Catchers

Introduction
1. Comfort is the key
2. Catcher must love dirt (blocking)
3. Mobility, hostility (contact) and enthusiasm
4. Two-handed footwork (swaying and shifting feet) but allow one-hand catching (“rake” ball – free hand less exposed)
5. Low ball catching – think low ball and adjust for pitches up
6. Fundamentals are complex – mastery of many mechanical skills
7. Handle all types of pitches effectively – gives pitcher sense of security
8. Catcher helps pitcher and, therefore, team

Stance
1. Bases Empty
  1. Should be able to touch elbow of hitter with glove
  2. Heel to toe relationship and toes pointed out slightly
  3. Heels lightly on ground at about shoulder width and weight more on balls of feet for good lateral movement
  4. Left elbow out – not locked between legs
  5. Free hand to side or behind back, but with two strikes, free hand on thumb of glove to get foul tip (“plane the ball”)
  6. Slightly rounded back and shoulders
  7. With two strikes, really anticipate ball in dirt as hitter may chase bad pitch
  8. Center body for pitch before giving sign – example: slider away, catcher slide over if pitcher shakes off pitch, catcher adjust position smoothly
  9. Eyes pressed down
2. Runners on base (1-3 below are basic adjustments with runner(s) on base
  1. Raise tail very slightly – CAUTION: catcher is receiver first and then a thrower, therefore, if raising tail hurts receiving ability, keep it down – lower tail as score differential increases (less likelihood of runners stealing)
  2. Free hand behind glove thumb with thumb tucked into fingers – relaxed and keep free hand on same plane as glove/ball to prevent foul tips from hitting hand
  3. Left-handed hitter, catcher move up to see runner on first base or back if necessary

Body Movements
1. Necessary on wide pitches but movement should be at a minimum on obvious strike or pitch between catcher’s shoulders
2. Do not cross legs – glide side-to-side
3. Move feet first before moving body
4. Weight on balls of feet
5. Foot reaction is outside of ball
6. Sway maneuver (quiet/smooth sway – not a jerky movement)
  1. Sway before catching ball and not as catching ball – do not give impetus to ball
  2. Relax the hips and develop the feeling of being “loose” in the thighs – increases catcher’s framing zone
  3. Permits receiver to catch the outside of ball that is on the black or slightly off the black and give impression that pitch is not too far outside or inside
  4. Stay down in receiving position on pitch to immediate right or left
  5. Receiver should catch ball by moving his hips, legs and arms in a swaying motion in the direction of the pitch
  6. The receiver stays in front of the ball and the head moves laterally without moving upward which would block the umpire’s view
  7. Keep arms and hands away from the body upon reception of the pitch – helps maneuvering fluidly and receiving ball as well as saving a strike
  8. Involves body finesse as well as the ability to react fluidly in the reception of the pitch
  9. In shifting or stepping in the direction of the pitch, many catchers influence the umpire negatively by swaying and catching the ball
7. Jab Step
  1. Catcher must find his “rake range” – example: area where catcher can rake and still keep good balance and can catch ball every time with shifting feet
  2. Taking a single step to either side to receive pitch
  3. Take shortest step possible and still get to the ball as it is quicker and catcher retains good balance (feet not spread as much) – catcher may have to reach (rake ball) slightly
  4. For both inside and outside alley pitches, catcher must step up and out
  5. Jab step is used primarily when the sway maneuver cannot be used effectively to save a strike
  6. When catcher uses the jab step and stays down, there is the possibility the pitch could be called a strike but the primary purpose of jab step is to position the catcher’s body in front of pitch that is away from strike zone
  7. The jab step will initiate footwork required in throwing
  8. Move near leg in direction of ball and support weight of body with opposite leg and push off in direction of ball
  9. Pitchout – step up and out (gain ground)
  10. Anticipate wild pitch and react quickly

Receiving
1. Receiver’s hands
  1. Glove hand fingers pointed in a 1-2 o’clock position for relaxed target – big wide target
  2. Relaxed to absorb impact of thrown ball
  3. Fingers of glove hand never completely jammed into the glove because wrist movement is hindered (portion of heel is exposed outside of glove)
  4. Palm of glove hand is cupped and separated from inside of glove – reduces force absorbed by hand
  5. Roll glove hand approximately ¼ turn to left as pitcher releases ball for better flexibility and ease of “curling” pitches and getting under the low pitch (finger pointed toward pitcher with palm facing first base)
  6. Catch every strike in strike zone
    1. Catch ball firmly (some give) with arms and hands away from body and meeting (not receiving) ball as close to home plate and strike zone as possible
    2. FAULT: many receivers catch ball after it has gone through the strike zone or catch it in a way that the impetus of ball carries glove away from plate and strike zone
    3. Umpire’s decision on debatable strike can be negatively influenced and throwing movements can be impaired by catching ball after it passes the strike zone
  7. Eyes on ball into glove
  8. Stay low for umpire – do not impair umpire’s vision
2. Glove Action – use curl not frame
  1. Executed as ball is caught and not after ball is caught – close down with free hand after contact
  2. Unless an obvious strike, do not catch front of ball
  3. For pitches on corners or slightly off the plate, the receiver should catch the outside of the ball (curling action and then close down with free hand after contact) when obvious ball, return ball immediately
  4. The movement of the glove should be toward the center of the plate with the wrist functioning as a hinge with minimal arm movement
  5. Swaying can increase the curling zone (framing zone) and is necessary for pitch outside of catcher’s shoulders
  6. The location of each pitch (low, high, inside and outside) requires glove action which provides pitcher with more strikes
    1. Low pitch
      1. Catch ball from underneath and stop ball as close to plate as possible – get thumb underneath ball whenever possible, if not:
      2. Glove hand fingers point downward and as ball contacts glove, the glove is lifted up by wrist movement so ball is exposed and palm of glove hand is parallel to ground
    2. High pitch
      1. Catch top of ball
      2. Glove is higher than ball initially so that palm is angled toward ball and as ball contacts glove, the wrist movement will bring the glove downward so that face of glove is parallel to ground (if ball is dropped, it will drop in front of receivers)
      3. Do not push up at ball with fingers of glove hand angled backward – ball with miss pocket of glove and bounce off behind receiver
    3. Inside pitch
      1. Palm of glove hand initially somewhat facing ball and as ball contacts glove, the wrist will turn glove toward plate so palm is facing plate and ball has been caught from the outside-in
      2. Swaying is necessary to insure catching ball from outside-in on pitches near left shoulder or beyond
    4. Outside pitch
      1. Catcher must backhand ball unless catcher can sway and/or set up outside
      2. Down and away is most difficult to catch properly – requires much practice to be done automatically
      3. Rotate glove to palm of glove hand is around ball and facing outside of ball
      4. Thumb of glove hand is rotated downward
      5. Sway movement should be used to insure catching ball from outside-in on pitches located near right shoulder or beyond

Throwing
1. On action play, catch ball closer to body for quickness
2. We are striving for:
  1. Quickness
  2. Accuracy – aim at infielder’s waist
  3. Velocity
3. Our rating system:
  1. 4 – best (knee high above bag)
  2. 3 – above average
  3. 2 – average
  4. 1 – below average
  5. 0 – worst
4. Pop to pop time of 2 seconds or less is our goal – our scale:
  1. 1.8 – best
  2. 1.9 – above average
  3. 2.0 – average (goal is to be below)
  4. 2.1 – below average (bad)
  5. 2.2 – requires improvement
5. Pitcher’s time is his first movement to catcher’s pop
6. Baserunner has a 12 foot lead off of first base and he can run 78 feet in 3.5 seconds; if pitcher’s time is 1.6, catcher’s pop to pop must be 1.9 seconds
7. General reminders:
  1. Try to throw overhand with high elbow – do not loop arm
  2. Grip ball across seams as bringing glove hand across body
  3. Aim at infielder’s waist
  4. Throw with bent right leg (come up throwing)
  5. RH hitter and throw to third – go behind hitter on middle and inside pitches and in front of hitter on outside pitches
  6. LH hitter and throw to first – open up and side arm throw (don’t give it away with drop step) on middle and inside pitches and go in front of hitter on outside pitches
  7. Left foot directly to target
  8. Hands stay above belt
  9. Back foot 90 degrees to right
  10. Point front shoulder at target
  11. Full arm extension
  12. Throw off bent front knee
8. Factors to consider in selecting method:
  1. Natural throwing motion
  2. Past experience
  3. Physical characteristics
  4. Quickness
  5. Accuracy
  6. Velocity
9. When raking ball, catch ball and then close down with free hand to facilitate throwing and to help prevent injury to free hand
10. Methods of throwing:
  1. Rock and throw
    1. Need great arm
    2. Catch, right foot pivot and throw (rake ball, if possible, pivot and throw)
    3. Outside alley – get head on first base side of ball (step, catch, pivot, throw)
    4. Inside alley – get head on third base side of ball (step, catch, pivot, throw)
  2. Right foot jab step
    1. Right foot jab step/catch, pivot throw
    2. Used for average arm catcher – helps give catcher momentum
    3. Right foot hits ground as ball is caught – the key
    4. Inside pitch, right foot is pointed in approximately a 45 degree angle between first and second base (right handed hitter)
  3. Jump shift
    1. Quick release method – jump shift as catch ball
    2. Glove over back knee
    3. Want to catch ball between shoulders
    4. Gain ground with right foot (move into pitch by moving forward and inward with left side)
    5. Do not move forward too much on pitch – lose balance
    6. Need much practice to become accurate
  4. Step with left foot and jump shift
    1. Step with left foot on middle alley pitch in rake range prior to catching ball and then jump shift
    2. Shortens distance of jump shift
    3. Catch ball between shoulders
    4. Very difficult to perfect

Blocking
1. Must love dirt
2. Chin tight to body
3. Keep head down and vision to point where ball is going to hit ground
4. May need to rotate glove ½ turn instead of ¼ turn for catcher lacking blocking quickness
5. Smother dirt ball
6. Two knee blocking on all dirt balls – one knee blocking is to slow and body is in motion at block which gives impetus to ball
  1. Kick out feet and throw knees together (cleats not dug in dirt)
  2. Meet ball – key is quickness
  3. Lead with arms and hands and hips and shoulders follow – try to stop ball and then react to block
  4. Plug 5-hole with hands (glove and free hand facing ball)
  5. Bite the ball attitude
  6. Catcher must find lateral range and if ball is out of range, block in any way possible
  7. Position body so ball will end up in front of plate
  8. Lateral block – foot reaction is outside of ball
  9. RHP – curve ball – play off right shoulder because ball will back up as it hits
  10. LHP – curve ball – play off left shoulder because ball will back up as it hits
  11. Scramble to feet after block
7. Catcher can pick ball if he can read big hop (must be sure)

Signs
1. In a crouch position balanced on balls of feet with glove hand hanging under left knee with face of glove facing crotch
2. Knees closed slightly to block coaches’ vision – point knees at pitcher
3. Give signs slowly
4. Back straight
5. Right forearm and wrist resting against belt and in groove above thigh – clamp arm and wrist down tight
6. Move hands and fingers, not elbow
7. Give sign in middle of crotch – finger(s) pointed down and forward so pitcher can see them
8. Remember after sign is given, if runner tips off steal, have an automatic pitch out sign
9. 1^st sign is location

2^nd sign is pitch

3^rd sign is decoy

Calling pitches
1. Know your pitcher better than he knows himself
2. When double play is in order or when the infield is in, remember what pitches are usually hit on the ground – example: sinker, curveball down
3. Use spot pitching philosophy
  1. Pitch locations
    1. Right handed pitchers
      1. Fastball – in and out down, up and in
      2. Curveball and slider – glove side only
      3. Change – arm side and down only
    2. Left handed pitchers
      1. Fastball – in and out down, up and in
      2. Curveball and slider – glove side only
      3. Change – arm side and down only
  2. Backdoor curveballs and sliders only used with pitcher’s having excellent control and way ahead in count
4. 2-2 count – go with pitcher’s best pitch on that day
5. Through charts, learn who the first ball hitters are
6. 0-2 count – pitch must be close enough for hitter to offer, but far enough not to be hit well (6 inches off, 6 inches up)
7. When in doubt, go low and away
8. General considerations for calling pitch:
  1. Place in batting order
  2. Stance
  3. Score
  4. Inning
  5. Pitcher’s best pitch (sometimes it is strength vs. strength and pitcher must power pitch to an area)
  6. Previous AB’s / charts
9. If going to miss, be sure to miss off the plate

Virtual Baseball Academy

Catchers

Introduction

Stance

Body Movements

Receiving

Throwing

Blocking

Signs

Calling pitches

Contact

Positional Mechanics