Outs by a catcher

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Jul 21, 2017
50
8
Just an off the top of your head average: How many outs per game does your typical 16u catcher get credit for per game? i.e. Stealing, picks, tag plays at home...


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Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
My quess is 2 or 3.

Once, especially 1, shows you can not out right steal she does not have a lot of chances.

But there are usally at least 1 or 2 fly balls to them.

(Our catcher's do not seem to field at lot of bunts, usally go to another fielder)
 
Last edited:
Jul 21, 2017
50
8
My quess is 2 or 3.

Once, especially 1, shows you can not out right steal she does not have a lot of chances.



This right here is the reason I ask. We have 2 solid catchers (receiving, blocking, leadership). However, one has a canon (she is 15) the other does not have as strong of an arm (& is 13 and weighs just over 100lbs). Coaches have the runners challenging the 2nd catcher and she is making some of the outs (gets more outs per game). Which is better? Make more outs with runners challenging or keep the runners at bay? Pretty sure I'm overthinking! We should be thankful for what we have. We are trying to figure out what to do with the 2nd catcher & would appreciate some insight. (If possible with info given) the 2nd one is a lot more exciting to watch! but runners don't challenge the 1st one.


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2br02b

Trabant swing
Jul 25, 2017
303
43
Technically, she is getting credit for all the strikeouts, caught pop-ups and tags. The rest are assists.

Obviously both catchers bring something to the game, and it doesn't really sound like you are losing anything by having either play... Nice problem to have.
 
Jun 21, 2015
201
0
Interesting. My daughter is a 14u catcher. Very solid at blocking and receiving, arm is ok. (We are working on that). Oddly enough, she doesn't get a lot of steal attempts against her.


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Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Better to have fewer players trying to steal. Remember that with every steal there is a chance something could go wrong and the runner could take an extra base. Sort of former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes' attitude about the forward pass - only three things can happen and two of them are bad.

In the 2017 high school season, a catching student of mine was 2-2 throwing out steal attempts. Both attempts came early in the season. I told her apparently her reputation proceeded her, because no one wanted to try after that. So her stats were terrible in that regard (other than success percentage), but you couldn't argue with runners staying put. Probably cost her some postseason accolades, however, since she didn't have the numbers, making it tough for people who didn't know her to vote for her.

I know as a coach my first steal attempt was going to be with a rabbit, preferably my fastest one. If they caught her, I sure wasn't going to be sending my turtles. Or even the raccoons. Most coaches are probably the same.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Perception is a powerful force. Two of our catchers this summer (not my kid), were kind of opposites. "A" has a cannon, but slow feet. "B" has a much weaker arm, but is very quick in getting rid of the ball. Against the clock, "B"s pop-time can't be touched by "A". As is often the case, coaches and players will use a catcher's throw-down as their game-time evaluation. "A" had very few girls attempt a flat steal. "B" had a lot more attempts, and a lot of them were caught. Although it would appear to many that "B" is more effective, I'm more of a fan of catchers that keep runners from even trying.

My favorite example from my own kid...First batter of the game walked. First pitch to the 2nd batter, and the runner went. Maddie nailed her at 2B. That was the only SB attempt all game.
 
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Greenmonsters

Wannabe Duck Boat Owner
Feb 21, 2009
6,168
38
New England
If you want to judge catchers on the same team purely based on standard game stats, the "better" catcher has the lowest total of stolen bases allowed, passed balls, and wild pitches on a normalized per inning or game basis. Assuming, of course, that both catchers split time evenly catching the team's pitchers.

If you want to get crazy, factor in blocking percentage i.e., SB+WP+PB+(100-(Block % x 100))
 
Jul 21, 2017
50
8
If you want to judge catchers on the same team purely based on standard game stats, the "better" catcher has the lowest total of stolen bases allowed, passed balls, and wild pitches on a normalized per inning or game basis. Assuming, of course, that both catchers split time evenly catching the team's pitchers.

If you want to get crazy, factor in blocking percentage i.e., SB+WP+PB+(100-(Block % x 100))

Thanks! This is good info. We currently have the canon for an arm catcher catching for our #1 pitcher and the other catcher with our #2 (also a young a wild pitcher). This works for us and them. But maybe this weekend we will mix it up and see how that goes. This is our first year as a TB team playing 16u A. We are winning games and having fun!


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