Anthony Recker: Former Mets Backup Catcher (2013 - 2015)

Anthony Vito Recker was born on August 29th in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The six-foot tow catcher attended Alvernia College at Reading, Pa. 

Anthony was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 18th round of the 2005 amateur draft.

In the late 2000's Recker made a pact with a friend, that he would join the FBI if his career didn't go anywhere soon. Recker played in the minors for seven years before getting an MLB call up & actually considered retirement from the game to join the FBI.

In 2007 he did show some power in A ball hitting 15 plus HRs then matching that total two years later at AAA Sacramento (12 HRs) & AA Midland (2 HRs). 

In 2011 at AAA Sacramento, he had his best year hitting .288 with 16 HRs & 48 RBIs, finally getting called up to the big leagues.

MLB Career: On August 25th, Recker debuted with the Oakland A's, catching behind the plate in a four & half hour, 22-9 loss in New York. Recker played in five games the rest of the season hitting .176.

In 2012 he began the year with Oakland in hopes of making it as backup catcher, but he hit just .129 through late May & was sent back down to the minors. In August he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Blake Lalli. 

In October he was placed on waivers & picked up by the New York Mets.

Mets Career: Recker was picked up to fill in as a backup catcher behind the newly acquired, veteran John Buck. Buck was to take the catching duties until Travis d'arnaud was ready to get to the big leagues full time.

On April 7th, Recker made his Mets debut, getting a start behind the plate at Citi Field in a 4-3 Mets win over the Miami Marlins. In the 5th inning he doubled to bring in Ruben Tejada for his first Mets hit & RBI.

On May 10th he hit his first career HR, coming at Citi Field off the Pirates Wandy Rodriguez in a 7-3 loss.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On June 5th in Washington, Recker had a big two hit, multi-three RBI game in a 10-1 Mets win over the Nat's. Recker first collected a 5th inning two-run single off Craig Stammen with the bases loaded, giving the Mets a 7-1 lead. Then in the 7th inning, he doubled home Marlon Byrd making it 8-1.

On June 18th he got the call to catch Zack Wheeler in his much-anticipated MLB debut at Atlanta. Wheeler struck out seven, allowed no runs on four hits while earning the win, in his home state.

Pitching Debut: On June 30th Recker pitched the 9th inning of a Mets 13-2 win over the Washington Nationals, to help out a tired bullpen.

From late June to early July, although Recker was only batting .157, he got more playing time.  

HRs In Back-to-Back Games: On July 2nd at Citi Field, Recker hit a 5th inning HR off Arizona's Patrick Corbin for one of two hits& two RBIs in the 9-1 win. In his next game, he homered off Heath Bell in a 5-4 loss.

On July 9th in San Francisco, Recker homered off Barry Zito helping the Mets in a 10-6 win as they took three games from the reigning World series Champs. 

On August 8th, his 4th inning sac fly scored Marlon Byrd in what turned out to be the games 2-1 winning run over the Arizona D-backs.

At the end of August, the Mets traded away John Buck & Travis d'arnaud was brought up to be the main catcher. Recker would serve as his backup catcher. 

In 50 games Recker hit .215 with six HRs seven doubles & 19 RBIs. He posted a .280 on base % & .680 OPS. Behind the plate he has thrown out 21% of would-be base stealers & posted a .990 fielding %.

2014: The Mets were confident enough to go into 2014 with youngsters; Recker & Travis d'arnaud as their two main catchers.

Multi- Three RBI Game: On April 12th, Recker came to bat in the top of the 13th inning of a 6-6 tie & hit a HR off the Angels Matt Shoemaker. It proved to be the games winning in the 7-6 win at Anaheim.  Earlier in the game Recker had a two-run single as well. 

Recker hit two HRs in April then would not hit another until July 6th. For a brief period, he was given the main job as Travis d'arnaud was sent down to fine tune his skills.

Over the next two months, Recker had multiple RBI games, against the Rockies & Giants on the road. 

On July 6th, he hit a three-run HR off the Texas Rangers Nick Tepech in a 8-4 Mets win at Citi Field. 

On August 11th, with the Mets down to the Phillies 2-1 in the 7th inning, Matt den Dekker doubled to tie up the game at Citizen's Bank Park. Two batters later, Recker followed with a three run HR off Justin DeFratus, giving the Mets a 5-2 lead & the win. 

From August 31st to September 11th, Recker started three games at catcher & would hit HRs in all three. On August 31st, Recker hit his third three run HR of the season. It came off the Phillies A.J. Burnett leading New York to a 6-5 win over Philadelphia. On September 7th he blasted a two-run shot off the Reds Mat Latos in a 4-3 Mets win at Cincinnati. On September 11th, the third straight HR game, he hit a solo shot off the Nat's Tanner Roark.

Three Hit Three RBI Game: On September 21st, Recker had a three hit, three RBI game in a
10-2 win in Atlanta. Recker hit a two-run double, RBI sac fly & two singles.

In 58 games he hit 7 HRs with nine doubles & 27 RBIs batting just .201. Behind the plate he played a fine defense in the backup role, throwing out 37% of would-be base stealers & posting a .998 fielding %. 

2015 Mets Pennant Season: In 2015 Recker began the year as Travis d'Arnaud's backup. When d'Arnaud went down with injury, the Mets promoted Kevin Plawecki instead of giving Recker the job.

Multi HR Game: On May 14th, Recker hit two HRs off the Cubs Travis Wood at Wrigley Field, driving in four runs of the Mets 5-4 loss.

After 19 games in mid-June, he was batting just .143 & was optioned to AAA Las Vegas. 

In 18 games at AAA Las Vegas, Anthony hit 7 HRs while batting .292 winning a Pacific Coast League Player of the Week Award.

He returned to the Mets in on July 20th & would remain on the team, thru the pennant race & the rest of the regular season. 

Recker collected RBIs in wins at Colorado & at home against Boston but was mostly used in defensive situations.

Recker finished up batting .125 with 2 HRs & five RBIs in 32 games. He was in 28 games at catcher, allowing 10 stolen bases in 15 attempts. 

2015 Post Season: He did not play in the post season.

In November 2015 he was granted free agency & signed with the Cleveland Indians. 

Post Mets Career: Anthony played Spring Training with Cleveland but was traded to the Atlanta Braves that May. He started out at AAA but got promoted after an injury to Braves catcher Tyler Flowers. In 33 games he batted .278 with 2 HRs 15 RBIs.

In 2017 he was one of the last two players to make the opening day roster. He played in just six games but by the end of April he was demoted.

In July he was traded to the Minnesota Twins but was outrighted to the minors a week later. 

In March of 2018 he got a chance with the Arizona Diamondbacks, playing at their AAA Reno club. He was granted free agency in November 2018.

In his seven-year career, Recker played in 206 games, he batted .199 with 110 hits 28 doubles 18 HRs & 70 RBIs with a .283 on base % & .630 OPS.

Behind the plate, he caught 172 games (140 with the Mets) throwing out 26% of would-be base stealers, posting a .990 fielding %. 

Family: In 2013 Anthony married Kelly Shepardson. Together they have two children.

Broadcasting Career: Recker has done work for SNY Network, working in the booth with Gary Cohen, Keith & Ron. He has also done work with MLB network & Roku baseball broadcasts.