Bruce Benedict talks about former teammate Biff Pocoroba

Bill Shanks asked former Braves catcher Bruce Benedict to talk about his former teammate, Biff Pocoroba, who died earlier this week

Biff Pocoroba died Sunday at the age of 66. Pocoroba spent parts of 10 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, from 1975 through 1984.

Blessed with one of the best names in Braves and baseball history, Pocoroba made is MLB debut on April 25, 1975 at the age of 21. Pocoroba hit .255 in his rookie season, with one home runs and 22 RBI.

Two years later, Pocoroba became the main catcher for the Braves. He hit .290 with a .394 on base percentage, eight home runs and 44 RBI. The next season, Pocoroba started off as the main catcher for the Braves and made the All-Star team, but then he got hurt in early August and missed the rest of the season.

Pocoroba’s shoulder injury was severe, and he never got his starting job back. He played in only 28 games in 1979 and then only had 96 plate appearances in 1980. In 1981, the Braves actually had Pocoroba start 20 games at third base when Bob Horner was injured.

Since he was a switch-hitter, Pocoroba really became Atlanta’s main pinch-hitter and emergency catcher. He had 208 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter in his career, with a .210 career average and a .320 OBP.

After the injury in 1978, Pocoroba caught only 96 games from 1979 through 1984.

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