Throwing hand

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Apr 5, 2013
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Back on the dirt...
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Not swing related - but can the catcher have his throwing hand in any worse a spot? Maybe resting right on his knee cap could be worse.

Another example of how hard it is fight what appears to be a natural instinct for most catchers.


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Gags brought up a good point in another post. We have a new to us catcher on our team and she is pretty solid behind the plate. I have noticed that she leaves her throwing hand in a similar location. When I asked her about it, she said her catching coach tells her to do that. I told her my reasons why she needs to hide it or at least tuck her thumb.

She goes to our org catching coach and has been seeing him for a few years.

Anyone else seen something like this?
 
Oct 1, 2014
2,218
113
USA
Yes, I've seen it and similar styles leaving the hand unprotected and vulnerable to injury. Some coaches will defend it adamantly and point to videos just like the one shown here and say "see even the Pros do it". I find it hard to argue with the rationale, logic and experience of the Weaver's (NECC/The Catching Camp) on this issue. It's hard to be faster with a transfer or block when you're sitting the bench with your hand in a cast.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
8u one of our goals was everyone pitched and caught 2 innings. Pitching we did OK, catching we failed.

Refused to let someone catch that did not protect throwing hand.
 
May 6, 2015
2,397
113
DD has been taught to either tuck the thumb into her shoe just a hair, or rest hand on back of calf/ankle, can get to transition pretty quick. trying to breka of habit most recent HC started to instill on her to "cheat" when runners on, ie start to rotate and move forward a hair. recipe for catching a foul tip somewhere bad (ribs, glove arm, etc.).
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
In response to 4GD - I wanted to give the coach the benefit of the doubt and say this is probably a misinterpretation by the player.

But to also see the other responses confirming that this teaching is still out there (was this ever really taught? was this EVER a good idea?!?!) makes me wonder (and scared?) if maybe she got it right?

If I never picked up a catchers mitt after LL, and never read DFP or BBF, I’d like to think common sense would still tell me “Self - don’t wave your hand around behind the batter - bad things could happen.”

What’s the saying - you can’t fix stupid?



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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
One of the very first things I teach new catchers is protecting their throwing hand. At the beginning, you have to be militant about it until it becomes their "normal". There are LOTS of pros who don't do a good job protecting their hand very well, and every year a few of them get busted up because of it. I prefer to err on the side of safety.
 

NBECoach

Learning everyday
Aug 9, 2018
408
63
Besides the hand behind the back or similar setup we have had some success with attaching a piece of leather string to the back of catchers glove webbing. The catcher holds the leather string with the throwing hand thus it is protected yet right there should a throw need to be made. Not all kids take to this but we had a lefty 4 yr all-conference catcher who excelled using this method.
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
Besides the hand behind the back or similar setup we have had some success with attaching a piece of leather string to the back of catchers glove webbing. The catcher holds the leather string with the throwing hand thus it is protected yet right there should a throw need to be made. Not all kids take to this but we had a lefty 4 yr all-conference catcher who excelled using this method.

So is the idea is to leave the hand behind the glove the whole time, and not pull it closer to the body to receive the pitch?


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May 23, 2015
999
63
I always caught like that and teach my children to catch the same way. The object is to leave your hand in space between your mitt and chest protector. A soft girl punch fist protects your thumb. I was only hit once in 15 years but my hand was on top of my thigh for some stupid reason. The odds are in your favor of not getting hit. No injury just pain and I didn't miss an inning

Looks like Martin Maldonado he's a pretty fair catcher
 
Last edited:
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
I always caught like that and teach my children to catch the same way. The object is to leave your hand in space between your mitt and chest protector. A soft girl punch fist protects your thumb. I was only hit once in 15 years but my hand was on top of my thigh for some stupid reason. The odds are in your favor of not getting hit. No injury just pain and I didn't miss an inning

Looks like Martin Maldonado he's a pretty fair catcher

The hand (fist) staying in the "shadow" of the mitt is fine. I teach pulling the hand back to the chest. What Madonado is doing in the video in not the same thing. His hand is badly exposed. There are a lot of "pretty fair" MLB catchers who don't do a good job protecting their hand.
 

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