Today many of us were sad. Not necessarily because Chris Carter will no longer thrill us with three-week stretches of Ruthian power - because those three-week stretches were always belied by 23-remote-breaking/laptop-throwing-week stretches marked by a complete inability to make contact - but because of a backup catcher.
Thirteen months ago the Astros traded catcher Carlos Perez and pitcher Nick Tropeano to the Angels for Conger. Perez - a projected backup catcher at best - hit for some average, got on base a little, and had no power. But he could throw some dudes out, that's for sure - 48% of baserunners were caught stealing by Perez in 2013, 32% in 2014.