J.T. Realmuto’s rich wrestling roots helped him grow into a standout catcher
Mia Morrison Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto glanced around the visitors’ clubhouse at Nationals Park from his seat at a table in the middle of the room. Before a rare midseason game off, Realmuto estimated only four or five teammates knew about his athletic background and family who are considered a dynasty in their sport.
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Realmuto, 28, can trace his sports roots back to when he was 4, growing up in Oklahoma. His first sports love played out on a wrestling mat instead of a baseball diamond. Wrestling is a way of life in his family. It’s in his blood. Realmuto’s mother, Margaret Smith, is the oldest of 10 kids. Three of her brothers, Lee Roy, John and Pat, won NCAA wrestling titles at Oklahoma State, while the youngest brother, Mark, finished in the top five nationally three times.
“Not a lot of people know anything about who are the good wrestlers,” Realmuto told The Athletic. “(My uncle John) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and nobody in this room would even know his name. It’s its own community. But anybody who steps into a wrestling room would know who he was. It’s almost like you’re in your own little world over there. It’s a tight-knit community that not everybody is a part of, which kind of makes it intriguing in a sense. It’s pretty cool.”
Wrestling tournaments at home, featuring Realmuto and five cousins who were around his age, were the norm as a kid. Realmuto wrestled until he reached high school. At that point, his passion for baseball and football took over, and he started playing basketball with his friends around eighth grade. Realmuto knew he wouldn’t continue wrestling in college, and he needed to bulk up for the other sports; he could no longer afford to cut weight all the time.
“It was my life. I loved it because even when I wasn’t at wrestling practice or wrestling with my team, I was wrestling with my cousins in the living room,” Realmuto said. “I loved wrestling. It wasn’t anything I was forced to do. It was something I loved to do. I kind of grew out of it as I got older, but it was a lot of fun for me growing up. It was the first sport I really enjoyed before baseball.”
As baseball — his father Dave’s favorite sport — grew more important to Realmuto, so did his aspirations. Surrounded by successful athletes, he saw firsthand what it took to succeed at the highest levels. His uncle, John, won Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992.
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“At a young age, I was able to look up to him and say, ‘I can get to the big leagues, I can do this stuff,’” Realmuto said. “Look at him, he’s my uncle from Del City, Okla., and he’s on top of the world right now. Even if it wasn’t in wrestling, I could always look up to him — the way he was so successful in what he did — which helped me have the confidence in what I’m doing and that I could make it.”
Realmuto achieved his big-league dream and has progressed over the past five seasons to become the best all-around catcher in baseball. His standout defensive season culminated in a Gold Glove on Sunday, as he became the first Phillies catcher to receive the award in 20 years.
All the while, Realmuto’s wrestling roots have provided a foundation for his success behind the plate.
“It’s impacted me a lot. Growing up wrestling, if you’re not flexible, you’re going to become flexible,” Realmuto said. “If you’re not strong, you’re going to get strong, mentally and physically. You have to have really good footwork. In my opinion, wrestling builds everything you need to be a good athlete. … It helps you in all those aspects, which is why I think it’s helped me be a better athlete than most at my position.”
The Smith family wrestling dynasty traces back to Lee Roy Smith, and a schoolyard in Del City. It was there Lee Roy, now 61, took part in a school-sponsored program for fourth through sixth graders. A wrestling coach approached him on the playground one day, and asked if he would be interested in a takedown with another student.
“Before you know it, I take the guy down, as they’ve been observing me and thinking I have athletic skills, and I did,” Lee Roy Smith said. “All of a sudden, I had a bunch of friends, and they wanted me to come out for the team. It took off from there.”
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Lee Roy’s three younger brothers became wrestlers, too, and they collectively sparked another generation of wrestlers in their respective families. Three of Realmuto’s cousins have earned All-American honors at the Division I level, and his older brother, Tony, thrived at the University of Central Oklahoma, a Division II wrestling powerhouse where he also earned All-American honors in 2000.
Lee Roy remembers J.T. Realmuto possessed the necessary focus and work ethic to succeed on the mat. He fought strategically, and as a hybrid wrestler, relied on his strength and endurance, Lee Roy said. Realmuto showed maturity after defeats and setbacks. It was all part of getting better at wrestling, but also provided lessons he carried over into baseball. Talking about sports strategy and different scenarios is common in his family.
“A wrestling match is like a chess match going 100 miles an hour, you’ve got to make quick decisions,” said Lee Roy Smith, who’s the executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “You’re on automatic pilot, so your training is very, very important to preparing you to automatically do the things that are going to be effective. … (Realmuto) prepares himself for that.
“It has a lot to do with our family success in that we really just don’t leave it on the field. We tend to take it with us, and it’s part of life, you know? As a result, we’re putting in overtime.”
John Smith, 54, has led Oklahoma State to five national titles since taking over as the head wrestling coach in 1991. Realmuto’s competitiveness as a kid stood out to John. Realmuto didn’t like to lose, but learned how to handle it.
“What it does for athletes in other sports (like J.T.), I think once you’ve wrestled, you’ve probably done the toughest sport there is to do as far as the demands of it,” John Smith said. “It’s one-on-one and it’s not easy.
“If he would have stayed with it all the way through, he could have been wrestling in college. He could have been that good. … I’ve always felt like if I can keep this guy in wrestling, he can win two national championships for me. I kind of failed at that,” he said, while laughing.
An exchange with Realmuto four years ago left an impression on former Marlins catching coach Brian Schneider.
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It was 2016, his first season working with the young catcher. Realmuto kept struggling to get in good position to block the baseball, and was predominantly using his hands, just trying to pick the balls. Schneider worked with Realmuto to adjust his positioning, so the catcher was on his toes and comfortable but also ready to receive pitches. It was an ongoing issue and area of focus. The Marlins were flying back from New York after a game in which a ball got by Realmuto. Schneider, who has 13 years of big-league experience, including three with the Phillies (2010-12), knew he needed to directly address the issue with his catcher. Before Miami’s next game, the two chatted about how they needed to work on the problem. Realmuto wasn’t thrilled with the conversation, Schneider recalled.
Later that day, Realmuto approached Schneider after batting practice, gave him a bucket of baseballs and said, “Let’s go, we’re working on blocking.”
“He went and blocked the entire bucket. I mean, we’re not talking soft baseballs,” Schneider said. “We’re talking real baseballs off a machine, coming pretty good. He was wearing them off his chest, his arms, legs, everything, but for me, from that point on, he became a really good blocker. And he was determined to be the best he could and not let that same situation happen again.
“From then on, I could tell he was someone special.”
Schneider and Realmuto talked during their downtime, too, and the topic usually revolved around wrestling. Schneider grew up in Pennsylvania and is an ardent Penn State wrestling fan, while Realmuto supports Oklahoma State, which led to friendly banter. Schneider believes Realmuto’s years of wrestling have really helped his baseball career.
“That’s why it’s so important that our kids play different sports. … Every sport that you play is going to help you as an overall athlete,” Schneider said. “That’s why you can put him anywhere on the field — he’s that good of an athlete.”
Doing the little things right can lead to greatness. Realmuto has put in the work to refine his defensive skills, including last season with the Phillies. The organization worked extensively with Realmuto during spring training in an effort to improve his pitch framing, and it produced more strikes.
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According to Statcast’s pitch framing data, Realmuto increased his strike rate by 2 percent in 2019, converting 50.2 percent of non-swinging pitches into called strikes on the edges of the strike zone. The league average was 48.4 percent. Realmuto also tallied 8 “runs,” three more than in 2018, from runs from extra strikes, which converts strikes to runs saved while adjusting for ballpark and pitcher adjustments. The league average was 0. Realmuto was the best in baseball at getting strike calls on balls outside to left-handed hitters and inside to right-handed hitters, generating a 74.7 percent strike rate.
Schneider credits hard work for the growth in Realmuto’s game.
“What I respect about him is that old-school throwback, I’m gonna play every day, I’m going to be out there doing my thing,” Schneider said. “And then he lifts like crazy, works extra. The amount of balls that we worked on in the cage after batting practice over the course of the three years I was with them, I can’t even tell you how many, the extra that you don’t see. I mean, coming in from batting practice, just in shorts, and working on his framing, working on his setup, working on his footwork. I can’t even tell you how much we did.”
The intricacies of the catching movements must work in unison to create harmony. One misstep throws it off. But it’s beautiful when synced and everything comes together. Realmuto became a must-watch behind the plate this year.
Cubs manager and former ESPN analyst David Ross raved about Realmuto’s defense after broadcasting a Phillies games in mid-September. Ross pointed to Realmuto’s quick movements and footwork for his success and ability to throw out so many baserunners. The first-time manager will have to find a way to combat that from the dugout in 2020.
“The way he gets his body in position going to second base, and takes his glove to his throwing hand so fast, and he’s so fast and he’s accurate,” Ross said. “He puts it on the money pretty regularly. I’ve watched his throws and it’s amazing. He anticipates. He’s almost up out of his crouch a little earlier than most and ready to throw because he’s got that good instinct of, ‘OK, I see him going.’ He’s got that body control, some of the best body control for a catcher that I’ve seen in a while.”
By focusing on the details, Realmuto has made it tough to run on him.
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Since Statcast began tracking pop time in 2015, Realmuto has consistently performed at an elite level. Pop time measures from when the ball hits the catcher’s mitt to when it reaches the projected receiving point at the base. Exchange time and arm strength (the velocity on throws) are used to calculate pop time. Realmuto’s 1.88 seconds on throws to second base this season was the best pop time among 40 catchers with at least 15 attempts; 2.01 seconds was the league average. His arm strength, at 88.4 mph, also topped the field.
| Season | Pop time | MLB Rank | Velocity | MLB Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1.88 sec | 1st | 88.4 mph | 1st |
| 2018 | 1.90 sec | 1st | 87.8 mph | 2nd |
| 2017 | 1.90 sec | 2nd | 87.3 mph | 3rd |
| 2016 | 1.91 sec | 2nd | 87.0 mph | 3rd |
| 2015 | 1.92 sec | T-2nd | 88.5 mph | 1st |
Realmuto’s performance among MLB catchers with at least 15 attempted throws to second base, dating to when Statcast first started tracking this data in 2015, which coincides with Realmuto’s first full season with the Marlins.
Although Phillies pitchers produced some of the slower times to the plate in 2019, it didn’t dramatically hinder Realmuto from throwing out baserunners. He finished with a 46.7 caught stealing percentage and led all catchers with a career-high 43 attempted basestealers thrown out, 16 more than the next catcher. Despite the success, expect more challengers on the bases in 2020.
As soon as Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman heard “Realmuto” and “throwing guys out,” he started laughing. Freeman was caught stealing three times this season, twice by Realmuto. The Phillies catcher threw out 30 different players spanning 15 teams. Three players — Freeman, Cody Bellinger and Jeff McNeil — were thrown out multiple times.
“I still think I can get him. I’ve got to try,” Freeman said in mid-September. “I’ve got to get him once, you know? I just can’t give up. … His release has been just so much faster this year. It’s a whole new level.
“You see the 1.5 seconds (to the plate) on the stopwatch, and you think, ‘Oh, we can get this (Phillies) pitcher,’” Freeman said. “And he’s still able to get them. It’s going to be hard for him to keep throwing people out because nobody is going to keep running. He’s just amazing back there. His pop times are amazing. It feels like the ball never gets into his glove.”
Perhaps Realmuto stayed a little under the radar, stuck on middling (or worse) Marlins teams in front of sparse home crowds before joining the Phillies in February. But after his final year of arbitration, Realmuto is set to cash in during 2020 free agency if the Phillies don’t sign the two-time All-Star to an extension this offseason. They are expected to make a concerted effort to reach a new deal. While his defensive work garners a lot of attention, Realmuto’s offensive production and smarts on the bases make him a complete, all-around player.
Although his career is dedicated to baseball, wrestling remains integral. Realmuto lives in Oklahoma near his family in the offseason and still follows the sport. One of his cousins has continued the family tradition of wrestling at Oklahoma State. And the trash talk hasn’t stopped between Realmuto and Schneider, either, despite their on-field relationship ending last year.
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The wrestling community bond is strong.
“Every time Penn State signs a recruit that was linked to Oklahoma State, I send him a quick text and he gets back at it,” Schneider said, chuckling. “You don’t see too many people that are into college wrestling. We go back and forth all the time.”
(Top photo: Rich Schultz / Getty Images)
