So You Want to be a Catcher, Part 3

This blog post is a continuation of a previous post, So You Want to be a Catcher, Part 2.

OK, now we’re getting into the good stuff, the Fine and Glorious Art of Calling Pitches.  Every pitch is a chess move, every batter is a battle, and every inning is a separate campaign within The Game.  Your job is to mess with the batter’s head by disrupting his timing, & keeping him guessing about what pitch might be coming next.  You’ll love it!

Some batters are read-and-react hitters, while others will come up to the plate only looking for a certain pitch in a certain area to hit.  It’s important that you really mix up the pitches you call, changing between fastballs and breaking balls, changing the locations from inside to outside the plate, and adjusting the eye level of the pitches from armpits down to the knees.

When calling pitches you have to consider where the hitter is located in the batting order.  Number 1 thru 5 batters are typically the best hitters on the opposing team.  Number 1, 2, & 5 batters will be good contact hitters, while number 3 & 4 batters will be the power hitters.

Remember to check where the batter stands in the batters box for clues to his weaknesses & tendencies.  When hitters stand in the back of the box so they will have more time to catch up to a fastball, you exploit their vulnerability to breaking pitches.  When they stand in the front of the box to better hit breaking pitches, you call for the heater (fastball).  When hitters are afraid of the ball and stand away from the plate, you set up on the outside of the plate where they can’t reach it.  And when batters crowd the plate, you call an inside fastball that will jam them on the hands.  The batter will hit a weak ground ball and be an easy out.

You have to remember a batter’s previous at-bats earlier in the game.  If a batter hit a pitch hard or missed a pitch badly, file it away in your memory bank for use later in the game.  Sometimes you will come across a batter who just cannot hit a curveball.  Make sure that batter faces curveballs on every single pitch, in every single at-bat, for the rest of the game.  When you figure out a batter’s weakness, you must exploit it, be ruthless, & show no mercy.

You must also take into account the game situation when calling pitches.  If a batter has two strikes on him he tends to bear down, so don’t call an easy pitch to hit like a fastball right down the middle.  If there is a runner on base, call low pitches to force the batter into hitting a ground ball.  You’ll prevent the runner from scoring, and maybe induce a double play.

If you’re lucky, you will have a coach or a more experienced catcher that can teach you this stuff.  I didn’t have that luxury, so I just learned by doing and pretty much figured it all out on my own.  I was not a physically big or a strong catcher in high school, but I was able to compensate by mastering the mental part of calling pitches and catching a game.

Stay tuned sports fans, for the next and final installment of So You Want to be a Catcher, Part 4.

Labels: Sports, Thoughts