Talk:Catcher
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[edit] TalkCatcher
I play catcher and I want people to talk and give tips here. --Pupster21 13:52, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] I-Rod Mainly
Having seen lots of games involving the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers since the 1960s I have seen some very good defensive catchers: Freehan, Sundberg, Parrish, Ausmus, and I-Rod. I-Rod may be the greatest defnsive catcher of all time.
The sobriquet "tools of ignorance" belies the fact that catching requires more raw intellect than any other position on the field except perhaps pitcher. Catchers may not need to be learned, but they had better be canny at the least. Catchers need to call a good game. It's hard to see from the stands what goes on in a catcher's mind.
I have stated on the main page the ways in which a catcher can give his team an edge. Mobility is an asset to a catcher as are reflexes. While I belive much that Bill James has to say about mobility and catching, I can see clear benefits in mobility. At the least it is the difference between catching some pop foul flies and not catching them. The most mobile catchers own the foul space between the dugouts and some more, and the least mobile don't; they probably get to any passed ball or wild pitch faster. I can't describe how to better block the plate other than to try to put the ball where the collision won't be and tag the runner who is forced to miss home plate.
The throwing arm that turns base stealers into outs is huge. A caught-stealing at second might be the difference between scoring a run and not scoring a run. A team that loses a runner to a great throw to second loses not only a baserunner but also an out. But even if the catcher throws out few baserunners because few try to steal while he is at the plate keeps the double play in order.
I have seen I-Rod make lots of pick-off throws to first base. Maybe once or twice a season they get someone picked off. It looks like a high-risk play (in the event that the ball gets away from the first baseman, the baserunner goes to second or third) until you figure what it does to the baserunning game. The base runner who has just headed back to first because a pick-off throw might come from the catcher doesn't stray so far from first base. I-Rod's pickoff throws to first base are far more likely to be followed by a double play than to a pick-off. He gets no credit for double plays, but he keeps runs off the board.
If you want to make that pickoff throw to first, then you had better have an accurate arm and much faith in the first baseman; otherwise an occasional pickoff throw will end up in right field and you will have a runner on third base. If it works it slows down the opposing running game and results in oodles of double plays.
I've seen I-Rod make a putout at first base in a rundown play having gone to first base from home plate. It's not that he occasionally plays a game at first base; he had catcher's gear on that time. The rundown had to last long enough for I-Rod to go down the first base line. It was a surprise to me as a spectator see someone with catcher's gear tagging someone trying to get back to first base. Think of the surprise to the baserunner!
I-Rod is now one of the older catchers in the majors, but he remains one of the most mobile. Note his training; he runs a lot before the game. Running doesn't mess up one's knees, and it just might slow down the wear and tear of catching.--Paul from Michigan 18:45, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
