For me it was when DD was 13. I was in full gear and I turned my head on a riseball and it hit me in the throat. Thought I was going to die and it scared DD to death. We went through the older brother, the older brother's friend (he only caught for her for 15 minutes and said he was scared) the best friend and Dad before we were out of people. Not long after that she decided to concentrate on catching full time. Thank goodness.
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My pride has prevented me from gearing up and my shins paid the price when DD was learning to throw a drop ball. Now that she is 18, I only have 5 months left before she heads to college, so I think I am going to make it. Needless to say as DD became bigger, faster, stronger I was becoming slower, blinder and fatter...a recipe for disaster.
When DD was @ 12, one of the assistant coaches who's DD was a SS, but his two older sons pitched, volunteered to warm up DD during practice. First full pitch tipped off the top of his glove because the pitch was rising instead of dropping like a baseball. A trip to the ER and 18 stitches later he vowed to never catch for DD again...
When DD was @ 12, one of the assistant coaches who's DD was a SS, but his two older sons pitched, volunteered to warm up DD during practice. First full pitch tipped off the top of his glove because the pitch was rising instead of dropping like a baseball. A trip to the ER and 18 stitches later he vowed to never catch for DD again...
DD#2 (13 years old) is a drop ball pitcher. 4 weeks ago AC was catching for her at a team practice without gear using a plate with a raised edge. She hits the front edge of the plate and instead of bailing out he goes down after it. It hit him so hard in the head it buckled his knees as he tried to get to the bathroom before the girls could see how bad it was. Ended up with a concussion. I have had to catch for her since then. I wear shin guards and have no problem bailing out of the way from a bad pitch. I don't mind the drop ball that much, however I have had a few rise balls that have almost come out of the top of my glove at my head but I refuse to wear a helmet.
I still catch my 13 yr old with out gear accept for her drop ball. I wear shin guards now when we work on the drop ball and I will put a helmet on if we are really going to spend time on drop balls. After having a ball that completely fell off, hit the ground then bounced up and hit me in the jaw I realized it was time for a helmet too. She's throwing 50-54mph now so it's at the point I don't care to get hit in the shin, chest, and head.
I stopped catching DD2 (14U now) about a year and a half ago. Once she got over 50mph and learned spins, the ball started moving more. My eyes and reflexes aren't what they used to be. We have 4 catchers on our team. Usually 1 is available to catch lessons. I never wore gear but she hit me in the knee once because I missed it and knocked me off the bucket. Thought I was going to pass out. The worst one was a 38 mph change-up that bounced off the sidewalk and hit my shin. I actually watched the bump grow before my eyes. As Ken B. mentioned above, sitting side saddle will save you some pain.
I went to shin guards after a drop ball skipped off my shin and it throbbed all night.
Sitting on a bucket makes it 1000x easier than squatting like a catcher. I just pick up my feet on low balls vs. trying to dig or block. I also learned a long time ago that if you have a home plate, move it when throwing drop balls. Balls that hit the front lip are unpredictable and a good way to loose some teeth.
- Jun 12, 2015
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The drop ball was the beginning of the end of my catching career. I'm not sure I ever actually caught a single one, just moved out of the way. My kids are very amused by my lack of athleticism, especially considering how much of it they got. Apparently it skips a generation.
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