Throwing hand injuries from ball contact with the hand behind the glove.

[guero_gordo]

This has bugged me for a while so I thought I'd crowdsource it.

If you have observed a ball contact a catcher's throwing hand while it was behind the glove, please chime in. If you saw it on TV or video that would be fine too, perhaps ideal. I'd just like to keep it empirical and not theological, please.

The more details the better: age, thrown/fouled, actual hand location(in/out of position), injury sustained, etc.

 

[Eric F]

Nope - not behind the mitt, or against the chest protector. However, I have seen injuries because the throwing hand wasn't where it was supposed to be, like flying around above the right knee.

 

[YOCOACH]

Nope - not behind the mitt, or against the chest protector. However, I have seen injuries because the throwing hand wasn't where it was supposed to be, like flying around above the right knee.

Same here. I've seen throwing hands hit while the catcher brought them around from behind there back or shin guard when a runner's stealing or it's just floating around out in front of the knees but I haven't seen a ball hit a throwing hand when it was behind the mitt. Last year at 14u my DD did get hit with her hand behind her mitt and against her chest with a foul ball that took a crazy bounce off of the plate and came up and got her. Luckily, she had her thumb tucked in her fist and no harm done. She shook her hand off, looked at me and HC and said, "That won't even leave a mark!" Then went right back to her signaling position for the next pitch.

 

[Eric F]

Last year at 14u my DD did get hit with her hand behind her mitt and against her chest with a foul ball that took a crazy bounce off of the plate and came up and got her. Luckily, she had her thumb tucked in her fist and no harm done. She shook her hand off, looked at me and HC and said, "That won't even leave a mark!" Then went right back to her signaling position for the next pitch.

Sounds like performance equalled design intent.

 

[C.K]

I honestly don't see the hand being employed behind the glove very much with older kids, IMO its more of a young kid thing. ASA USA Nationals I saw 1 catcher do it. At Ohio Stingrays Invite I saw no catchers doing it. At the higher levels of ball you"ll see less kids getting their hand hit because there more refined. The last two years I never saw a kid get her hand foul tipped, but I did see a couple catchers get there gloves hit by batters framing close to the plate and more than likely on purpose.

 

[Eric F]

At the higher levels of ball you"ll see less kids getting their hand hit because there more refined.

I'm a fan of seeing zero kids getting their hand hit, regardless of their age or experience.

 

[C.K]

So am I. I've seen it more in the 12u and 14u. Its just more rare at the older ages.

 

[chazbz1]

I actually see a lot of MLB catchers start with their hand behind their glove in variations of the "runner on stance." The problem for catchers is when they don't pay attention to their body parts during the game. (Especially their throwing hand) We made this video to illustrate how critical it is for catchers to be aware of how the smallest movement of the throwing hand can put them at risk. Many times the root cause isn't just the throwing hand moving. It's their body moving when it shouldn't as they receive a pitch. This forces hand movement and puts them at risk. The best time to drill on body awareness and correct form is at practice!

[video=youtube_share;VQd8n8-RbQA]http://youtu.be/VQd8n8-RbQA[/video]

To answer Gordo's question... I have yet to see a catcher properly utilizing a runner on stance with their hand behind the catcher's mitt receive a hand injury. (And I have watched a lot of baseball and softball in the last 12 years!)