I mentioned this a while ago, but Olivo has also got a pretty impressive number of stolen bases (44 over 8 ML seasons) for a catcher.
Not exactly the stat most referred to by glib broadcasters or studious bloggers, but here's the funny thing. Every recent year, the leader has been either a certain future Hall-of-Famer or Miguel Olivo.
2010: Olivo, 6
2009: Olivo, 5
2008: Joe Mauer, 4
2007: Olivo, 4
2006: Pudge Rodriguez, 4; Mauer 4; Russel Martin, 4 (just ignore him)
2005: Pudge, 5
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I just thought this was info-taining. New minor-league signee Denny Bautista:
- August 31, 2003: Traded by the Florida Marlins with Don Levinski (minors) to the Baltimore Orioles for Jeff Conine.
- June 21, 2004: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Kansas City Royals for Jason Grimsley.
- July 31, 2006: Traded by the Kansas City Royals with Jeremy Affeldt to the Colorado Rockies for Scott Dohmann and Ryan Shealy.
- December 4, 2007: Traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Detroit Tigers for Jose Capellan.
- June 25, 2008: Traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Kyle Pearson (minors).
- December 12, 2008: Granted Free Agency.
- December 16, 2008: Signed as a Free Agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- October 27, 2009: Granted Free Agency.
- January 21, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Francisco Giants.
- October 12, 2010: Granted Free Agency.
- December 14, 2010: Signed as a Free Agent with the Seattle Mariners.
Wow.
Comments
Is that the first thing that scouts look for, technically, is how mobile a catcher is while in his crouch. They want to know how explosively he can get onto a bunt, how easily he can get his CG over into an outside curve that bounces.
At Olivo's age, he's still lighter on his feet than most 26-year-old catchers. That's why the Mariners referred to it, no doubt, and it is an indicator that Olivo has good mileage left on the odometer.