Longtime major league catcher Andrew Knapp announced his retirement as a player on his Instagram page. “I completely dedicated my life to the game, and the game blessed me with so much,” he said. “Baseball has given me relationships that I will have for the rest of my life. It has taught be how to fail and how to persevere. It has taught me how to be confident but humble. It has taught me that people will remember you more because of what kind of person you are rather than what kind of player you were.” He then goes on to thank the many people that helped him along the way, including his agent, his teammates and particularly his family members.
Knapp, now 33, was once a notable prospect. The son of minor leaguer Mike Knapp, the younger Knapp showed enough promise at a young age to get drafted by the Athletics out of high school, selected in the 41st round in 2010. But Knapp decided to attend Berkeley instead, becoming a full-time catcher who hit from both sides of the plate. That led to the Phillies taking him in the second round of the 2013 draft and signing Knapp with a bonus of just over $1MM.
His development was slowed somewhat by Tommy John surgery, which he required late in 2013, but he still put up strong offensive numbers. He slashed .280/.355/.435 in 1,173 minor league plate appearances from 2013 to 2015, production that led to a wRC+ of 132. That offense, especially as a switch-hitter, gave Knapp some prospect helium. Going into 2016, Baseball America gave him a spot at the back of their top 100, putting him at #96.
Unfortunately, his major league offense never quite matched his production on the farm. He showed a bit of potential in his 2017 debut, producing a line of .257/.368/.368. His 27.5% strikeout rate was a bit high but he also drew walks at a strong clip of 15.2%. The overall production led to a wRC+ of 94, a bit below average overall but decent for a catcher.
He couldn’t maintain that level of performance, however. He got into at least 33 games for the Phils in five straight seasons from 2017 to 2021 but produced a combined line of .214/.314/.322 over that time, leading to a 72 wRC+. His 11.9% walk rate was a solid mark but his 31.7% strikeout rate was quite high. That includes a huge .278/.404/.444 showing in 2020, though that was a small sample of 89 plate appearances and he crashed back to earth with a .152/.215/.214 line in 2021.
Knapp’s glovework was never especially well regarded, with outlets like Baseball Prospectus and Statcast giving him negative grades for his framing, blocking and throwing. As a prospect, it was hoped that his offense could compensate for that, though it didn’t quite come to pass.
The Phils decided to move on after that rough showing from Knapp in 2021, outrighting him off the roster, which kicked off the journeyman phase of his career. He signed a minor league deal with the Reds going into 2022 but didn’t make the club out of camp. That led to him joining the Pirates, Mariners and Giants, though he only got into 16 major league games between those three teams that year. In 2023, minor league deals with the Tigers and Astros didn’t lead back to the big leagues. In 2024, he was with the Rangers on a minor league through the end of June. After being released, he got a major league deal with the Giants, but he was designated for assignment less than a week later after getting into three games. He was outrighted off the roster and elected free agency at season’s end.
Knapp has now decided to hang up his spikes and move onto the next phase of his life. His retirement statement didn’t lay out his career plans, though he has previously expressed a desire to become a manager someday, so perhaps he could start making moves on that trajectory now. He retires with 158 hits in 756 at-bats, including 31 doubles, four triples and 13 home runs. He scored 83 runs and drove in 66. We at MLBTR congratulate Knapp on carving out a major league career and wish him the best on whatever comes next.
How unfortunate for the Knapps.
In lieu of Knapp kin, just use a tissue.
But I have a veritable plethora of Knapp kins in my Knapp sack?!?
Oh no not Mariner hall of famer Andrew Knapp that was Dipotos next clean up hitter!! Hahahaha
I’m probably the only person to get this reference
We took the house from them. I offered to buy it. But you know how old people are, they grow so attached to things.
@ AG
you keep a horse in the basement????!!!
It was parked outside ALL DAYY!!!!
The Berry Vikings are going to miss him!
Baseball’s been Berry, Berry good to *that* Knapp!
Perfect day to take a Knapp!
I think you all linked the wrong fella
This is the status quo. I am starting to think someone in charge of ‘linking and analytics’ is having fun.
The links are done automatically and MLBTR has not control over the initial links, but they can and usually do fix them when made aware of errors.
WRONG Andrew Knapp!!!!!!!
The link is to the wrong Andrew Knapp.
I believe the wrong Knapp was linked. Thanks
He hit a walk off HR in a game for the Phils. Otherwise, MEH….
It appears that he made more than $4M in addition to the $1.1M signing bonus. Even if he was not a successful Major Leaguer, he should be set for life. Congratulations on having been a big league player.
He’s only 33. If he didn’t invest, 5 million may take him into his mid 50s.
Really depends on his life style. If he doesn’t have multiple large homes he’s fine
That was over a decade ago and half of that probably went to a house and the other half went to taxes.
And the other half his agent!
“So… not coming to Toronto then..?”
Retirement will give Andrew the opportunity to
Settle Down, Rest, Relax and take a Nice, Long,
KNAPP !!
Loved his cartoon strip!!!!
I enjoyed watching him in Reading and LHV, as well as Philly. At one point we thought that he could be a terrific backup catcher…cerebral with enough bat to make a difference here and there. When he was on the farm, I thought that he might become a solid enough defender as well, but the physical gifts were just not quite there. Great kid however – good luck to him in the future.
Unlike for me, it is no longer Knapp Time…
He used to hang out at Mike’s Tavern in Reading with a few of the other guys that liked to drink craft beer.
The good old days of minor league baseball. Just had a flashback.
Knappity Knapp, don’t talk back!
The Great Outdoors!
If he had learned to throw the football slider he could’ve extended his career and possibly his earnings. Unfortunate, really. A prime example of what happens when you ignore a genius such as Roger Beshens
He served the dark days of Phillies baseball post the Utley era and pre Harper enough to realize spending money on key positions is important.
My kid just got him to autograph his glove at a Little League clinic a week or so ago.
I don’t understand – it was parked outside ALL DAY!
My congratulations to Andrew Knapp on picking a slow enough news day on this site to get a full write up on his retirement.
Oh, you’re not alone. I somehow read it in Rubin’s voice the first time through…
Pretty girl…she a friend of yours??
Andrew Knapp, we hardly knew ya. Seriously, who the sam hill are you?
“Who are you, who who, who who” – R. Daltrey
My favorite Andrew Knapp story:
He was the backup catcher for the Pirates. During Game 1 of a Doubleheader, he got tossed in the 5th(?) Inning for arguing balls and strikes. Michael Perez hurt his knee sliding into second base after hitting a double in the 8th (Perez was unfortunately out for the season). The Pirates used Josh VanMeter to finish the game at Catcher. Knapp’s 2 game suspension for getting tossed was briefly undone for Game 2 of the Doubleheader so that the Pirates had a catcher. He was immediately sent down to AAA. He got traded to Seattle, who then were surprised by his 2 game suspension when Seattle called him up from Tacoma.
A bad day on his part aside, Congratulations on playing Major League Baseball and good luck in retirement.
Good stuff T-PiP!
Shades of the late Bob Sebra. In 1990, I think with the Brewers, he threw at someone, started a brawl, and was tossed out of the game. The Brewers sent him down the next day, then he received a 5-day suspension. I believe he went to the grave having never served the suspension because no one called him back to the majors again.
If he ever becomes a manager and gets fired, I imagine the headline will be, “Knapp Sacked…”
Guy posted a decent 3.17 FIP for his career.
Enjoy your retirement!