framing pitches

as in pulling them into the zone - I know NECC doesn't teach this but I had an umpire tell me recently that one of my catchers (HS Player) was doing it and it really annoyed him. as a result, anything close became a ball. I told her about this and she said that umpire had spoken to her, but "every other umpire" has gone out of their way to praise her on her receiving skills.

I'm her TB coach and I want her developing the best skills. is this worth getting into or should I just let it go?

Does she really believe that those umpires are complimenting her because she successfully is fooling them into calling balls strikes??? I don't. Do you?

Just like the quality of play increases with age and experience, so does the quality of umpiring. IMO, pulling pitches insults the intelligence of those smart enough to recognize it for what it is.

If she is moving the glove after catching the ball, DON'T!. Its plainly obvious to any umpire the glove is being moved. As has been said many times by other umpires on here, if it was a borderline pitch the catcher just told the umpire they really thought it was a ball. Get the glove outside the ball on the borderline pitches and just roll the wrist as the ball is caught and then stick it on the corners. Give the umpire just a brief look at it and then return it to the pitcher. If it is an obvious ball, dont even bother sticking it, just throw it back.

DD's catching coach has always told her "don't frame anything in the first inning, even if it's close" because it shows he umpire you trust his/her judgment. Then work your way out by 1/4 ball each inning as the game goes on. DD has caught no-hitters using this method and getting more calls a little off the plate later in the game. The key, though, is to set up in the right place and for the pitcher to hit her spots and do as Comp suggests by sticking pitches and rolling the wrist so the mitt finishes over the corner. A catcher reaching across her body to get a ball that's off the plate and pull it back in will almost certainly never get a call, and it probably insults the umpire. Remember that a catcher/umpire relationship is one of mutual respect and trust, and holding a frame for more than about a half second breaks that relationship down (provided the umpire isn't full of ego and allows the relationship to build in the first place).

Of note here, just from personal experience: DD has stated that she has never had an issue with TB umpires, but HS umpires seem to have more of an ego and/or act like they really don't want to be there and won't give calls on borderline pitches no matter what.

Greenmonsters said:

Does she really believe that those umpires are complimenting her because she successfully is fooling them into calling balls strikes??? I don't. Do you?

Just like the quality of play increases with age and experience, so does the quality of umpiring. IMO, pulling pitches insults the intelligence of those smart enough to recognize it for what it is.

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And yet I still see many of the catchers from top 25 D1 teams doing it. Even my wife made the comment how terrible their receiving skills were

Don't know about other umpires here, but I've never been "convinced" by any catcher doing whatever they want with the ball or their mitt.

I'm watching the ball as it passes through the strike zone (or not). Catcher's mitt is completely periphery and doesn't affect my judgement.

Comp said:

If she is moving the glove after catching the ball, DON'T!. Its plainly obvious to any umpire the glove is being moved. As has been said many times by other umpires on here, if it was a borderline pitch the catcher just told the umpire they really thought it was a ball. Get the glove outside the ball on the borderline pitches and just roll the wrist as the ball is caught and then stick it on the corners. Give the umpire just a brief look at it and then return it to the pitcher. If it is an obvious ball, dont even bother sticking it, just throw it back.

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So, if the catcher moves the mitt after catching the ball on a borderline pitch, it makes it plainly obvious to the umpire that the mitt is being moved, but rolling the wrist as the ball is caught fools the umpire, as if the ball miraculously penetrated through the mitt into the pocket?

In all honesty, it shouldn't matter what the catcher does. It should matter where the ball is when crossing the plate, as if the catcher didn't exist.

In your eyes Comp, is this good or bad concerning the actions of the catcher?

4KidsDad said:

I'm watching the ball as it passes through the strike zone (or not).

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Is this an umpire admitting that he doesn't watch the ball as it passes through the strike zone?

Lenski said:

So, if the catcher moves the mitt after catching the ball on a borderline pitch, it makes it plainly obvious to the umpire that the mitt is being moved, but rolling the wrist as the ball is caught fools the umpire, as if the ball miraculously penetrated through the mitt into the pocket?

In all honesty, it shouldn't matter what the catcher does. It should matter where the ball is when crossing the plate, as if the catcher didn't exist.

In your eyes Comp, is this good or bad concerning the actions of the catcher?

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What you are calling shaping is just another version of pulling IMO and is inconsitent with what NECC teaches.

YOCOACH said:

And yet I still see many of the catchers from top 25 D1 teams doing it. Even my wife made the comment how terrible their receiving skills were

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They were recruited for their hitting skills more than they were for their fielding skills. I, too, have not been impressed with many catchers at the D1 level.