Jacob Tyler Realmuto ( reel-MEW-toh; born March 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins. Internationally, Realmuto represents the United States.
Realmuto was born in Del City, Oklahoma, into an athletic family. He played various sports as he grew up, helping both the baseball and football teams of Carl Albert High School win state championship titles. Although he served as the baseball team's shortstop throughout his high school career, a scout for the Miami Marlins encouraged Realmuto to become a full-time catcher. The Marlins selected him in the third round of the 2010 MLB draft, and Realmuto chose to sign with the team rather than honor a commitment to playing college baseball at Oklahoma State. He spent the next several seasons in the Marlins' farm system, building strong relationships with pitchers and working on picking off attempted base stealers.
After starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia suffered a concussion, Realmuto made his MLB debut in June 2014. His major league appearances were brief until 2015, when Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment and Realmuto replaced him as the Marlins' starting catcher. Realmuto's strength and speed, both as a catcher and batter, helped take him to his first All-Star appearance in 2018. That same year, Realmuto won his first Silver Slugger Award.
The Marlins traded Realmuto to the Phillies in February 2019, and he received his second All-Star and Silver Slugger awards that year. Additionally, Realmuto received his first career Gold Glove Award for his performance in the 2019 season. When he became a free agent after the 2020 season, Realmuto's Phillies teammates and fans began using the phrase "Sign J. T." to pressure the Phillies into signing him to another contract. In January 2021, Realmuto and the Phillies agreed to a five-year, $115.5 million contract, the largest for any catcher in MLB history.
Realmuto was born on March 18, 1991, in Del City, Oklahoma. His father played college baseball for Southwest Missouri State, while his older sisters Ryan and Amanda were college softball catchers for Oklahoma State and Northwestern State, respectively. Additionally, Realmuto's uncle, John Smith, was a two-time Olympic gold medal wrestler. Growing up, his parents were heavily involved in their children's athletics, with his father David coaching his older sisters' softball teams while Realmuto's mother, Margaret, often drove him to his Little League games and various other sporting matches. Realmuto was a multi-sport athlete from early childhood, having started playing baseball at the age of five and wrestling the following year. In fourth grade, he started playing basketball and football, then briefly played tennis in middle school.
During his high school career, Realmuto was a three-sport athlete for Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma. He served as the shortstop for the baseball team, the quarterback for the football team, and a power forward for the basketball team. During Realmuto's high school tenure, both the Carl Albert baseball and football teams won their respective state championships. As a senior in 2010, Realmuto set a national high school baseball record by recording 119 runs batted in (RBIs) in 42 games played during one season. His batting average for the season was .595, and he had 21 home runs, 22 doubles, and 88 hits. At the end of the year, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) named Realmuto their National Player of the Year, and he received All-American team selections from both the ABCA and Louisville Slugger. Realmuto also received the Bob Colon Scholarship, presented annually by The Oklahoman and the Jim Thorpe Association to the top male high school scholar-athlete in the greater Oklahoma City area.
Although he primarily served as the team's shortstop, Realmuto would occasionally catch for Carl Albert when their starting catcher was asked to pitch. Steve Taylor, a scout for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB), attended a game where Realmuto was catching and told the player that he was more likely to play in MLB as a catcher than as a shortstop. The Marlins went on to select Realmuto in the third round, 104th overall, of the 2010 MLB draft. Although he had previously committed to play college baseball at Oklahoma State on an athletic scholarship, Realmuto chose to accept the Marlins' offer, which included a $700,000 signing bonus. He was assigned to the GCL Marlins of the Rookie Gulf Coast League, where he batted .175 in 40 at-bats, including two runs and four RBIs.
Prior to the 2011 season, Marlins farm director Jim Fleming and scouting director Stan Meek pushed Andy Haines, then the manager of the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers, to promote Realmuto to the team. He spent spring training working with Marlins catching instructor Tim Cossins and was assigned to the Grasshoppers to start the season. Realmuto split time behind the plate with Wilfredo Gimenez, and when he was not catching, he would appear as a designated hitter. He excelled both offensively and defensively in his 96 games with Greensboro; in addition to batting .287 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs, Realmuto successfully picked off 42 percent of attempted base stealers. Realmuto also helped take the Grasshoppers to a South Atlantic League championship title, recording a critical RBI in the final round against the Savannah Sand Gnats.
The following season, both Realmuto and Haines were promoted to the Class A-Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League. There, Realmuto was paired with up-and-coming pitcher José Fernández, a partnership that the Marlins envisioned would form the backbone of their future major league roster. Realmuto was one of three Hammerheads named to the 2012 Florida State League All-Star Game, alongside outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna. At the time, Realmuto had successfully picked off 37 percent of attempted base stealers and had allowed only three passed balls. Realmuto finished the 2012 season with a .256 average in 499 at-bats, including eight home runs, 46 RBIs, and 63 runs scored. After the conclusion of the Minor League Baseball season, Realmuto, Yelich, and Hammerheads pitcher Scott McGough were all selected to play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. In his 14 fall games, Realmuto batted .222 with one home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored.
Fernández and Realmuto's paths diverged in 2013, when the former was promoted to the major leagues and the latter was assigned to the Double A Jacksonville Suns. Realmuto's season was hindered by frequent clashes with pitching coach John Duffy over pitch calling. His relationship with his teammates was stronger; relief pitcher Nick Wittgren praised the way in which Realmuto "makes pitchers feel comfortable". That year, Realmuto was one of nine Suns selected for the Southern League showcase. He played in 106 games for Jacksonville in 2013, hitting .239 with five home runs and 39 RBIs. That November, Realmuto was added to the Marlins' 40-man roster, in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Coming into the 2014 season, Baseball America named Realmuto the No. 10 prospect in the Marlins organization, as well as the "best defensive catcher" in the system. While Realmuto's coaches in Jacksonville pushed for the catcher to make the major league roster at the start of 2014, the Marlins elected to make their offseason acquisition Jarrod Saltalamacchia, an MLB veteran, the team's starting catcher rather than promoting a prospect. Realmuto began the 2014 season at Double A, where his batting dramatically improved. For the week ending April 20, Realmuto was named the Southern League's Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 10 runs in three multi-hit games while striking out only once in the process. Rather than focusing on advancing to the Marlins, Realmuto spent the season prioritizing forming bonds with the Jacksonville pitchers, such as Andrew Heaney. He was selected to his third minor league All-Star Game but did not appear due to a promotion. Realmuto appeared in 97 minor league games in 2014, batting .299 with eight home runs, 62 RBIs, and 66 runs scored in 423 at-bats. After they helped Jacksonville win the Southern League championship in 2014, both Realmuto and pitcher Justin Nicolino were named Postseason All-Stars by the league. The batterymates were additionally named the Marlins' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.