Bernie, your post drew me to the Bill James' list. No argument on McCarver's placement. But what a mistake at the very top -- Yogi Berra #1 instead of Johnny Bench?
The two actually played a remarkably similar number of games, and had strikingly similar offensive statistics. Bench had a few more home runs. Berra had a slightly high career batting average. They had roughly the same number of hits and RBI.
But Bench was far and away the better defensive catcher. I don't think there is even an argument there.
It's because of that that Bench's WAR -
Wins Above Replacement - is a stratospheric
75 while Berra's is also very good -
59 - but not on the same level.
Berra has a clear edge in one category - he was on more World Series champions. It pays to start your career on a team when Joe DiMaggio is still the league MVP and end it on a team when Mickey Mantle is still near his prime. That said, Bench was an MVP-level player on the greatest National League team of all time, so his career was pretty extraordinary.
Sad that even a number-cruncher like James got sucked into the New York City hype, where every player, no matter how good, was always believed to be even better.
Here's a better list, though, through no fault of their own, I don't think you can accurately and honestly rate Negro League players.
Who are the greatest catchers in MLB history? We count down the top 10 on All-Time #MLBRank.
www.espn.com