Pitcher - Covering Home - How To?

[mholt]

My daughter is going to be starting 12u, and runners can now steal home.

Situation : runner is on 3rd, and the catcher missings the ball.

I wanted to know what is the proper techique/position for the pitcher to be in to cover home plate?

Thank you. Matt.

 

[Mike]

We teach them to set up about 1 to 2 feet in front of the plate towards third base, inside of the baseline. Leave the runner room to run or slide by, we dont want them blocking the plate, its not worth the injury. They get into a fielders position like a short stop covering the bag on a throw down, if the throw is in time from the catcher she tags the runners foot and gets out of the way. I make sure we set aside plenty of time throughout the year just for pitchers and catchers to practice this. Our baserunners also get practice reading pitches, stealing, and sliding to the plate.

 

[Bucketrider]

Hardest thing at first to teach them is to break home. A lot get so upset about the WP or Missed Ball, that they forget about the runner.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

And the pitcher needs to be talking. Many times the catcher doesn't even know where the ball is. I have the pitchers yell either glove side or hand side, so that she at least knows where to turn.

I dislike it, when a pitcher won't talk in this situation. The catcher needs to know where the ball is and where her catcher is.

 

[Greenmonsters]

And the pitcher needs to be talking. Many times the catcher doesn't even know where the ball is. I have the pitchers yell either glove side or hand side, so that she at least knows where to turn.

I dislike it, when a pitcher won't talk in this situation. The catcher needs to know where the ball is and where her catcher is.

I agree that communication is important Amy. I prefer that the pitcher point to the WP/PB rather than yell (glove/hand side or Left and Right reverse when the catcher turns 180 degrees!) and then verbal when in position at the plate so the C knows exactly where to throw before they actually turn and throw

 

[Coach JV]

I instruct pitcher to yell 3 or 1 for which direction the WP darted off to

 

[Mike]

Good point Amy. Also when practicing I throw the wild pitches, maybe its not a big deal but I dont want them practicing throwing wild pitches.

 

[rowdy]

I asked this question of a professional FP catcher and she told me not to have the pitcher cover home at all. Her point was any team can rebound from one run, but a hard slide into the side of your pitcher's leg puts her out for the year and most teams can't recover from that.

A better solution is to teach your catcher how to forget about catching bad pitches and how to block them. This is a skill that is very hard to make a habit because most catchers are pretty solid fielders and fight the idea of not catching the ball. A good block is always where it belongs, right at the feet of the catcher in front of them. NE Catchers video has some great drills to learn this skill.

 

[Lozza]

Simple answer. Pitcher shouldn't be. First base should be.

 

[LAdad]

I asked this question of a professional FP catcher and she told me not to have the pitcher cover home at all. Her point was any team can rebound from one run, but a hard slide into the side of your pitcher's leg puts her out for the year and most teams can't recover from that.

The OP was about a pitcher just starting 12U. When we played at that level (rec, not TB, but pretty decent rec) you could pretty much count on at least a couple pitches per inning going past the catcher. It's more like a run per inning than a run per game (though with any luck, the same for both teams). Most coaches want you to make at least a token effort to cover home, if only to deter the steal. It is true though that if they really steal, they almost always end up safe.