Catchers setting up the pitch...glove position

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Aug 2, 2008
553
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If you set up in the center of the plate expecting an outside pitch, and that pitch is more then "just outside", you now have a passed ball.

when teaching catchers to receive balls (frame if you will), incorporate a slight weight shift to the direction of the ball

good points. The only time they are in the center is to give the sign, I was just second guessing myself.
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
If a runner is on base and catcher sets up early the runner will signal to the hitter at the higher level . Like someone posted our pitcher is taught to aim at a shinguard not the glove. Plus good hitters can see the catcher out of the corner of the eye move .
 

JBG

Jul 27, 2011
51
0
Southern MD
What i am concerned with is for example....coach calls low outside fast ball. Catcher sets up "waist" level with her glove and outer third
of the plate. To me this is WRONG!

If i am catching, i am setting up just b4 the pitcher goes into her motion and i am putting the glove on the very outside corner of the plate
below the batters knees (or a tad lower) Giving the pitcher a good target where i want the ball. Yes i am also moving my stance to there as well.

I wouldnt think it would be such a big deal if the statistics didn't show it to be such a difference between catchers...poor to good.
ERA, So's and walks are all better!
 

hen

Dec 1, 2010
64
6
If a runner is on base and catcher sets up early the runner will signal to the hitter at the higher level . Like someone posted our pitcher is taught to aim at a shinguard not the glove. Plus good hitters can see the catcher out of the corner of the eye move .

I realize I'm probably gonna catch some flak for this, but when we saw runners signaling to the batter, we'd intentionally cross them up and pretty soon the batters don't trust the runners when they dive in on a supposed outside pitch comes right under their hands...

Out of curiosity, I wonder if pitchers don't like catchers moving late because they focus on a body part/spot? I can see that if that part moves then they'd have to pick another spot on the fly to aim for a strike...

Anybody have Olympic/pro/college video they can reference?
 
Apr 1, 2010
1,675
0
I just don't think the umps are as fooled as everyone thinks. A chatty confident catcher can probably do more with her personality and that little 'I got it and like it' at the end with the mitt, than she can be trying to fool the ump with her body/arms placement.

Also the logic of it going where the catcher wants is not 100%. Sometimes you are throwing out of the zone on purpose. 30=40% of the time the pitcher fails to hit the intended target.

A catcher shouldn't ever be trying to fool the umpire. Smoothly shifting to where the pitch is planned to arrive and catching the ball with the optimum glove position for the location of the pitch are skills that are supposed to "show off" the pitcher's thing of beauty and allow the umpire to see a strike as a strike.

On the other hand, if it's not a thing of beauty, but a wild thang instead, IMO it's even a better idea to have the catcher shifted. She's more likely to have a shot at lunging at the ball and getting her glove on it. No way to get the strike anymore, but maybe it won't turn into a track meet on the bases...
 
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Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
Lots of movement by the catcher after the pitcher has started their motion, especially to the inside corner can do more harm than good. The umpire is trying to set up to watch the pitch out of the pitchers hand and a catcher moving late to the inside corner plays havoc with trying to see the ball. I had a girl a few weeks ago that was not only making huge moves side to side, she would also take a big step forward at the same time. Many times it left me with nothing but a view of her back.
 

hen

Dec 1, 2010
64
6
Looking at the model swings section of the forum, I see both techniques. Actually I think looking at that forum you could pick out some good examples of both moving late and not moving at all (timing, lean, how to receive, etc). Interestingly I was looking at pg 8 & 9 and the Florida battery is the same yet the C employs both techniques.

When it comes down to it, I'd go with whatever the pitcher wants. After all, she is the one doing the pitching. Hopefully there's ample time to practice if she prefers the technique your DD is not accustomed to.
 

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Aug 2, 2008
553
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I had a girl a few weeks ago that was not only making huge moves side to side, she would also take a big step forward at the same time...comp

Dont think this is what anyone is talking about, your describing a catcher not trained properly. I do appreciate your perspective as an ump in that example of bad catching though.

The move I teach is very slight, the catchers weight shifts slightly to one side so she can slide the other foot into position, she then sets up in a runners on, or no runners on stance.

NECC's system is what I teach, my daughter and I are going to there camp next week in Olympia and I will clear some of this up in person.

Comp brings up an interesting point, most coaches have no idea what an umpires routine is for setting up behind a catcher. Could you give us a quick rundown of what annoys you and what doesnt? How exactly do you set up?
 
Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
Personally, after the catcher squats into position, I will step in behind her and then place my other foot to the outside to set myself in the slot for which ever side the batter is on. When I drop into position will depend on the pitchers routine, but usually once pitchers bring their hands together they are starting their pitch. When the hands come together I will usually drop into position and get ready to pick up the ball leaving the hand and track it to the plate.

Things that annoy me? Any big late movements by the catcher. We are not looking at the catcher, we are trying to watch the pitch. Catchers that move alot make it extremely difficult to always track the pitch, especially when they come over the inside corner and block the view in the slot or they bounce up and down. If they do move alot, you have to eventually pick a spot to setup where even if they move they wont block the view of the plate, and usually this means you set up higher than you would like. This kills the view of the bottom of the strike zone. Most catchers are right handed, and with a right handed batter, even centered on the plate they can darn near reach to the outside line of the batters box with their glove. There is no need for them to get their whole body over that inside corner, all it does is block our view of the inside strike. If they do it alot, we have to go back to setting up higher to see over them and then loose the bottom of the zone. The only other thing I see alot that drives me nuts is framing the pitch. Rolling your wrist a little on the catch is one thing, catching the ball and moving the glove 6" or more and then holding it for me to see does absolutely nothing. If the catcher thinks the pitch was far enough out it needed to be brought back into the zone, why would the umpire think its a strike?
 

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