All-Decade Team: Reserve

Left-handed hitting catchers are a rare breed. They're hard to find, which is why they are a coveted commodity in professional baseball. When you find a good one, you try to keep the guy around as long as possible.

So when a team has a left-handed hitting catcher who also happens to be the best defensive player in the league at his position, such as the Wild Things had for two years in Randy McGarvey, you feel like you've struck gold.

McGarvey was simply the best defensive catcher the Wild Things have had, which is saying volumes when you consider the defensive exploits and pitch-calling ability of Shaun Argento. McGarvey was a pitcher's dream -- nothing got past him and his throwing arm was strong, quick and accurate. He shut down an opponent's running game simply by being in the lineup.

When you add in that McGarvey was a capable hitter for the two years he was in Washington, you understand why he gets a spot as a reserve on this guy's Wild Things All-Decade Team. McGarvey is the 21st player selected on the 24-man roster.

McGarvey joined the Wild Things in 2004 after two seasons in the Houston Astros' system. He was one in a long line of former Coastal Carolina University standouts to play for the Wild Things.

The left-handed hitting McGarvey batted .223 in his first season with Washington, then saw a spike in his offensive production in 2005, when he batted .306 and had an eye-popping .428 on-base percentage.

Meanwhile, McGarvey was rock solid behind the plate. He threw out more than 30 percent of the basestealers who dared to run on him. In 2005, he led all catchers in fielding percentage. He committed only three errors in two seasons.

While there were a few catchers who threw out a better percentage of baserunners than McGarvey, none impacted the game like the big red head. Only the league's premiere basetealers even attempted to test McGarvey's arm.

After his two seasons in Washington, McGarvey played for the Atlantic League's Camden Riversharks for three years. In 2007, he batted a career-high .355 in 89 games.

All-Decade Team Reserve: Randy McGarvey (2004-05)