What to do when the Catcher won't cooperate?

DD played up last weekend with the Gold team and had a great time! only problem was that in the last inning of the last game (that we weren't going to win), DD went in to pitch and when she tried to talk to the catcher about her pitches she was cut off "Uh...NO. we're not doing any of that". so she got a lazy, disinterested look from the catcher who called for nothing but fastballs and no locations. she did call for one drop ball that struck the batter out (and the catcher dropped it). DD is not a Gold pitcher, but she is smart and can move the ball which is why I think they put her in there in the first place.

So my question is what does a new pitcher do when either the catcher or the coach is uncooperative?

(I know of an instance awhile back where the catcher called pitches to make a good pitcher look bad and the coach (who was a meathead) supported the catcher.)

My DD would just throw whatever she wanted in that situation and then give ME and earful after the game.

She played up on a team that she doesn't normally play with? She sucks it up and plays the game that the coach calls (or catcher if the catcher is calling the game). She isn't there to become team captain on her first day. She is there to help the team out because they (presumably) needed an extra player.

But you should keep this in mind if they ask your daughter to become a permanent member of the team. THEN you take your concerns to the coach and if you don't think it is going to be a good fit, you find a different team that is more to your liking.

But you do NOT encourage your kid to throw whatever she wants anyways. A pitcher/catcher has to be able to work together to be effective. If she is throwing curve/drop/whatever and the catcher isn't expecting it, you have a recipe for EVERY strikeout being a dropped third strike, or even the possibility of injury. Don't be that player.

A disinterested catcher can be lethal to a team. If it were my team, the catcher would have been pulled. That said, in this situation, I would fully expect my pitchers to take charge and throw what they needed to in order to induce strikes, ground balls, or weak pop-ups/fly-outs for routine outs. There is a system in place on my team for the pitchers to let the catchers know what to expect pitch-wise. If it's the coach that doesn't care, then the smart, simple thing to do is not go back to play for him/her again.

Osric said:

But you do NOT encourage your kid to throw whatever she wants anyways. A pitcher/catcher has to be able to work together to be effective. If she is throwing curve/drop/whatever and the catcher isn't expecting it, you have a recipe for EVERY strikeout being a dropped third strike, or even the possibility of injury. Don't be that player.

Click to expand...

Yeah... nope... Have to disagree here. So it is OK for the catcher to be 'that player' but not the pitcher... It is OK for the catcher to get the pitcher lit up, but not the other way around? The pitcher has to be allowed her full range of weaponry.

So two things:

1) If the catcher is only signing in fastballs, then my DD is shaking off the catcher until the head coach comes out. Or she is just telling the head coach straight out.
2) My DD would have already worked out with the catcher(s) and coaches BEFORE the first game what pitches she throws, how she likes to work, and whatever else. Not happening when she comes into the game - but well before.

Unfortunately many catchers refuse to understand their role in supporting the pitcher and are convinced it is all about them. Kind of like how the marching band is convinced that the football game exists only to provide an opportunity for them to perform at halftime. If a catcher is not willing to accept their role, they add no real value. I ended up parting ways with a very skilled catcher because she and her parents just did not get it when among other things I instructed her to she set up early with one of my developing pitchers. After several conversations on getting pulled mid-game she became a different coaches problem. If your DD is going to succeed as a pitcher she needs the support of her coaches and those behind the dish. If she cannot get it with her current team then you need to move along.

Thanks for the input! She was playing LF for this team and didn't find out she was pitching until shortly before. She did suck it up and threw only what the catcher called.
I am an AC with a different team in the program so I know the coaches as does DD. She asked the HC afterward what she was to do in that circumstance as maybe that was always the plan. HC was P.O'd and said that he has had enough of her (the catcher) behind the plate and that may be the last time she catches for this team.

I asked the question because after the first instance years ago, I always thought the pitcher should just call her own game and let the chips land where they may. Where this was different and she was a guest, I think the only thing she could do is what she did. Just wanted to hear thoughts/opinions should it happen again. If a catcher on my team did that I know I would be furious! Any time a player puts their own drama issues ahead of the team, I have no use for that player and want her gone. In this case, I like the kid and was surprised to hear what she did. HC didn't seem surprised and reacted as I would have.

For safety reasons I wouldn't throw fastballs down the middle. I would give my catcher three "no" head shakes and then throw what needed to be thrown. The coach should pick up on this real quick.

Think DD would go with the flow 1st outing. She needs to be able to place her FB anyways.

If she gets a second go around, think more pitches would come out.

I think the pitcher needs to respect the more experienced catcher in that situation. It’s one inning of a game where the outcome wasn’t in doubt. Just suck it up. If they ask her back and it’s a concern, then she should have a talk with the coach. I know how important a good catcher is for a team to be successful. She can make a good pitcher look great. However, the pitcher needs to learn to adjust. Make her take ownership of it. A pitcher isn’t going to improve if someone else is always to blame. What’s going to happen when she’s at a college camp throwing to multiple catchers? Good luck telling them it was the catchers fault she couldn’t hit her spots or she got lit up because they called the wrong pitches.