season saw him promoted twice and finish at Double-A thanks to an organization-leading 36 home runs. Then came 34 home runs at Double-A and Triple-A before he made his big league debut at Camden Yards. Goodman batted sixth and played first base.
That advancement through the minors came because his bat was ready, even though his glove was ever-changing. Reports on his catching defense were sub-par, so a move to first base and right field became a workaround for moving him to the next level.
Such daily changes are no longer a part of his pre-game routine.
“It’s been nice being able to catch full time now and that be my only position I’m playing,” Goodman shared. “I think that’s helped a lot defensively, but also I think it’s helped a lot offensively, not having to worry about, ‘I need to go get reps in the outfield today. I need to go get ground balls today.’ I don’t have to worry about that stuff as much. I can just kind of be free and go play baseball.”
The ripple effect of the new manager – a younger manager, the second-youngest in MLB – meant more willingness to give more opportunities to less seasoned players. When Stallings was given his unconditional release, Fulford was promoted.
It’s Fulford who starts at catcher when Goodman serves as the DH. Fulford, 26, witnessed the challenge Goodman faced as a catcher whose glove trailed his bat. It’s largely been the opposite for the Texas Tech product.
“As we’ve come up, we’ve each grown in the other aspects of the game a lot,” Fulford said. “You see him catching back there, doing a good job. So I think we are a yin and yang, but we also learn from each other and grow in those areas.”
2025 All-Star Game
Entering Wednesday, Goodman leads all Major League catchers in hits (76) and triples (3) while leading all NL catchers in home runs (14), doubles (16), RBI (46), extra-base hits (33), total bases (141) and slugging percentage (.522).
Growing up in Arlington, TN just 30 minutes outside the St. Louis Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, Goodman was inspired by Yadier Molina. The 10-time All-Star is revered around the sport despite having fallen short of many offensive milestones.
Even if Goodman may never chase Molina’s four Platinum Glove Awards, he could be on his way to his first Midsummer Classic.
Monday’s early voting results had Goodman fifth in the NL. Home runs in back-to-back contests in Washington, D.C. helped lift the Rockies to a three-game win streak, plus a 7-7 record dating back to his breakout on June 2.
Goodman went 7-for-13 with two doubles, one triple, three home runs and five RBI in Colorado’s three-game sweep over the Miami Marlins. In doing so, he became the first primary catcher with such a stat line in a series since Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk during a five-game series for the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 5-8, 1977.
“I just see a guy that’s getting more confident as he goes, and being more confident behind the plate, leading his pitchers. Game calling, I know the pitchers love throwing, which is a testament,” Schaeffer said. “All positive things for Goody.”
Written by