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Baltimore Orioles Catcher Adley Rutschman Breaks Impressive MLB Record

Adley Rutschman hit a single and a double against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, bringing the Baltimore Orioles catcher up to 654 total bases through his first three MLB seasons.

Sam Connon

Sep 19, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) drives in a run on his fourth inning double against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Sep 19, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) drives in a run on his fourth inning double against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
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Adley Rutschman may be in the midst of a brutal second-half slump, but he still managed to make history at the plate on Saturday.

Rutschman went 2-for-6 with a single and a double against the Minnesota Twins, scoring a run and recording two RBI as the Orioles went on to win 9-2. Those marked his first RBI in seven games, though, and he is still batting just .208 since Sept. 6 and .195 since June 22.

The 26-year-old catcher is rounding out his third season in the big leagues, batting .252 with 19 home runs, 79 RBI, a .713 OPS and 3.5 WAR on the whole in 2024. Rutschman was the AL Rookie of the Year runner up in 2022 and a Silver Slugger in 2023, so there is plenty of production to suggest his second half of 2024 is merely a fluke.

After all, Rutschman has 52 home runs, 87 doubles, three triples, 201 RBI and a 13.2 WAR through his so far in his career, placing him in the upper echelon of young big league backstops. According TSN's StatsCentre, the 654 total bases that Rutschman has racked up to this point are the most by a primary catcher through three seasons in MLB history.

The previous record belonged to Russell Martin, who had 653 total bases in his first three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like Rutschman, Martin was a two-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger by the age of 26.

Next up on the all-time leaderboards are Jason Kendall, Kenji Johjima, Mickey Cochrane, Brian McCann, Mike Piazza and Matt Wieters. Cochrane and Piazza are Hall of Famers, while McCann is expected to hit the ballot for the first time this winter.

Rutschman has one more chance to extend his record, with the Orioles set to close out their regular season slate against the Twins at 3:10 p.m. ET on Sunday. From there, Baltimore will set its sights on the AL Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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