All-Decade Team: Catcher

NOTE: Thought I had published this two weeks ago, but did not. Better late than never, I guess.

Former Wild Things manager John Massarelli was a catcher in the minor leagues. So was ex-manager Darin Everson. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the Wild Things have put a emphasis on the position when building their teams.

Catcher was one of the Wild Things' strengths during the franchise's first 7 1/2 seasons. Things started going sour after Kris Rochelle left the team midway through the 2009 seasons, but overall Washington has been much better at catcher for a 10-year period than almost all the other Frontier League franchises.

Some years, such as in 2005 with Randy McGarvey and Pat O'Brien and 2007 with O'brien and Mario Garza, the Wild Things had a nice platoon situation at catcher. Others years, they went with just one primary catcher. When Massarelli was the manager, you could his influence on the catchers. He would often have them on the field prior to batting practice working on blocking pitches and even blocking home plate. Mazz kept a large foam dummy in his office that was called "Johnny Baserunner." The dummy/pad was used when teaching the catchers how to protect themselves during a collision and how to block the plate.

But when choosing the Wild Things' all-decade catcher, I have to go with a guy who played for a manager who no catching background.

Shaun Argento was the Wild Things' catcher during their first season in 2002. He played for manager Jeff Isom, who was a former pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates' system.

One of four holdovers from the Canton Crocodilles franchise that was sold and moved to Washington, Argento had already made his mark in the Frontier League, having been named to the league's 10th anniversary team. However, 2002 was Argento's best.

Argento finished third in the league with a .352 batting average in his only season in Washington. He also was second in triples with five, which is amazing considering he was a catcher. Argento hit 20 doubles, five home runs, drove in 62 runs and even stole 10 bases. A former Atlanta Braves farmhand, Argento was the leader – both on the field and in the locker room – of the 2002 team.

Argento landed a spot on the FL's postseason all-star team in 2002. Though the league doesn't release such information, I'd be surprised if Argento didn't finish second to Richmond's Phil Willingham in the MVP voting. He was that important to the Wild Things' success.

A good defensive catcher, Argento called the first no-hitter in Wild Things history, thrown by Jason Hickman at Kalamazoo. It was the third time a no-hitter was thrown in the Frontier League while Argento was behind home plate. Argento also was the best of the Wild Things' catchers at picking runners off first base.

Perhaps the best game Argento played was one at home against Johnstown Aug. 6, 2002. he hit a two-run homer early int he game, picked a Johnnies runner off first base int he sixth inning, and then picked another runner off third base in the seventh.

Unfortunately, the Wild Things' chances of winning the league championship took a huge hit only 17 days later when Argento broke a thumb while sliding into third base during a game at Chillicothe. It was a season-ending injury.

With Argento gaining on spot on the roster, the next question is, who is the backup catcher?

All-Decade Team Catcher: Shaun Argento (2002)