List of Major League Baseball career fielding errors as a catcher leaders

Pop Snyder, the all-time leader in fielding errors by a catcher

In baseball statistics, an error is an act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to advance one or more bases or allows an at bat to continue after the batter should have been put out. The catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to these primary duties, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the catcher is assigned the number 2.

The list of career leaders is dominated by players from the 19th century, when fielding equipment was very rudimentary; baseball gloves only began to steadily gain acceptance in the 1880s, and were not uniformly worn until the mid-1890s, resulting in a much lower frequency of defensive miscues. Other protective equipment for catchers was also gradually introduced; the first masks were developed in the late 1870s, with improvements in the 1890s, but shin guards were not introduced to the major leagues until 1907. The top 15 players in career errors all played primarily in the 19th century, and half of the top 52 played their entire careers prior to 1894; only five were active after 1920, and none were active after 1931. To a large extent, the leaders reflect longevity rather than lower skill; of the six catchers in the top 100 who were active after 1960, most were winners of Gold Glove Awards; Bob Boone, who leads all post-1931 catchers with 178 errors, won seven Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence.

Pop Snyder, who retired in 1891 with a record 877 games as a catcher, is the all-time leader in career fielding errors by a catcher with 685, nearly four times as many as any catcher who began their career after 1915. Deacon McGuire, who ended his career in 1912 with a record 1,612 games caught, is second with 577, and is the only other catcher to commit more than 500 errors. Yadier Molina, who had 80 errors through the 2021 season to place him tied for 210th all-time, is the leader among active players.

Key

Rank	Rank amongst leaders in career errors committed. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player	Name of player
E as C	Total career errors committed as a catcher
*	Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame

List

King Kelly, 10th all-time in fielding errors by a catcher despite playing over 60% of his career at other positions.

Rank	Player	E as C
1	Pop Snyder	685
2	Deacon McGuire	577
3	Silver Flint	456
4	Doc Bushong	412
	Wilbert Robinson *	412
6	Deacon White *	399
7	Jack Clements	394
8	Bill Holbert	393
9	Charlie Bennett	379
10	King Kelly *	368
11	Duke Farrell	366
12	John Clapp	364
13	Nat Hicks	352
14	Chief Zimmer	328
15	Buck Ewing *	322
16	Red Dooin	320
17	Jocko Milligan	304
18	Kid Baldwin	302
19	Barney Gilligan	299
20	Doggie Miller	285
21	Con Daily	283
22	Connie Mack *	281
23	Malachi Kittridge	264
24	Lew Brown	245
25	Emil Gross	242
26	Jack Boyle	237
27	Pop Schriver	235
28	Ivey Wingo	234
29	Fred Carroll	231
30	Charlie Ganzel	229
	Oscar Stanage	229
32	Doug Allison	225
33	Bob Clark	223
	Wally Schang	223
35	Steve O'Neill	217
36	Sam Trott	211
	Farmer Vaughn	211
38	Johnny Kling	210
39	Jack Warner	205
40	Fatty Briody	204
41	Dick Buckley	198
42	Jimmy Peoples	197
43	George Myers	195
	Charlie Reipschlager	195
45	Eddie Ainsmith	195
46	Boileryard Clarke	190
47	Jim Keenan	187
	Heinie Peitz	187
49	Pat Deasley	186
50	Frank Bowerman	185

Rank	Player	E as C
51	Jack O'Brien	183
52	Scott Hastings	182
53	Bob Boone	178
54	Jack O'Connor	177
55	Morgan Murphy	175
	Ray Schalk *	175
57	Lou Criger	170
58	Rudy Kemmler	169
59	Fergy Malone	168
60	Roger Bresnahan *	167
61	Paul Cook	166
	Ossee Schreckengost	166
	Joe Sugden	166
64	Tom Kinslow	163
65	Bill Bergen	161
66	John Grim	158
67	Dick Higham	157
68	Carlton Fisk *	155
69	Rollie Hemsley	154
	Jack Ryan	154
71	George Gibson	153
72	Benito Santiago	151
	Ed Whiting	151
74	Bill Rariden	150
	Luke Sewell	150
76	Tom Daly	148
	Bill Killefer	148
	Gus Mancuso	148
	Jack Rowe	148
	Billy Sullivan	148
81	Jim Donahue	146
	Chief Meyers	146
83	Bill Harbridge	145
84	Jason Kendall	144
	Ed McFarland	144
86	Mert Hackett	143
	Ernie Lombardi *	143
88	Iván Rodríguez *	142
89	Gabby Hartnett *	139
90	Walker Cooper	138
	Lave Cross	138
	Ed Sweeney	138
93	Jimmie Wilson	136
94	Rick Ferrell *	135
	Otto Miller	135
96	Darrell Porter	134
97	John Kelly	133
	Andy Seminick	133
99	Sam Agnew	132
	Mike Grady	132

Other Hall of Famers

Player	E
Ted Simmons *	130
Mike Piazza *	124
Al López *	122
Gary Carter *	121
Jim O'Rourke *	116
Mickey Cochrane *	111
Yogi Berra *	110
Bill Dickey *	108
Johnny Bench *	97
Roy Campanella *	94 (includes incomplete Negro league totals)
Biz Mackey *	74 (includes incomplete Negro league totals)
Joe Torre *	56
Josh Gibson *	35 (includes incomplete Negro league totals)
Craig Biggio *	30
Joe Mauer *	30
Jimmie Foxx *	5
Louis Santop *	5 (includes incomplete Negro league totals)

References

Baseball-Reference.com