Did my DD catcher make the wrong play?

grcsftbll said:

When that's happened on our team HC has said catcher makes the throw, it's the job of the fielder to be there to receive it. He'd get onto SS or 2B (whoever was supposed to be covering).

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Thanks. On our SB team the SS plays travel and 2B plays Little League, so the SS is always responsible for the throw downs. There should be no question who is covering. I have no idea why she was not.

DD's coach would come out of his skin if a throw wasn't made on a runner in that situation, and would be all over the SS if she wasn't there.

I would normally keep a distance from a school ball coach, but one getting onto my kid for obviously doing her job would draw my attention. At the very least, we'd have a conversation over why he thought DD made a bad decision. In the end, if any coach didn't like how my DD played, and wasn't reasoned and knowledgeable in their criticism, I'd strongly consider inviting him to find another player. It just isn't worth the aggravation.

Huhhhh! Yea, you make the throw. Mistake on SS. I guess the only instance would be if coach told her not to throw, which would not be smart anyway.

DD sees she has plenty of time to make a throw down to second.

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If your DD had 'plenty of time' to make the throw what was the SS doing during all this time.
Also, if your DD had 'plenty of time' to make the throw and seen that the SS wasn't there why throw the ball in this situation? I understand on a bang, bang play what a catcher needs to do.

If the coach wanted to give up the base with Defensive indifference then he should have told the catcher. But throw that ball every time and not risk the hit, you should have a SS and CF there to cover.

I like all the posts but I don't see an important part here. When there is a runner on first, my mantra is this - who's got cover? (SS raises hand). who's got backup? (2b raises hand). where was the back up?

Bob516 said:

My question, is any there a reason, in this situation, that a catcher should not make that throw to second?

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Agree with everyone - in a game this is on the SS 99.9% of the time. The C has to be able to throw the ball expecting the SS to get there (and CF any maybe 2B to be backing the throw up)

The only time this is on the C is if the SS is well known to not cover the bag if she isn't reminded. I have had a few airheads at SS over the years where every single game scenario no matter how simple was like the first time they had seen it. Which is OK - because I generally have had some really vocal catchers who were happy to stand up and say "Runner on first, Katie - you got the steal if she goes". Yeah, that is putting a lot on our C's and giving our SS's a pass on something they should know - but you had to know a couple of these girls.

I have had that conversation with a couple of my C's before - "You know Katie needs to be reminded. And yeah, it is still Katie's fault she wasn't there. But remember to let her know next time"

But yeah... ALL the other times it has been a conversation with the SS.


-- Names changed to protect the innocent... "Katie" was a great kid and an elite athlete. But while the eyes were open, there was no one home.

Have to keep the runner out of scoring position, which means making the throw to try for the out.
If everyone does their job, SS covers the bag and at minimum blocks the ball and CF is backing up the play, then it ends with a SB and the runner is at second.

Coach is boob. Why yell at anyone? Need to talk to them all and make sure they understand what their jobs are in that situation.
Also, if he didn't want her to throw, he should have told her beforehand. Like others said, if the play is made, he'd be calling her a hero instead.

We have a little league coach who also coaches based on the outcome instead of what they should have done regardless of outcome.

rdbass said:

Also, if your DD had 'plenty of time' to make the throw and seen that the SS wasn't there why throw the ball in this situation?

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What I meant by 'plenty of time' was she received the ball cleanly, it was not an 'eat it' situation.

"Why throw the ball in this situation?" She told me she was taught to throw the ball to the bag, not the player. That goes for snap throws to 1B and 3B as well.

rdbass said:

If your DD had 'plenty of time' to make the throw what was the SS doing during all this time.
Also, if your DD had 'plenty of time' to make the throw and seen that the SS wasn't there why throw the ball in this situation? I understand on a bang, bang play what a catcher needs to do.

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By "plenty of time", I would guess that it was a hard pitch cleanly caught, and the throw would be in time to get the runner. We all know that, unless there is an unusually slow runner, there is not much time to assess anything on a steal...it's register that the runner is going, and throw down. The SS should be enroute when the ball is released, but in most situations, the SS isn't going to be standing on the bag when the catcher decides to make that throw.