Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers

	In 2004 Mike Piazza's 23,381,226 career All-Star votes passed Carlton Fisk's 22,710,613 to take 1st Place for Catchers. Thru 2006 Piazza has amassed 26,037,412 votes.
	Benito Santiago holds the "catcher record" for the longest span between appearances in All-Star games with 10 years (1992 & 2002).
	In the 2000 ASG it was the first time that catchers led both leagues in fan polling. Ivan Rodriguez (TEX-A) received 2,808,456 votes and Mike Piazza (NY-N) received 2,780,452 votes, which were the most votes cast for any player in either league. Mike Piazza had previously won top N.L. honors in 1996 & 1997 when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
	The 2000 ASG saw the very first American League catcher win the most votes for any player, when Ivan Rodriguez (TEX-A) received 2,808,456 votes to outpace 111 other A.L. players.
	Ivan Rodriguez was the youngest catcher to start an All-Star Game when he was voted to start in 1993. Pudge was 21 years old at the time (born in November 1971). He had been previously named as an alternate the year before in 1992. Rick Ferrell is the oldest catcher to start when he played in 1945 at age 40. The oldest to play in an ASG was Carlton Fisk, whose last appearance was in 1991 at age 44.
	In the 1981 and 1984 All-Star games Gary Carter was named as the Most Valuable Player. In 1981, Carter's fourth appearance at an ASG, he knocked two home runs to tie an ASG record held by four other players (Arky Vaughn, Ted Williams, Al Rosen, & Willie McCovey).
	There have been 128 different catchers selected/named to the All-Star squads from 1933-2008. Yogi Berra holds the catcher record by being on 15 All-Star teams.
	Five catchers have been All-Stars in BOTH leagues: John Roseboro, Ted Simmons, Lance Parrish, Bo Diaz, and Terry Kennedy. John Roseboro was the first when he appeared for the American League in 1969 after having represented the National League in 1958, 61 and 62.
	The only player to have hit a home run in his very first at-bat and his very first All-Star Game at-bat was catcher Terry Steinbach (MIN-A), which he did on Sep 12, 1986 and Jul 12, 1988.
	Mickey Owen was the first catcher to hit a home run in an All-Star game, which he did as a pinch hitter on July 6, 1942 in the 9th ASG. Owen was named as an alternate catcher in this ASG.
	Sandy Alomar Jr. holds the catcher record with a .417 ASG Batting Average (ten or more at-bats) and Gary Carter holds top honors in the Production category (On-Base-Percentage + Slugging Average) with 1.114. The most career ASG Walks issued to a catcher have been to Bill Dickey with 4.
	Two players hold the distinction of having been selected to an ASG as a catcher and subsequently selected for another position and they are: Joe Torre (3B) and Craig Biggio (2B).

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