Sandy Leon. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon's no offensive juggernaut. He went deep last night, but he's batting .211 this year and .236 all-time.
But, who cares?
We're used to hearing ace Chris Sale gush over Leon. They've worked together 47 times. He never shakes him off, and has a career-best 2.40 ERA with him behind the plate.
Rick Porcello's in the fan club, too. He grabbed a share of the MLB lead with his 15th win last night in Philadelphia and, of the 13 catchers he's partnered with in the bigs, the righty called Leon the best.
"No disrespect to any other catcher that I've thrown to, but he's the best catcher that I've thrown to," Porcello said. "His game-calling--he's prepared for every start for every pitcher, starting or bullpen. He's kind of the heartbeat of our pitching staff. We rely on him a lot. He's always on point. He always knows what pitches to throw, give guys different looks. He's as good as it gets as a game-caller and a catcher."
Porcello has a 4.10 ERA in 70 starts throwing to Leon--his best ERA among partners he's worked with at least 15 times.
Leon's catcher's ERA is 3.01--among the best in baseball. The Sox are 28-2 in Leon's last 30 starts.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports