How much do MLB bullpen catchers make?

by Fred Hofstetter on December 15, 2020

Let’s take a crack at estimating the average major league bullpen catcher salary. Then daydream about becoming one.

Bullpen catchers are workhorses. Photo via Flickr.

After scrupulous internet research of official and unofficial sources, incorporating the rate of inflation, economic trends, and everything besides the annual W-2s of actual bullpen catchers, I’d estimate professional major league bullpen catchers make somewhere between $60,000-$110,000 per year.

Estimates for how much money bullpen catchers make varies rather widely, and the most cited sources are a few years old now:

• Fangraphs estimates $90,000/year on average in a 2016 article—an oft-cited number you’ll see referenced everywhere.
• A 2018 article from Career Trend estimates a range of $30,000-$60,000.
• If this was a Responsible Accredited Baseball Blog trusting only the most unquestioningly reputable governmental resources, I might say something like: According to 2019 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), coaches and scouts earn an average salary of $44,910 per year. The top 10% of earners can earn $78,890 per year or higher.
• It’s worth noting the job can come with perks directly affecting a bullpen coach’s bottom line, like a daily per diem for days on the road (players get $30 a day but I’m not sure if this applies for coaches as well).

Disclaimer: if you are a bullpen catcher wondering if you deserve a raise, please don’t reference this. I’m guessing based on the information available. There aren’t enough professional bullpen catchers out there to justify a dedicated BLS category.

If you are reading this and are laughing about how wildly off base this is, please contact me directly and set the record straight.

The minor league bullpen catchers out there are probably chuckling at the idea of making a living as a college, AA or AAA bullpen catcher. Without looking I’m sure that’s a pipedream. In the minor leagues you are paid in character more than anything else. And I’m not sure how much that counts for.

Solid paycheck for a dream job, right?

• Yes, it’s a dream job. You get to catch the best pitchers in the world every day and actually play a role in how they perform. You can give them tips (whether they listen to you or not). You are surrounded by greatness. You have dozens of awesome stories you can tell for the rest of your life to friends and family who will gaze at you in awe. You can become a cult hero for a passionate fanbase. You get to travel with the team all over the country. Every day you wake up, play baseball, and go to bed. Then you wake up and go play baseball again.
• Not so fast. It’s a cool job, but it’s not the best Your duties are hard labor. The days are long, especially in spring training. You throw like crazy. You have to wear catcher’s gear all the time. And crouch a lot. You have to handle minutiae like sorting scuffed balls or rubbing mud into balls for pitchers. The idea of catching Aroldis Chapman every day sounds awesome, but the novelty wears off quick and eventually your glove hand is battered and bloody, and you can’t lift your throwing arm past your shoulder.

Certainly even the minimum $60,000 a year pulled in by the low end of my range is making a good living compared to the average living human. But there’s little glamor in the job other than an interview for an obscure blog or townie newspaper once a year or so.

Hats off to the hard-working bullpen catchers across MLB

How do you get a job as a bullpen catcher?

Bullpen catchers, like Alex Andreopoulos, are typically former catchers who may or may not have ever reached the big leagues. You have to be competent behind home plate, and experienced enough to earn the respect of big league pitchers who aren’t going to take just any schmuck seriously.

Your best bet is to sign a minor league contract, toil in the minors making minimum wage or less for a few years, get really good but not good enough for the major leagues then eventually take a job as bullpen catcher after your final spring training as a pro catcher in your mid-30s.

You can potentially boost your job security by casually barehanding home run balls or reach meme celebrity status by dancing to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”:

Bullpen catchers aren’t there to frame pitches, the greats keep everyone loose
pic.twitter.com/9x9ZujJVCv

— Starting 9 (@Starting9) June 6, 2019

Good luck finding job openings on Indeed or something. Or trying to find bullpen catcher tryouts. Unless you’re looking for a job with an independent/minor league team. Spoilers: the money won’t be great. Hope you love it.

I’ll pass on the full-time gig. But I can’t help but dream a little about being part of a ballclub, even as grunt labor. Icing my swollen glove hand every night.