Pro Perspective: Ron Hodges

Team

• New York Mets, 1973 – 1984

I'm sad to report that Ron Hodges passed away on November 24, 2023. The below post was originally written in 2019. RIP Mr. Hodges

From Virginia to the Big Apple

Ron Hodges was born on June 22, 1949 in Rocky Mount, VA. Rocky Mount is a small town in the southwest part of the state, not far from the beautiful Smith Mountain Lake.

He was a standout pitcher and catcher in high school, and ended up going to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC to play college ball. Ron was actually drafted three different times (1970, 1971, 1972) before finally signing with the New York Mets in January of 1972.

Ron started his professional career playing for the Pompano Beach Mets, a class A minor league team. He eventually got called up to AA to play for the Memphis Blues.

After roughly a season in a half in the minors, then Mets Manager Yogi Berra called Hodges up to the big leagues on June 13, 1973. He made his debut that day at Shea Stadium in a game against the San Francisco Giants, catching Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in his debut. Hodges went 1 for 3 in his debut.

Mets Lifer

Hodges would go on to spend the 1973 through the 1984 seasons in the big leagues with the Mets (including the occasional stop in the minors). In doing so, he became one of those rare players with 10 or more years of MLB experience who only played for one team.

Interesting fact, in his rookie season Hodges appeared in the 1973 World Series for the Mets against the Oakland A’s. In his only plate appearance, he drew a walk – meaning he has a perfect on base percentage in the World Series!

Over the course of his career with the Mets, Hodges mostly served as a backup catcher and pinch hitter. He played for some very good Mets teams (1973) and some very bad Mets teams (1977), yet through it all he remained a steady presence for fans at Shea Stadium.

In his 12 MLB seasons Hodges collected 1,426 at bats, 19 home runs, a .240 batting average and an on base percentage of .342. He threw out 144 would be base stealers and collected 10 pick offs from behind the dish.

Q&A with Ron Hodges

Ron is a former big league catcher with 12 years of MLB experience under his belt. He has played for or with multiple Baseball legends, including Yogi Berra, Tom Seaver and Willie Mays.

I wrote Ron a few weeks back wanting to get his feedback on my questions for catchers. He kindly replied to my questions, as shown below.

Like the others in this Pro Perspective series, I wanted to share Ron’s responses with readers in the hope that his perspective will benefit catchers looking to improve their game. 

Here are Ron’s responses to my questions, as you can also see in the image below.

Question 1: What is your favorite memory from playing in the Major Leagues?

Answer: Playing in the 1973 Sept. pennant drive. Winning 22 – 9 to win the NL East.

Question 2: What do you think is the most important skill that a catcher should have?

Answer: Being able to catch all types of pitches. Throwing accurately and quickly.

Question 3: If you could give one piece of advice to young catchers hoping to play at the next level, what would it be?

Answer: Practice a lot, play whenever you can.

The ability to catch multiple types of pitches is important – especially as you move up levels – although it is not a response we commonly receive to the most important skill question.

In general, Ron provides solid, practical advice for young catchers to consider. Remember, this is coming from a guy that worked hard enough to stay in the big leagues for 12 seasons, so he knows what he’s talking about!

Thank You for Reading

We have a few more Pro Perspectives in the works, which will be published soon. Stay on the lookout for them!

And as always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions.