FOREWORD:

Hello there! My name is Jay Weaver. I am the Owner | Co-Founder of The Catching Camp. Since 2001, my program has provided instruction to catchers from all over the world. TCC students and clients have ranged from youth athletes to college catchers, to those playing Major League Baseball and high-level International softball.

My program has worked directly with catchers, both baseball and softball, from 49 out of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 12 other countries! Today, TCC serves as the largest training program for baseball and softball catchers in the entire world. Every offseason, we travel around the country, providing catchers with elite positional instruction.

In 2006, we released an instructional DVD titled "A Coach's Guide to Training Catchers." It was long referred to by many as THE go-to source for high-level catching instruction. But, as our program has evolved, so has the information and our understanding of how the human body can best perform the skills needed from the catching position. For many coaches out there, the idea of not actually knowing what they once thought they knew is a terrifying concept. However, we have always strived to avoid letting our ego or fear get in the way of our growth as clinicians. After all, my program and I are only ever going to be as successful as our students.

The foundation of The Catching Camp has always been our willingness to adjust what we teach when we are able to find better approaches to a particular skill. We trust in advanced analytics, science, and the overwhelming amount of value that video provides coaches and athletes alike. We want catchers to think about the position intelligently. You will see over 120 videos helping to illustrate the concepts of intelligent catching covered in this e-book.

This e-book is the product of years of research and analysis and is the definitive update to our approach to the catching position. Think of the e-book as the digital representation of the information you'd be exposed to at a TCC Summer Camp, covering every aspect of the catching position and the approaches we believe give catchers a clear advantage over their peers and competitors. I not only seek to show coaches and catchers what to do but why we believe these approaches are a catcher's best chance for success behind the plate.

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The single most important thing that a catcher does behind the plate is receiving. It’s not blocking, nor is it throwing runners out. In a single game a catcher will receive anywhere from 90-120 pitches. That’s 120 opportunities for a catcher to present the pitch to the umpire so that they can make an accurate call of ball or strike. It’s also 120 opportunities for a catcher to take a perfectly good strike and present it to the umpire as a ball. 

As a catcher our focus should be on keeping strikes looking like strikes and maximizing the number of chances we get to ensure a borderline pitch is called a strike. While receiving should not be some sleight of hand magic trick that attempts to fool the umpire into calling a ball a strike, we do need to fully realize the effect on how pitches are perceived by the umpire. Please understand that we are NOT attempting to fool an umpire into calling a ball a strike. However, we also have to recognize human error is a part of this game. Umpires are going to make mistakes. It is our job as a catcher to increase the likelihood that, if an umpire is going to make a mistake, it goes in our favor rather than the hitter’s.

The single biggest problem that catchers have in receiving, throwing, blocking and fielding is an improper stance. I get countless e-mails and phone calls, from coaches at every level, asking to help fix some mechanical problem their catchers might be having. The first question I reply with is this: “Can you please send me a photo of what your catcher looks like in each one of their stances?”. Very often, just fixing the stance will address many of the issues. The human body works best when it can move efficiently. That efficiency is partially achieved by starting in a position which is balanced, powerful and athletic. Consistency with your stance can greatly increase efficiency in each skill area. 

An inefficient stance will have a negative effect on one or all of the skill areas. Our goal should always be to limit the spectrum of outcomes when it comes to anything that we are doing behind the plate, so again, consistency is key here. 

In order to achieve a strong foundation behind the plate, we advise players to use three different stances. Each stance has a defined purpose and their use will vary depending on game situations.

THE SIGN GIVING STANCE:

Sign giving is a private conversation between the catcher and their pitcher. However, we typically see catchers approaching this commonly overlooked skill in a way that leads to them giving away information about the pitch that is being called to the other team. At the end of the day, our only advantage as a catcher over the opposing team is that we know what pitch is coming and they do not. The moment we give up that advantage, we have immediately hurt our team. This isn’t as large a concern at the youth levels, but we strive to train catchers of all ages the right way to approach each skill, and understand what is expected of them at the higher levels.

Our goal when giving signs is to make sure that this private conversation between us and our pitcher stays private. We want to communicate as clearly as we can what pitch we want our pitcher to throw and where we want them to throw it.

Key points of focus for this stance:

1. The outside of the catchers feet in the stance should be no wider than the outside of the hips.

2. The knees point forward in the stance not to the side.

3. The width of the catchers knees should be no wider, nor narrower, than the width of their glove.

4. It is the only receiving position where the catchers heels are off of the ground.

5. The chest should be straight and upright to minimize the possibility of casting shadows which might impede a pitchers ability to see the sign.

6. The wrist bone of the glove hand should rest over the middle of the glove-side knee, with the glove serving as an extension of the knee. The glove should face in wide open, tilted slightly up to protect the sign from being viewed by the base coach.

7. The signing hand is tucked tight into the upper seam of the pants with the knuckle of the thumb sitting against the upper edge of the inseam, tight against the body.

8. The only part of the body that should ever move while giving the sign are the fingers.

A few common mistakes we see catchers make when giving signs are:

 1. The stance is too wide.

A stance that is too wide may allow the opposing team to see the signs. 

2. Too much movement while giving the sign. 

We often see catchers tapping the inside of their thigh to indicate pitch location to the pitcher. The problem with this is that most base-coaches will be able to see the catcher’s arm move in either direction and will be able to relay that information to the batter.

3. Pointing the sign so low below the thighs that an on-deck hitter (or teammates in an in-ground dugout) can see it. 

All of the above mistakes provide ample opportunity for the opposing team to pick up on added information like the pitch type and/or the pitch location.

The correct stance for sign giving needs to be compact and has very little movement:

THE NOBODY-ON STANCE:

With no runners on base, and less than two strikes on a batter, our only job is to present the pitch to the umpire in a way that gives them the best possible chance of making the correct call. 

The proper nobody-on receiving stance has both feet firmly planted on the ground. We aren’t sitting on our heels (that would also be very un-athletic and unbalanced), but the entire foot must maintain contact with the ground to maintain balance. The weight of our body should be mostly towards the front, or balls, of our feet. This will preserve our mobility and athleticism. Both feet are pointed outwards up the first and third baselines. 

The advantage of having the catchers stance with the feet pointing out and the heels touching the ground is that they can then shift their body with their glove across the entire width of home plate, and then some. This allows the catcher to beat the pitch to any spot with their body, as well as create a positive attack angle with their glove. This allows the catcher’s body to support the glove and avoid any excess movement after the pitch has been received.

Catchers in this stance should be as low to the ground as possible (while maintaining balance and mobility), and the glove should be presented to the pitcher away from the body, absolutely motionless prior to the pitcher beginning their motion in an effort to avoid creating any kind of distraction to the pitcher or the umpire.  

While presenting the target, the glove needs to be away from the body, but not with locked elbows. It is a soft bend of the elbow (with the elbow positioned just further forward than the front of the chest protector) and I prefer the thumb is pointed to the 3 o’clock position (or 9 o’clock for our lefties out there). This glove positioning serves as a good neutral starting point prior to the pitch. If the catcher prefers an alternative starting glove position, that is fine, but they must be consistent with it and show the pitcher the exact same look every pitch. The glove will NOT be staying there long, but it gives a consistent initial target to the pitcher.

THE THROWING HAND:

With nobody on base and less than two strikes on a hitter our only job is to catch the ball and present it to the umpire. We do not need our throwing hand for that. We must keep it safe, as it is the most vulnerable part of our body that is not protected by any equipment. If it gets hit it can be injured enough to keep us off the field for a lengthy period of time. We have to keep it safe.

Some coaches might suggest keeping this hand tucked between the hip and thigh. My only question to that would be why? What do we need our throwing hand for when our only job is to catch the ball? We don't. Keep it behind the body. Specifically behind the outside heel of our cleats. We do NOT want the hand tucked behind the catcher’s back as commonly done at the youth levels, as this position will force the bone in the front side of the catcher’s shoulder through the shoulder muscle and press it right up next to the skin. Were a ball to hit this part of the catcher’s body, they would have significantly less protection. We’re going to get hit enough. As catchers, we’re going to get bruises. But a bone bruise is an injury that can keep us on the bench for a while.

We want to maintain a relaxed fist with the tip of the thumb tucked into the hand, all five fingers loosly wrapped around it. This will ensure that the most vulnerable part of a catcher’s body (their fingers) stays as protected as possible through the pitch. We want to keep the fist loose and not cliched tightly so that if our hand slips out in the heat of the moment and gets hit, the relaxed fist will give a little upon contact. This will help prevent serious injury. When muscles and other soft tissue are relaxed they are generally less susceptible to injury.

THE RUNNERS-ON STANCE:

With a runner on base, or two strikes on the hitter, the list of our responsibilities grows. We must now consider the fact our pitcher could throw the ball into the dirt and we’ll need to block it, or the runner may attempt to steal 2B or 3B on us. Both situations require us to plan ahead and adjust the stance we set up in as a way to give ourselves every chance at either blocking the ball or throwing the runner out.

We’re going to make three distinct changes to our stance that differ from our nobody-on positioning.

1.) Our hips, instead of sinking below our knees, will come up in line with them. Our thighs should be flat, parallel to the ground.

If our hips start below our knees before a block, our body will have to go one of two directions first before we can get our knees to the ground and block the ball. The first possibility is that our hips go up. In order for our hips to clear our knees before our knees can begin going back to the ground our hips will have to move upwards. This wastes a considerable amount of time executing a skill that is very time-sensitive. The second possibility is that our hips go forward. If we don’t go up, the only way for our knees to get to the ground is for us to propel them forward. Not only will we now be moving into the ball as it hits our body, adding energy to it, pushing it away, but it’ll also take us longer to get to the ground. The quickest path between two points is a straight line. When our knees roll forward they are moving along an arc, or a curved path. This means our knees are taking a path to the ground that is longer than it has to be and delays our ability to get to the ground in time to block the ball.

2.) Our feet will spread apart by about two inches each.

This creates a wider and much more athletic stance. If our hips came up in line with our knees and our feet didn’t get wider we would be very top heavy and not very athletic/balanced. Widening our feet also gives us the added benefit of being able to cover more space laterally if the ball is thrown there.

3.) Our throwing hand will move from behind our leg to behind our glove.

For as much as we want to keep this hand out of the way behind our body with no runners on base and with less than two strikes on a hitter, that is the absolute worst location for it with runners on base or with two strikes on a hitter. If the hand starts behind our leg, and we are asked to block or throw, the throwing hand will not stay behind our leg. In an effort to get behind the glove on a block or to make a quick exchange of the ball during a throw, our throwing hand will be completely exposed in no-man’s land, vulnerable to a foul or deflected ball.

The safest location for the throwing hand to start when there is a runner on base or with two strikes on a hitter, is in front of our body, behind the glove. Now, to be clear, the hand will not sit behind the glove the entire time during the pitch. It has to go somewhere. We don’t want to follow the glove since that could force a turn of our upper body and cause us to allow our glove to be pulled out of the zone since we’d be providing no counter-force to the ball as it hits our glove. We also do not want to leave the throwing hand out in no-man’s land while our glove loads to the ground and eventually moves towards the ball. So, it has to go somewhere.

While we will talk more about the pre-pitch load of our mitt later, it is important to know that the glove needs to drop down towards the ground before we attack the pitch. This allows us to establish a positive attack angle to the ball and gives us far more control. While the glove hand motion is occurring the throwing hand needs to go somewhere. We prefer it to float halfway between the glove and the chest protector.

If the pitch results in the catcher simply receiving the ball, the throwing hand will get pulled all the way back to the chest protector. Any ball that gets fouled straight back towards the throwing hand will almost always hit the glove first. It may seem like the hand is exposed, but I assure you that the glove movement back towards the ball before a hitter has a chance to make contact with the pitch will inevitably keep the throwing hand far more protected than if it starts anywhere else.

If we realize that the ball is heading for the ground and we need to fire a block, we simply shoot the throwing hand down and tuck it behind our glove as we pull both to the ground to initiate the block.

If we see a runner attempting a steal, we will let the throwing hand float in front of the middle of our chest protector, behind our glove, to prepare to make the exchange in the middle of our chest (more on this in the throwing section) as our glove works back up to receive the pitch.

Is this a 100% foolproof method to make sure that catchers will never get hit in the throwing hand by a foul or deflected ball? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, no such way exists. But, it is the way to keep the throwing hand as safe as possible.

KEY RECEIVING CONCEPTS:

One of the most important things we teach our catchers is to visualize the strike zone through the eyes of the umpire behind you.

Once a catcher develops this view of the game, they will realize how much they can affect the “look” the umpire gets at the pitch as it crosses the plate and the moments shortly thereafter. We need to understand that a flawed approach to receiving can take a perfectly good strike and make it look like a pitch that is actually out of the zone.

It is important to note, there is a short period of time that while the umpire is tracking the ball with their eyes, that the catcher is out of their direct line of sight. This occurs when the umpire has their eyes focused on the ball leaving the pitcher’s hand and continues tracking it until just in front of the plate.

Once the catcher has called a pitch and set up, the umpire’s eyes are focused on the pitcher. Their eyes are on the pitcher throughout the entire pitching motion, and all the way up until the moment the ball is released. After the ball is released, the umpire’s eyes are following the ball. It isn’t until the last three feet of a pitch’s flight that the umpire’s eyes are going to drop down towards the catcher’s mitt. Up until that point, the catcher’s movements are very hidden from the umpire’s view.

It is during this time, from the pitcher’s release to about three feet in front of the plate, that catchers are going to beat the ball to the spot with our body and create a positive attack angle with our mitt. 

Our goal should be to keep every pitch that is anywhere near the strike zone in between our shoulders, and as close to the strike zone as possible. This allows us to maintain more control of our body, arm and our mitt as the ball is making contact with it. Our body can help support the glove arm through the impact of the pitch if it is positioned behind our glove. This allows us to minimize unwanted glove movement after pitch contact (the glove will ALWAYS move after contact no matter what - it’s our job as catchers to ensure that any movement occurs in a direction that is advantageous to our pitchers). If we are reaching outside our shoulders to receive a pitch, it is far less likely we’ll be able to control the movement of our glove at pitch contact, and could end up forcing a perfectly good strike out of the zone.

By shifting our weight, one way or the other laterally across the plate, we can ensure control of our arm and glove. This should be no more than a slight lateral shift of weight in the direction of the ball. When the umpire looks down we want them to see the ball hit the glove while it’s in between our shoulders. If the glove arm moves outside the shoulders with no weight shift, it forces the umpires eyes outside the strike zone.

Doing this allows us to take full advantage of whatever angle of attack we’ve determined will give us the best chance of keeping the strike looking like a strike. Bottom line is whether we are early, late or on time, if our glove is moving away from the middle of the strike zone as the ball contacts our glove, we are at risk of losing that strike.

Our goal should be to present the pitch to the umpire in it’s best light, while minimizing anything that could potentially lead to an umpire making a call against our pitcher. Baseball and softball are both games of human error and umpires will make mistakes. Our goal should be to minimize the number of times an umpire’s mistakes go against us and maximize the number of times their mistakes go in our favor, all the while being as respectful as possible towards the umpire. We are NEVER trying to show up an umpire.

“FRAMING”:

One of the most common techniques taught to catchers, which many coaches and players think is part of good receiving, is “Framing”. What the term “framing” actually means and what coaches or young catchers think it means are often two different things.

On one hand, there is a belief that moving a pitch which was thrown outside of the zone back towards the plate will actually turn clear balls into strikes. On the other, I have always felt that this technique is mostly insulting to the umpire. They can see the ball hit the glove, they can hear the ball hit the glove, and they aren’t stupid. So what's the point in dragging or pulling the ball somewhere it wasn't? We aren’t fooling anyone. Our goal should be to build a better relationship with the umpire by not trying to deliberately move a clear ball into the zone after it hits the glove. 

How many of you have ever heard a group of parents, or coaches for that matter, jump on an umpire’s back for making what they think is a mistake while calling balls or strikes? Now how many of you would love to be in the umpire’s shoes in those situations? I can’t imagine many of you would volunteer to take that verbal beat down.

Now, let’s be realistic about who actually has the best point of view when determining whether a pitch is a ball or strike? To be clear, it’s not the parents or the coaches sitting at a 45-degree angle and anywhere from 50-150 feet away from the plate. It’s the home plate umpire. The umpire saw the ball hit the glove, they heard it hit the glove, and then the glove moved. 

The umpire, who’s not blind, deaf or dumb, saw the glove move after the ball hit it and read the situation correctly. But the parents and coaches? All they saw was the glove hovering over the middle of home plate, wondering why the umpire called the pitch a ball. While I don’t agree with a parent or coach verbally abusing an umpire, on a certain level I can understand the discontent. 

While I don’t teach catchers to approach the position the same way like I did when I played, I can say that my best games behind the plate were a direct result of minimizing glove movement away from the strike zone. That’s how you “sell” a pitch to an umpire. Avoid any movement away from the strike zone, and you’ll have that much greater a chance of earning the call.

Now, over the years, we’ve done quite a few deep dives into the approaches that we teach and have made a fair amount of adjustments based on that research. At the end of the day, we are only ever going to be as good as our students are. As a result of that understanding, it’s important for us to always be searching for the most efficient and successful means of doing our job behind the plate.

One of the results of our research was a realization and understanding that some movement back towards the plate is a good thing. However, it must be seamless and had to start before the ball hit our glove.

I’ll explain…

After recognizing a trend in 2019 among some of the most well known catchers in MLB, I had to take a step backwards and reevaluate our approach to teaching receiving.

Interestingly enough, a few catchers who rated as some of the worst receivers in the league in 2018 all of the sudden became some of the best. The changes they made were very apparent, but went completely against what we had been teaching (ie. “Beat the ball to the spot with the glove and stick the pitch”).

You can read more about these catchers and their adjustments HERE:

The long and short of it was that each catcher’s angle of attack to the ball (the path the glove takes to the ball) had changed considerably. Most of these catchers used to start their glove inside the strike zone at pitch release, subsequently working their mitt to the spot the pitcher threw the ball to. Now, the best receiving catchers in baseball and softball today are starting their mitt below the ball and are waiting to make their move back towards the strike zone until the last possible second to ensure that their glove is NEVER moving away from the plate, and any excess movement will always be towards the center of the strike zone. While I personally do not want catchers pulling pitches multiple inches towards the strikezone, the greater evil is receiving pitches in a way that forces that post-pitch glove movement away from the strike zone.

To show you what I am talking about please see the video below demonstrating several different catcher’s approaches to pitches that are outside each part of the strike zone.

In each of these examples, the catcher starts their glove outside the strike zone and below the path of the ball. Once the location of the pitch is known, the catcher syncs up their glove movement to receive each pitch on their way back towards the strike zone with their glove. Again, we acknowledge that movement is going to happen after we receive the pitch. Our approach to receiving will determine which direction that movement occurs. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer less movement after contact in general than is shown in some of the examples, but that tradeoff is not nearly as detrimental as we once believed. And, if given the choice, I’d choose movement towards the strike zone rather than movement away from it ten times out of ten.

What these catchers are NOT doing is stabbing at a pitch and pulling it back towards the strike zone from their shoulder. The movement is not “catch the ball THEN move the glove”, it’s “move the glove WHILE catching the ball”. They are driving their glove THROUGH the pitch and the extension of their arm through the ball allows them to finish the pitch towards the strike zone. Because of the angle they took to receive it they are able to ensure zero movement away from the strike zone.

As far as movement away from the strike zone, the most common direction I see catchers losing strikes (or possible borderline strikes) is down. I routinely see catchers who start their mitt above the ball and the only direction to go from there is down.

While this movement back towards the strike zone doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we’ll expand the zone for our pitcher, executing this approach in one smooth and seamless motion can help us earn those borderline calls that could have otherwise gone against us had we shown the umpire any glove movement away from the strike zone.

GLOVE POSITIONS:

To be very clear, our goal should not be to deliberately fool an umpire into calling a ball a strike. However, we should get in the habit of receiving pitches in a way that results in an umpire’s mistakes working in our favor. It’s about perception versus reality, and understanding what our mitt looks like to the umpire from the umpire’s point of view is the first step expanding the strike zone throughout the game. 

We want to make sure that the glove is not moving randomly while attempting to receive the pitch, so we assign a specific glove position to each part of the plate. This enables the catcher to always look deliberate and precise. When a catcher meets the ball on the way back to the strike zone, and receives the pitch in the proper glove position, they are able to present the pitch to the umpire in the best way possible and provide a consistent visual representation of each part of the strike zone. 

If were are constantly receiving pitches in a way that leaves a portion of the glove outside of the strike zone (or outside of our shoulders for that matter) we are effectively creating a situation where the umpire could read the pitch incorrectly. We want to give the umpire every opportunity to call a close pitch a strike without insulting them by actively pulling the pitch back into the zone. 

We teach three specific glove positions and each glove position correlates with a pitch location. Most pitches thrown to the catcher’s glove-side of home plate should be received with glove position “A”. Pitches thrown across the middle third of home plate are usually to be received using glove position “B”, and any pitch that crosses the catcher’s throwing hand-side of home plate should be in position “C”.

The “B” glove position, used for pitches down the middle of home plate (and occasionally on the catcher’s glove-side - to be explained later) is our “default” glove position. We are catching the top half of the ball, locking the wrist, while keeping the back of the glove level with the ground. If we are ever confused as to which glove position to use, we should always go with “B”. At the very least, we are able to show the umpire the exact height of the pitch and some part of our glove will be over home plate. 

When a pitch is thrown across the edge of the plate, it is important for us to remember to catch the “outside half” of the ball. This way the majority of our glove is closer to the middle of home plate, while the outer edge of the glove indicates exactly where the edge of the ball is. 

The “A” glove position is used for pitches to the catcher’s glove side of home plate. We are receiving the pitch out in front of our body with our wrist locked, the glove upright and turned in towards the plate. We are only going to use this glove position when we have called for a pitch to the glove side of home plate. We are going to load our mitt to the ground a little different than we would if we were expecting the pitch anywhere else. Instead of loading the thumb or web of our glove to the ground, we will load the base of the glove, or pinky, to the ground to prepare to receive the outside half of the ball. If a pitch is thrown to the glove side of the plate and we were not expecting it, attempting to catch a ball in the “A” glove position would force us to turn the tip/web of glove away from the strike zone. This will most likely cause us to pull the ball further off the plate as a result.

If the pitch is thrown to the catcher’s glove side and they weren’t anticipating it to that side, the catcher should receive the pitch in the “B” glove position. This way, they minimize the likelihood that their glove will be traveling away from the zone and some part of it will remain hovering over the plate.

The “C” glove position is used when a pitch is thrown to the catcher’s throwing-hand side of home plate. Similar to the “A” glove position, we want to catch the “outside half” of the ball with the glove extended forward. Again, we want the bulk of our glove closer to the center of the strike zone, while the edge of the glove indicates exactly where the edge of the ball is. 

There are, however, some exceptions to these rules. 

If the pitch thrown to the catcher’s glove side is thrown at a height near or above the top of the strike zone, we recommend receiving it in glove position “B”. The reason for this is fairly simple. Umpires are far more likely to give us strikes on pitches thrown off the edges of the plate than they are with pitches located up and out of the strike zone. By receiving both inside pitches at the top of the strike zone in the “B” glove position, we are showing the umpire the actual height of the pitch. The chances of a pitch in that location being called a strike is already relatively slim, so we might as well use the glove position that is most likely to earn us the call. 

A good rule of thumb is that if we aren’t sure which glove position to use, always default to the “B” glove position.

THE ONE KNEE DOWN STANCE:

A number of years ago we started to see much wider use of the one-knee-down (“OKD”) stance from catchers at the higher levels. As a result, we started seeing this approach being utilized by more and more amateur catchers, and we started getting asked about this stance regularly from catchers, parents and coaches alike. Up until recently, we were vehemently against this stance. Our reasoning was very similar to what you would hear from a lot of very experienced coaches: ”it’s lazy”.

However, a number of years ago, a long and heated discussion with former Atlanta Braves catcher Tyler Flowers sparked my curiosity and I began to look into the merits and viability of this stance as an alternative to the more traditional approaches. What that research turned up has completely reshaped how I feel about this stance, but I still do not fully align with the majority of catchers and coaches who have begun implementing this stance as the new “default” positioning for a catcher.

The fact of the matter is this: a OKD stance can be incredibly valuable to all catchers. It gives us the ability to become even more efficient with the way we receive pitches, it helps keep more strikes looking like strikes, as well as earning more borderline calls…but, IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS ONLY!

A OKD stance should NEVER be used with a runner on base or with two strikes on the hitter. It’s as simple as that. There is simply too much risk to being in that stance in critical moments of the game and not enough value gained to make the risks worth it.

If you watch any high level baseball or softball game these days, you will most likely see one or both of the two catchers defaulting to the OKD stance. Now, I have worked with athletes at the highest levels and I can tell you that most, if not all, are better at receiving from that stance. That said, those same catchers are still also very good on two feet in a traditional stance. The value added from being on one knee is very apparent, but the difference in value between receiving on one knee as compared to two feet does not offset the increased risk when considering how much more difficult it is to block out of that stance, and the value lost when considering how much a catcher’s accuracy can be affected when throwing out of that stance.

When it comes to blocking, a catcher’s lateral mobility is limited in that stance, as is their ability to adjust up to ball thrown up above their head. There is no getting around this point. Then the natural question begs: “why do athletes playing at the highest levels of the game, in the highest pressure situations, still utilize that stance as a default position if it’s so harmful to them and their team?” The answer is very simple. The benefits still outweigh the risks much of the time. However, the same cannot be said for amateur and youth catchers cannot. Why? Again, a very simple reason. Their pitching isn’t good enough and it’s not even remotely close. The frequency a professional or high level softball pitcher throws a pitch into the dirt to a location where the catcher cannot get to it because they were anchored to a spot on one knee, or throw a ball over the head of a catcher because they can’t stand up in time since they are starting with a knee on the ground, is so minimal that the added value that the OKD stance provides them while presenting pitches to the umpire is often worth the risk. At the amateur levels it’s NOT EVEN CLOSE.

I don’t care how good you may think your pitchers are, they aren’t good enough. The spectrum of pitch outcomes with an amateur pitcher is far wider than that of a professional and it’s important to understand this when determining how to provide the most value as a catcher at those levels.

Is this stance something I would advocate using? Yes, absolutely…but only in the right situations specifically with no runners on base and less than two strikes on the hitter. In those situations, a catcher that has mastered a OKD stance can provide an incredible amount of value to their pitcher and their team. By starting our center of gravity lower, the OKD stance allows us to establish an angle of attack to the ball that keeps more force behind our mitt and gives us more control than we would otherwise have receiving on two feet.

So, should catchers use this stance? YES! Should they use this stance all the time? NO! Catchers can simply be better as a whole by allowing the game situation to determine the type of stance they’ll be receiving from.

OFFSPEED PITCH RECEIVING:

Receiving offspeed pitches requires catchers to demonstrate patience, adjustability and touch.  Our goal is to receive the pitch when it is a strike, not before nor after. 

In order to become proficient at this skill, catchers will need to avoid making one of the most common mistakes when receiving offspeed pitches: following the ball with their glove rather than their eyes. 

When this happens, the catcher’s glove often ends up above the break point of the pitch and from that moment on they are chasing the ball down and will end up on top of it, likely pushing it out of the bottom of the strike zone. 

Offspeed pitches approach home plate at a far steeper angle than a fastball. In order to match the plane that the ball is traveling on as it reaches the plate, catchers must keep their glove loaded on the ground longer, not lifting it off the ground until they can be confident that the ball will hit their glove on the way up towards the strike zone.

The timing of this glove movement is completely dependent on where the break of the offspeed pitch occurs. So, we’re going to separate offspeed pitches into two different categories. One, the offspeed pitch that starts outside of the strike zone and ends inside of it if we wait long enough to receive it. The second, an offspeed pitch that starts inside of the zone and will end up outside of it unless we prevent it from doing so.

A high offspeed pitch, which we know will eventually make its way back down towards the strikezone, is a pitch we need to wait on for as long as we can. This may lead to us receiving this kind of pitch closer to our body, behind the plate, and with our arm bent. Again, our goal is to receive this pitch when it’s a strike and let the umpire make the appropriate call. If it’s not a strike until it is right in front of our chest protector, then that is where we’re going to catch it. 

On the contrary, if the pitch starts inside the zone and breaks early, heading towards the bottom of the strike zone, we need to do everything we can to make sure that we get our glove underneath the ball in an effort to catch the ball while it’s still a strike.

Check out the examples below of how to, and how not to, approach this pitch:

High offspeed pitch: INCORRECT

You can see each of the catchers below extending to the pitch too early and actually making a pitch that should have been called a strike look more like a ball.

High offspeed pitch: CORRECT

In the examples below, you will see each catcher wait until the ball has fallen back into the strike zone as much as they can before it hits their glove. Both of these pitches crossed the plate as balls, but each catcher caught the ball late enough to receive them when they were back down in the strike zone.

Low offspeed pitch: INCORRECT

Both catchers below start their glove low, but both bring them up far too early and end up above the breaking point of the pitch. This causes them to force the pitches that should have been called strikes down out of the strike zone.

Low offspeed pitch: CORRECT

In the examples below, you will see these two catchers take a better approach. Both maintain the load of their glove on the ground until the last possible second. At that point, they extend underneath and through the pitch preventing any and all glove movement away from the strike zone. Now, some people may say that there was a bit of excessive movement after contact, but I disagree. The force needed to counteract a ball traveling downward from forcing the catcher’s glove down with it is substantial, and each catcher creates whatever counter force they needed to in order to prevent any and all glove movement away from the strike zone. As a result, each catcher was rewarded with a strike on two respective pitches that should have been called balls.

RECEIVING - FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Receiving is an art form. That much is true. But, it takes a lot of work to put into practice the approaches we’ve talked about here. This means going out of your way to get behind the plate as often as you can. One of the most important aspects to receiving is understanding what any particular pitch is going to do, but that only comes with a lot of experience. Catchers should be going out of their way to put themselves in front of their pitchers to gain that understanding.

That means in the offseason, we should be asking our pitchers if they need anyone to catch their bullpens/pitching lessons. While they are going to think we are doing them a huge favor by volunteering to catch those pitching sessions, in actuality, it’ll be the catcher who gets to put in live catching work for free. The better the rapport a catcher has with their pitcher, the better the chances they have of making their pitchers feel more comfortable with them behind the plate than another catcher. Catchers should never miss out on any opportunity to give themselves an advantage for the next time they are behind the plate.

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Some people may say that hitting a round ball with a round bat is the hardest thing to do in baseball and softball. I disagree. A hitter walks to the plate knowing they will have only one decision to make…swing or don’t. A catcher, on the other hand? We have so many things we need to be aware of, actively thinking about in any given moment of the game. How many outs are there? What’s the count? What did the hitter do their last at-bat? How is my pitcher throwing today? Which of their pitches aren’t competitive today? Where are my infielders positioned? Is this a bunt situation? Could the runner try to steal in this count?  We have to process all of that before we even get to making the decision to receive or block the pitch. I truly believe blocking is the hardest skill to execute at a high level in both baseball and softball.

Blocking is hard for many reasons, but the top two that stand out are fairly simple.

First, blocking is hard because it hurts. It’s not easy to turn off the part of our brain that tell us to get out of the way objects flying at us. From birth we are programmed to protect ourselves when objects that could hurt us are moving towards us, and it is incredibly difficult to reprogram that instinctive reaction.

It’s no secret that catchers are going to get hit by baseballs and softballs, and it’s going to hurt, sometimes a lot. Catchers are going to get beat up pretty routinely. But, they are more at risk to injuries due to poor technique and approach than any other reason.

Catchers that haven’t developed the muscle memory necessary to just react to a ball in the dirt will get defensive and may put a part of their body, that isn’t protected by equipment, in harm’s way. However, by reinforcing a consistent approach to blocking, catchers won’t think about the ball hitting them, instead they will simply execute the movements they have been trained to.

In all my years behind the plate, I can honestly say that the balls that hit me, but stayed within a playable distance from my bod didn't hurt nearly as much as the ones that lead to a runner advancing to the next base.

The next time you block a ball off one of your arms, and you have the seam marks (also know as a “catcher tattoo”) to prove it, make a point to show your pitcher. Not because you are tying to showoff, but because you want to show them exactly how far you’re willing to go to protect them and their pitches. You’re letting them know you’ve got their back and want them to feel more comfortable throwing the ball low. As a matter of fact, when the pitcher isn’t worried about a catchers willingness to block, they end up more relaxed, and as a result throw fewer balls in the dirt. 

The second reason why blocking is hard: We often won’t know when we have to do it.

While we may have be fortunate enough to catch some talented pitchers who don’t throw pitches in the dirt all that often (unless they are asked to), most pitchers will be fairly unpredictable when it comes to pitches thrown into the ground.

This obviously becomes slightly less and less of an issue as pitchers mature, but it also means that their mistakes are being thrown harder and with more movement, continuing to make a catcher’s job still very difficult. On average from the youth levels to high school, it takes a typical pitch about one half of a second (i.e. five tenths of a second) to get leave the pitcher’s hand and reach the dirt in front of a catcher.

In that half of a second, the catcher has a lot to process. First, we have to determine “am I receiving this pitch or am I blocking it?”. If we’ve determined that we need to block the pitch, we then need to identify where the ball is going. “Am I blocking down the middle, to my right or to my left?”. Once we’ve established a direction, then we need to get our body there. The sequence of movements we make while sending our body to the ground means EVERYTHING. If we are out of sequence, we are risking our ability to get to the spot in time to control the ball off of our body.

While keeping the ball in front of us is generally good, a block is truly only going to be as good as the play a catcher can make after it, or the runner they made think twice about attempting to take the next base as a result of it.

there are plenty of scenarios where we keep the ball in front of us but the baserunners still manage to advance. If the catcher is young, or new to the position, they should be praised and given positive reinforcement for demonstrating that they recognized the ball was heading towards the ground, and did something with their body in an effort to keep the ball in front of them. But, at higher levels of play that won’t be good enough. We are only as good as the play we can make after the block.

So, how do catchers deal with these challenges? Having a consistent approach is the first step. This allows catchers to establish the muscle memory necessary to instinctively react to pitches thrown into the dirt, rather than having to think about the mechanics of blocking.

In order to establish that muscle memory, we first need to understand the specific approach we're going to take. We will utilize two slightly different approaches to blocking, both dependent on the pitch type and location. Both of those approaches rely on our brains knowing what a block should feel and look like after we have completed it.

If we don’t know what the final position feels like after we have executed an efficient and successful block, it’ll be very hard to establish a consistent approach. So we’re going to start by looking at the finished blocking position.

FINISHED BLOCKING POSITION - MIDDLE:

KEY POINTS:

1. Knees should be spread apart at a comfortable width. We don’t want to be too narrow since that could cause us to become top-heavy and lose our balance. We also don’t want our knees spread too far apart, since doing so can lead to our upper body sitting more upright. When our chest is upright, the ball is more likely to ricochet forward and away from us rather than straight down. We want the ball to hit our body and end up within an arm’s reach in front of us.

2. Bring the feet as close together as they can comfortably be (everyone’s body is different in terms of flexibility and hip mobility, so some people may not be able to get their feet to touch. Others may) The goal is to make an effort to get them moving towards each other during the block. The quickest path between two points is a straight line, so we want our body to go straight to the ground during a block down the middle. To do this, we’ll need to replace our feet with our knees. However, If our feet don’t come together while we’re pulling them underneath us, they’ll likely go up and when we land on the ground, the only two points of contact we’ll have with the ground will be our knees. Since our upper body will be coming forward over top of our legs, the momentum can lead to us falling forward out of control. But if our feet come as close together as they can, we’ll establish three points of contact on the ground, similar to a tripod effect with our knees and our feet together behind us. This will enable us to make adjustments on the ball while moving to the ground without losing control of our upper body during the block.

3. We want to keep our butt off of our heels. If we sit all the way back onto our heels, we risk our upper body straightening up (vertically) and allowing the ball to deflect forward and away after it hits us. This will make it harder to track down the ball in time to make a play. By keeping our backside elevated off our heels we give ourselves the ability to keep our shoulders further forward than the front of our knees. This will create an angle with our chest that all but guarantees the ball will deflect downward towards the ground after it hits us. Now, there may be some athletes with a longer lower body who may need to modify this position. Some taller catchers may need to let their backside sink into their heels to avoid creating too large of a gap between their legs due to the length of their bodies, and they will still be able to create a downward angle with their chest. There is certainly some flexibility in terms of body position, but ultimately we need to make sure that we are keeping our shoulders forward and our chest pointed to the ground in front of us.

4. Our throwing hand should stay behind the glove, next to the glove hand, and remain in a relaxed fist. In the heat of the moment anything can happen, and if our throwing hand somehow makes its way out from behind the glove, we want to make sure that our fingers are still tucked into a fist and protected. If we rest the palm of our throwing hand on the back of our glove with an open hand, the thumb on our throwing hand can be left exposed to the ball. I make it a point to say that the hand should be behind the glove but also NEXT to the glove hand to avoid the catcher crossing their wrists. When the wrists cross in an effort to get one hand behind the other, the forearms of the catcher sit in front of the chest protector. If I had the choice between getting hit in the chest protector or the arm, I’m not choosing the arm. By keeping the hands next to each other, it allows for the forearms to sit on the side of the body, exposing more of the chest protector to the ball, and giving the catcher a better chance to control the ball after it hits them.

5. The tip of the glove should be the only part of the glove touching the ground. If we lay the back of the glove on the ground, not only does it provide the ball a ramp up into our body where the ball will hit our glove or chest while moving upward (remember we are trying to deflect the ball downward), but it also brings our forearms together in front of our chest protector, making it harder for the ball to get to the chest protector where we’ll have the greatest chance of controlling it.

6. We want our chin tucked, but our eyes up. We want to keep our neck protected, but we don’t want to limit our ability to follow the ball with our eyes so that we can track it down and make a play with it. If we tuck our head too far or too early, we’re giving ourselves almost no chance of seeing the ball come off our body, and the ball would have a greater chance of hitting the top of our helmet and ricocheting far away from us.
Now that we have established where we want to end up, we need to figure out how to get there. We’ll separate these approaches into four categories: fastball blocks down the middle, fastball blocks to the side, offspeed pitch blocks down the middle, offspeed pitch blocks to the side.

FASTBALL BLOCKS DOWN THE MIDDLE:

When it comes to blocks of fastballs thrown to the middle of our body, we have to remember that the quickest path between two points is a straight line. We want to make sure that we are being as direct with our body to the ground as we can possibly be. In order to accomplish this, we also need to understand which part of our body has the ability to accomplish this the fastest. That body part? Our hands. Our hands are the fastest moving parts of our body. Some have suggested that because they can run fast, it’s their legs that should pace this skill. The reality is our legs move US fast, but our legs are not our quickest body part. Our hands can be quicker and far more precise than any other part of our body, and we’re going to take advantage of that while blocking.

Our hands have the innate and extremely unique ability to show our brain where we want the center of our body to go. We want to get hit by the ball in the middle of our body. The days of attempting to field a ball in the dirt are over. Our goal is to allow our gear to do its job and absorb the energy of the ball. Drive our hands to where we will meet the ball, and our body will follow.

In a worst case scenario, if our hands get there first, we still have a very good chance at stopping the ball. If our lower body fires first, and our hands are late there’s a good chance the ball goes between our legs.

On a fastball block down the middle, our hands should get pulled directly in between our feet, with the throwing hand pulling down first, and the glove turning over and pulling next. The faster our hands get to the ground, the faster our body will.

We want our upper body to follow over top of the hands as they make the move to the ground. We don’t want to fold our body over at our midsection and get too low to the ground with our chest and shoulders, but we do want our chin to start tucking and our upper body to start creating the angle necessary to keep the ball close to us after it hits our body. Imagine a string attached to our throwing hand that is also attached to our chin. The hands trigger the move to get over the ball.

Keep in mind, we don’t want the catcher to bring their throwing hand all of the way down to the ground. Doing so will force the forearm of the throwing hand to cover their chest protector instead of sitting off to the side of it. We want the throwing hand to rest behind the glove and next to the glove hand. That way the throwing hand provides support to the glove and we maximize the chances that the ball hits the part of our body where we can control it the best (our chest).

Once our hands have gotten to the ground, and the tip of our glove is touching, the rest of our body will follow. We don’t have a lot of time when blocking a fastball, so we need to get our knees to the ground as quickly as possible.

The fastest way to do that is to replace our feet with our knees. It helps to think of movement like a carpet being pulled out from underneath the catcher’s feet. The feet go back (and hopefully together to maintain the tripod effect we discussed earlier in this chapter) and the knees drop in a straight line down to the ground. The goal is to end up in the perfect blocking position detailed earlier.

In a training environment, it is very important to understand that this position is not natural and building muscle memory will be the key to instinctively getting into that position in the middle of a pitch. The best way to help solidify a consistent approach is to physically fix the block after we hit the ground on each and every block we execute in practice.

Our brain is the most powerful muscle in our body. After each block a catcher fires to the ground, there’s a very small window of time to correct any flaws in the finished blocking position. To be clear, there will ALWAYS be something to fix. Our brain is only going to remember the last position we were in. If we fire a bad block and end up in a finished position that doesn’t give us the best chance to control the ball, it’ll remember that process unless it’s fixed in that moment. The brain is always trying to remember how to repeat each physical process we put our body through. Walking, running, throwing, our brain is looking to make each of those movements instinctive. The same goes for blocking.

If we fire an awful block in a training environment, and simply stand up to reset and do it over because we were frustrated with the result, our brain is most likely to remember (and potentially reinforce) the physical movements of the poorly executed block. However, if we take the small amount of time after each repetition and fix the final blocking position, our brain is much more likely to remember that position instead of the mistake. It will have a much easier time getting into that position the next time.

Should catchers fix a block they fire in a game or while working on recovering from a block to make a throw in practice? Absolutely not! If there is a play to be made, our job is to go get the ball.

COMMON MISTAKES/MISCONCEPTIONS:

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to blocking and what will allow us to get our body in a position to control a pitch thrown into the ground the best. Unfortunately, a lot of these have been around for a while and some coaches today still swear by these approaches. The most common mistake a lot of catchers make on fastballs thrown into the ground to their middle, and one that is a result of old-school information, is to gain ground on blocks as a default approach.

Here’s the problem with going forward on a block. For one, our goal should be to absorb as much energy from the ball as possible. Moving forward into the ball only adds energy to it, and likely pushes it further away from our body, making it harder to make a play off of. Some coaches may suggest that the catcher just has to be quicker, but we’ve already established that the catcher has on average about a half-second to read the pitch, and actually get their body into a finished blocking position. A move forward takes more time because our knees are rolling to the ground along an arc, a curved path. It takes longer for us to get to the ground this way and, because of that, we will still be moving forward as the ball hits our body.

The other issue with this approach is that it accomplishes nothing even if we were to get to the ground in time. Fastballs skip, they don’t bounce. So the idea that we’ll somehow be cutting down the distance the ball has to bounce over us is very flawed since that will almost never happen. We don’t need to cut down the distance, we need to get to the ground as fast as possible. Moving forward doesn’t accomplish this.

Now, is there ever a reason to move forward into a block? Yes, there is. Offspeed pitches. Breaking pitches take longer to get to us, and those pitches bounce. Those pitches (curveball, changeup, knuckleball in baseball and a changeup or dropball in softball) are thrown slower and come to the ground at a much steeper angle that will often require us to move slightly forward. We’ll cover this particular approach later, but in the case of fastballs? Stay back.

The other very common mistake we see catchers making on this kind of pitch is they attempt to “pick” or field the ball with their glove rather than trying to block it with their body.

This can be the result of a fear of getting hit and hurt, or it can be something they were taught. Usually, a catcher who has not built up the muscle memory to create an instinctive reaction to a ball in the dirt will be the one more prone to attempting to field the ball. I have, however, heard of coaches telling catchers to attempt to pick fastballs in the dirt as a default approach. The argument for it being that the catcher doesn’t have enough time to get to the ground on a fastball. This couldn’t be further from the truth and it will hurt a catchers ability to block other pitches as well, as it gives them an alternative approach to blocking that can lead to more balls getting past them.

If we have 0.50 seconds to get our body in position for a block, that may not seem like a lot of time. But, it should only take a catcher about 0.30 seconds to move through the physical act of blocking. Which means, if they can recognize a ball that’s been thrown into the dirt within the first 40% of that pitch’s flight to home plate they will have a relatively easy time getting their body to the ground in time.

However, if they misjudge a pitch in the dirt by just a half inch, they could end up letting the ball get by them and put the other team into scoring position, or they could give up a run that could cost them the game.

One very simple rule catchers should always live by: “When in doubt, block it out!” Any pitch that a catcher thinks has even the slightest chance of heading into the dirt, a catcher should be firing a block. The worst thing that will happen if the ball doesn’t reach the ground? The ball hits them and stays in front of their body, allowing them to make a play if there is one to be made. But attempting to pick as ball off the ground, or risking attempting to receive a borderline pitch that might end up in the dirt? Those pitches often make their way to the backstop. Fire the block!

FASTBALL BLOCKS TO THE SIDE:

Our lives as catchers would be so much easier if our pitchers only threw balls in the dirt to the middle of our body. That most definitely is not our reality. After all, a pitcher’s ability to induce swings on non-competitive pitches out of the zone is a key to their success, so we want them to feel comfortable burying a ball in the dirt anywhere on purpose as well.

In order to be consistent with this skill, we’re going to need to take a slightly different approach to blocking to the side.

Our hands become even more important here. Their ability, when held together and touching the ground, help the brain figure out how far out midline needs to go. Even more important, it helps tell the brain when it should stop and shut down the body movement to the side. Both of those abilities are integral to a catcher being a successful blocking catcher.

We’re going to break up this skill into a three step process. In the middle of a full speed block nobody but the catcher, and perhaps a professional catching instructor, should be able to tell the order in which the catcher executed these steps. Each of the movements involved in a block are overlapping each other, one step leaking into the next until the end of the skill.  Which is why the sequence is so incredibly important. If we are out of order with these steps, it become very difficult to maintain a seamless move to the ground. Efficiency is a word you’ve already read plenty of times so far in this e-book, and it’s very important here as well.

STEP ONE: HANDS TO THE BALL:

As is the first step in firing a block down the middle, we are going to start this block to the side with our hands as well.

We want to keep our hands together while we send them to the ball. Now, the handedness of the pitcher can play a role in our hands needing to go further than the ball to account for the trajectory of the pitch (when blocking a fastball to the right with a right-handed pitcher on the rubber, our hands will need to travel an inch or two beyond where the ball is thrown, and vice versa on a ball thrown to the left with a lefty pitching).

We want to keep this ball close to our body after it hits us, and ideally have it funneled back toward the middle of the field (but still behind the plate).  In order to accomplish this, we must make this move with our hands without turning our body in the direction of the ball, the opposite direction our chest needs to be facing when the ball makes contact with our body.

STEP TWO: BACK KNEE TO THE GROUND:

The order our knees head to the ground is vital to the success of a block. If our front knee comes down first (we call it “dropping anchor”) all adjustability goes out the window. It also makes it very hard to control the momentum of the body and limits our range to the side.

Some of you may have seen professional catchers utilizing this approach, but not only is it less-effective at any level, they are also playing on a field that is perfectly manicured every single day (packed clay, layer of Turface on top that allows for a catcher to pretty much slide to wherever they want to go with whichever knee). The average catcher around the world will NOT be playing the majority of games on a surface like that.

By driving our back knee to the ground first, we maximize our ability to make mid-block adjustments, it also enables us to cover more ground to the side since we can use our back leg to power our drive out behind the ball more efficiently.

I will say that even if catchers are playing on a well manicured playing surface, dropping the front knee down first makes it much harder, if not impossible for the catcher to go any further to their side, or to get their chest turned back towards the middle of the field.

STEP THREE: FRONT KNEE STRAIGHT FORWARD:

The final step in the block to the side is to get our our chest closed back towards the middle of the field. We want the position of our chest protector to mirror the path of the pitch so the ball hits our body flush and doesn’t merely deflect off somewhere we cannot control it.

To accomplish this, all we need to do is drive our front knee straight forward. We want to avoid letting that knee continue pushing off to the side since it will prevent our body from closing around the ball, and won’t allow us to get our chest turned towards the middle of the field. Remember, the more chest protector os exposed to the ball, the greater chance the ball hits it, and the greater chance we are able to keep the ball close to our bodies by absorbing the energy of the ball.

The finished position should be almost identical to that following a block down the middle, except the feet do not need to come together in the back since there is no explosive movement up and back with the feet. The feet will almost always be in contact with the ground, and once our knees are on the ground we’ll have four separate points of contact providing stability.

Catchers need to understand that this approach should be the one they default to on borderline pitches. If a catcher fires a block down the middle on a ball well off-center from their body, the chances that ball actually stays close is very small. But, getting our body turned behind a ball that was thrown close to the middle? That still allows the ball to hit our chest protector and most likely keeps the ball in front of our body.

Now, other than allowing the front knee to drop to the ground before the back, the most common mistake we see catchers making is not leading this skill with their hands.

We will often see catchers initiate the block to the side by jag-stepping with their lead foot in the direction of the block in an effort to cover more ground. There are a number of things wrong with this approach, but none more than the fact that in order for our foot to go to the side, we have to pick it up off the ground first. Let me say that again…we have to pick it UP off the ground first. If we jab step on a block to the side, we will always go up first. Seeing as the ball is going down, we can safely assume that would be very counterproductive to our goal of getting to the spot before the ball does.

What jab-stepping also does is throw the sequence we need our body to hit the ground out the window.

As I noted above, I cannot stress just how important this is. When we fire a block to our sides and the hands come down last, we are relying on gravity and friction in order to slow and stop our body. While both of those things are great to rely on in a vacuum, we need to be far more precise that that approach allows us to be. If we aren’t accurate with our blocks we risk coming up short and the ball hitting part of our body that isn’t going to absorb the energy well enough to keep it close (our arms), or we could overpursue and and up leaving a path for the ball to get right by us.

Another mistake we see catchers making on blocks to the side is that they pull their hands/glove to their hips instead of the ground.

It makes complete sense…the catcher is attempting to get into the finished blocking position as quickly as possible, and that is where their hands are going to end up at the end of the block. The problem, however, is that by not letting the hands get out to the ball first, we aren’t telling the brain where to line up our middle and when to stop, and we risk being less accurate with the block. So, catchers need to make sure the hands reach away from their middle to the ball and allow the rest of the body to follow them.

When working on this skill, it’s also important for the catcher to realize that they do not need to go fast right off the bat. Going fast with sub-efficient mechanics doesn’t speed a catcher up, it reinforces bad muscle memory, and will make any flaw in their block that much harder to fix over the long haul.

To create a consistent approach, break down each of these blocks slowly at first. This will help ensure that the response to a ball thrown into the dirt is an instinctive one which keeps the ball close and allows the catcher to make a play.

BLOCKING OFFSPEED PITCHES :

One of the most powerful tools a pitcher has is to throw pitches which not only keep hitters off balance, but also induce swings at pitches they couldn’t possibly make solid contact with. Offspeed, or “breaking balls” are pitches that we want our pitcher comfortable throwing low in all counts and situations, knowing that there is a chance they will find the dirt. They need to trust that we will be able to stop it. 

The approach on pitches like this is going to be slightly different than with fastballs. As we discussed earlier in this chapter, fastballs skip into the catcher and get to homeplate quicker. Breaking pitches are slower, have a steeper trajectory towards the plate and will often bounce after hitting the ground because of this.

Because the ball will come off the ground different on a breaking pitch than it does on a fastball, we’ll need to account for that in our blocking technique on these types of pitches. 

Knowing that we have a little bit more time to get to the ground on these types of pitches, we can use that time to give ourselves a better chance to prevent the ball from bouncing off the ground so much that it becomes impossible to control. We’re going to use the knowledge that our body will follow our hands to our advantage and cut down the distance between us and the ball. 

We’re not going to go too far forward since we still have a hitter whose bat we want to respect. But, they are almost always moving forward away from us and we need to account for the bounce and the spin of these kinds of pitches.

Does this mean that a catcher should always gain ground on an offspeed pitch? Definitely not. Every pitcher is different. Each pitch we see from pitchers is different. The approach should be flexible based on what a catcher sees in front of them on any given pitch. Some offspeed pitches will break down to the ground very late and we don’t need to change our approach at all compared to how we would block a fastball. Some will break very far out in front of home plate and we’ll actually need to stand up to block it.

A few key points of focus for pitches we do need to come a little forward on:

1. We must keep our shoulder in front of our hips while we send our hands out in front of us to the ball. The natural instinct will be to let the shoulders roll back as our lower body drives forward. This will lead to one of two problems. One, our chest will be completely upright at the moment the ball hits us. This could make it hard to control how the ball comes off our body . Or two, in an effort to make up for the last issue, our chest will launch forward at the point of contact with the ball, pushing it far away from us and giving the runner’s on base a chance to advance.

2. Catchers must account for the spin of a pitch. Now in softball, the pitches that actually have spin (curveball, screwball, etc) are thrown at almost the same speed as a fastball, so softball catchers will not have to deal with this issue as much as baseball catchers since there will be more force behind a breaking pitch and the ball won’t be as affected by the spin. Baseball catchers will need to plan for the “kickback” of a curveball. Again, every pitcher is different. Some throw a 12-6 (up to down) curveball. Others throw a sweeping curveball. Both are going to act differently as they hit the ground in front of us. Both should, at the very least, lessen the amount our chest gets turned back toward the middle of the field, and in some cases require us to turn in the opposite direction from where the ball was thrown.

Though, a general rule of thumb is that the further the ball gets off to our side, the less the ball will be affected by the spin when it hits the ground. The more extreme angle the ball is taking to the side of our body, the more the force behind it will eliminate the affect of the spin. So the further the ball is from our middle, the more we will be required to get our body turned back towards the middle of the field to control it.

BLOCKING - FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Blocking is by far the hardest skill for a catcher to perfect, and that is why it alone is the skill which determines how far any catcher will go in the games of baseball and softball. Do you know what they call a catcher who cannot block at the next level? They call them a first baseman. Seriously. A catcher who can’t block will lose their job before they can make it to the backstop to retrieve the ball that got by them. It’s that simple.

When catchers are learning this skill, it’s incredibly important that coaches understand any reaction to a pitch in the dirt which signals that they recognized the ball heading towards the ground is a positive one. But, if the catcher continues having issues pulling the trigger on balls in the dirt, the first question has to be “how much time are you spending working on blocking?”. If we as catchers don’t own these techniques in a training environment, asking ourselves to perform them in a game with live pitches being hurled at us is nearly impossible. Catchers need to find opportunities to build the muscle memory necessary to force and instinctual reaction to a pitch thrown into the dirt. Until they can do that, they won’t be able to master this skill.

How do we form muscle memory? Practice. Consistently spending time on any skill is the only way to see progress. Work on blocking to each general blocking direction (middle, right, left) by firing dry blocks (no moving ball) to the ground. Fix every single block in order to cement that intended end result/body position into the brain. If we reinforce the same response to a ball thrown into the ground as often as possible, the brain won’t have any other option when it happens in a game.

One last recommendation: While we have a separate drill library that outlines the drills we can use to improve on these skills, the most important drill is the one you don’t ever do. Whatever you do, NEVER ATTEMPT RAPID FIRE BLOCKS….EVER! The single most destructive blocking drill is rapid fire blocks. Blocking is about programming the neural pathways in our brain to have one response to a ball in the dirt. There is flexibility as far as the exact movement we make based on the pitch and location, but the response should be consistent. The only thing that rapid fire blocks does is help to reinforce bad muscle memory associated with the skill. The second block will never be as good as the first, and as a catcher continues that drill fatigue will set in. When a catcher gets tired during that drill the technique falls apart. Remember this…our brain only remembers the last process it went through. If the last block we fired was inefficient, that is what it will consider the appropriate response to a ball in the dirt, and it will become that much harder to make future adjustments.

If you want to push a catcher to get quicker, recommend they go through speed and agility training, turn the velocity up on the pitching machine or move closer to throw the ball to them. All are ways to help a catcher get to the ground quicker. But, simply asking a catcher to figure out how long they can hop up and down before they collapse isn’t a productive use of practice time. In fact, it’s incredibly counter productive.

NEXT CHAPTER

OTHER CHAPTERS

For a very long time, we chalked up the different throwing mechanics that the best catchers in the world were using simply as approaches they were able to get away with because they were world-class athletes or "freaks of nature."

Now they might just be such freaks, but the reason their throw looks different than what is universally taught around the game is not due to that fact. The reason these throws look different than everything that I have ever been taught is simply because the movement patterns these athletes use to throw are right. Just about everything I was taught growing up in the game is very incomplete.

Now let me throw this out there right from the start. If you've bought our DVD, "A Coach's Guide to Training Catchers," this will be very different. What we currently teach is a product of the approach we have always taken with our instruction: prove to us there is a better way, and we will teach it.

I'll continue to search for a more efficient and dynamic approach to every skill, and if I find one, I'll teach it. As hard as it was to really accept that this change was necessary, it has gone a long way in helping our students achieve the goals they have set for themselves, and I couldn't be more excited to share this information with you.

To explain the reasoning for the change, I must first tell you a story:

I can remember the night when my father explained the idea of "Scope and Sequence" to me. It was around 2 am, and I was up grabbing a glass of milk and a handful of Oreos. We got to talking about the struggles I had been experiencing while working with some of my students. I couldn't understand why some of them "got it" and some of the catchers I was working with just flat out looked lost.

That was the night my views on teaching and coaching changed forever. You see, my father was an educator trained in kinesiology and biomechanics, and little to my knowledge, he'd been preparing me for this conversation since I was twelve.

Throughout my life, my father would routinely take the time to break things down, sometimes getting far too in-depth into a subject than I thought necessary. But now it all made sense. We need to see the big picture, but the steps in a process are just as important as the results associated with it.

My father taught me that in order for a positive result to be repeated consistently, the entire process required to achieve it needs to be presented and explained to a student first, and then consistently reinforced.

We've certainly come a long way with the instruction we have provided to catchers around the country over the last 22+ years, but one of the things my father never let me forget was that in order to be a great teacher, you must continue to maintain an open mind and remain an attentive student.

As such, my father always maintained that if there was a better way of doing something, a better approach to any of the skills that we teach, and you could prove to us that it was better and more efficient than what we currently taught, we'd change what we teach.

Well, one night it happened. I was shown a video of former Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz throwing to 2B. I had often referred to him as the closest Major League representation of what we used to teach back then. This is what I saw.

Now, I don't want to say that this is the clip that changed my entire thinking of the throwing motion, but this clip certainly got the ball rolling.

There was something very different about the movement his arm was making, and I didn't quite understand it. What I saw was a throwing motion that never stopped moving, was incredibly fluid and smooth. The idea of a wave was the first thing that popped into my head: a constant build of energy, reaching a peak, and then crashing upon the expulsion of that energy. This was very different than what we had taught in the past or what I had been taught when I was still playing. What I saw were the elbows leading the arms behind the body, providing resistance against the stride of the front leg.

I saw, for the very first time, thoracic extension, which happens as the back hip thrusts forward, and the spine is forced to follow in the same direction, pushing the chest out from the shoulders.

What I saw next literally threw my head into a tailspin. It was the ball dropping behind Carlos' body, parallel (if not just for a split second) with his waistline as his back hip began to drive forward and his front pelvis continued to open.

Nothing stopped, and it literally looked like a whip at the point of release. More importantly, it looked like the arm had little to do with the acceleration of the ball moving forward. I was very confused. It was at that point that my perception of an efficient throwing pattern changed for good.

I started acquiring video at a rampant rate and, not so shockingly, realized that nearly every high-level player uses this throwing motion. I was sure it wasn't a coincidence, and it also couldn't possibly be because they were so much more athletic than the majority of players I had worked with in the past. So I started on a journey to find the truth.

The result of that journey and the ensuing years of research are outlined in the rest of this section.

THROWS TO 2B:

The first step in creating a successful throw is to understand that the throw is not a position. It's a process. And one of the best ways I can explain this process is to help you understand the difference between it and what is most commonly taught to catchers around the world.

Unfortunately, your experience is probably not that much different from mine. Pull the ball to your ear, keep it short, throw like a catcher. These are phrases I had grown accustomed to hearing on a baseball or softball field. Now I cringe when I hear them.

There is this idea out there, and it has been since the beginning of the game, that an athlete must adjust their throwing motion to the position in which they play. When you think about it, I mean really think about it, this is absurd. The goal is to use an overhand throwing motion to propel a round ball towards our target, right? Why should we change our approach simply because we are standing on a different part of the field? The biggest difference between any two positions is the amount of time you have to complete the throw. The core athletic movement patterns that you use to accomplish this should not change.

This brings me back to the most commonly used instructional phrase to describe a "catcher's throw". "Pull the ball to your ear and throw." The idea is that by doing this, it keeps the throw short. And we all know how time-sensitive a catcher's throw is, so this should help us get rid of the ball more efficiently, right? WRONG.

By simply pulling the ball to your ear, you neglect the strongest, most supportive muscles in your body, in favor of utilizing the muscles that were not designed to power the throw. Ultimately, we want to take advantage of what the rest of our body can do to support our throw. Our back muscles (lats), our quads, our hamstrings, our glutes, our abductors, and our hip flexors, all of the muscles that are in some way attached to the hip, need to be used to create the power in our throw. Otherwise, we risk injury and general inefficiency.

If we can create resistance between our upper body and our lower body while moving forward, our arm essentially becomes the delivery mechanism for the ball, rather than the power source. It's the idea of thoracic extension and scapular retraction.

The more thoracic extension you have, the more scapular retraction you'll experience, and the more your arm will "lay back" into external rotation at the correct time. This allows the arm motion to be generated by muscles other than the rotator cuff. Basically, if we can repeat this motion consistently, we can take more stress off of the rotator cuff and other vulnerable parts of our arm during the throw.

How does that happen, you might ask? Well, let's first talk about the direction of the weight transfer in this throw.

We must realize that the transfer of weight should always happen in the direction of our target. You will notice in the clip on the right that the student is set up for a drill in which his front shoulder starts out pointed at his target, his back shoulder facing behind him. We can call his left shoulder "front" and his right shoulder "back." Here's where it gets a bit tricky.

An efficient throw is not a side-to-side transfer of weight. It is a "back" to "front" forward motion. However, in a high-level throw, the side of the body that is defined as "back" and "front" will change throughout the throwing process.

The orientation of the weight transfer changes as the body turns forward. The student's chest becomes "front," and their backside is "back." The body will, in fact, be moving along three different planes.

This has much to do with the drive off the back leg and rotation of the hips. When the pelvis turns forward through the transverse plane, it pulls the Lat muscle with it. The Lat, also being connected to the humerus bone, pulls the arm through the frontal and sagittal planes into a "layback" position. As the pelvis continues to rotate, the upper body continues to drive forward, and the arm, accelerating behind the body, whips forward.

We cannot achieve this with a "spinning" throwing motion. A spin places all of the responsibility of the throw on the arm, rather than the surrounding musculature. This can be a major cause of shoulder pain. A spinning motion is often what results when a catcher attempts to "pull the ball to their ear and throw."

If you take a look at the Carlos Ruiz clip again, notice how as the orientation of his body changes and he turns the arm forward, the ball and the elbow seemingly trade places, creating a turnover effect. Meanwhile, the ball never stops building momentum. All of the energy, which was generated behind him, is being transferred directly into the ball, towards his target, with little to no stress on the more vulnerable parts of the arm.

One of the things I used to think about all of the time were those throws I made where I didn't know how they got to where I threw them. I can remember letting the ball go but feeling nothing as I did it. The ball left my hand with more velocity than I thought I had the ability to generate, but with significantly less effort compared to most of my throws. I wanted to find a way to repeat that feeling but had no idea how or what I did. Now I do.

WHAT IS POP TIME AND WHAT'S ITS VALUE?

A catcher's "pop time" refers to the time it takes a catcher to get the ball from their glove to the glove of the infielder covering second base on a throw.

The pop time to second base is talked about so frequently that it has become a tool by which to measure the catcher's overall ability behind the plate. This measurement very often creates a false metric that ultimately means very little in the overall value of that particular catcher to their team.

In fact, the more important intangibles of a catcher are almost always overlooked. For one, a good receiving catcher will net you more strikes per inning than a catcher who does not know how to receive the ball properly. That should be obvious and a given.

Two, a catcher who possesses good blocking mechanics gives the pitching staff confidence to throw any pitch at any time in any location without the worry that a runner will advance on a ball they throw in the dirt.

And three, a prepared catcher with a defensive mindset will be able to aid their teammates in the crucial split-second decisions that need to be made during the game. However, coaches are always judging catchers exclusively on their throw-down times to second base.

It is not a meaningless number by any stretch, but it can be extremely overvalued if other factors are not taken into account.

Most pop times are recorded in training environments without a batter standing in the box taking their hacks, or without the pressure of an in-game situation. The catcher can often cheat the stopwatches during the training environment throw by getting their body to a location to catch the ball they wouldn't be able to if it were an actual game. Some catchers even go as far as to take a step or two forward across the plate before the ball ever gets to their glove. Good luck doing this in a game! Hope the feeling of a bat hitting your body is one you enjoy because that's the only way you'll be able to recreate that "great" throw in a game.

The only pop time I give any credence to is the one recorded in a game situation and there is video proof, that is if I myself wasn't there to personally time it with a stopwatch. That's not to say we can't use practice time pop times as a gauge of the progress a catcher has made, but the context is very important.

The point of this section is to focus on how to improve a catcher's mechanics and efficiency during a throw to 2B, and while I do not want to ignore the quantifiable measurement of pop time, I do want to make it incredibly clear that this "statistic" should NOT define a catcher or their ability to play the position well. It is just one piece of the puzzle. I find it much more valuable for our catchers to be rock solid behind the plate in their receiving and blocking skills than their ability to throw out a runner at second.

Coaches need to be more concerned about the mechanics being efficient rather than the time on the stopwatch. Keep in mind that a catcher's throw is only one piece of the puzzle during an attempted stolen base. The pitcher's time to home plate (from the first move in baseball and from the release of the pitch in softball), the location of that pitch, and our infielders' ability to catch and put down a tag are all just as important as our throw because they all have the ability to sabotage the outcome equally.

Now, what is a good pop time, you might ask?

To give you an idea, let me first give you a good frame of reference. I was an associate scout with the Los Angeles Angels for a little over six seasons, and I can count on one hand the number of catchers I saw with in-game throws to 2B under 2.00 at both the high school and college levels.

The best catchers in Major League Baseball are consistently throwing somewhere around 1.80-1.90 during games. Similarly, the best in the game of softball (NCAA Division 1) are consistently throwing 1.75-1.85 during games. The average throw in both games is at or right under 2.00 seconds. This means that some of the catchers playing at the absolute highest level of baseball and softball are still throwing over two seconds to 2B in games.

The average in-game pop time at the high school varsity level of baseball and the U18 competitive softball circuit is around 2.35 seconds. This includes everyone playing at that level. The good catchers at those levels will throw somewhere in the 2.10-2.25 range. The great ones will occasionally throw under that.

Don't forget that even "average" throws will result in a lot of outs, and these catchers should be able to throw out runners at some level of college baseball and softball.

Now that we know what the goal is, let's take a look at how to achieve it.

STANCE AND BODY POSITION BEFORE THE THROW:

In order to execute the mechanics of a high-level efficient throw, we first need to address the one thing that can sabotage a catcher before the pitch has even left the pitcher's hand: STANCE.

I field phone calls and emails from catchers, coaches, and parents of catchers all year long. The majority of the calls I receive are regarding a catcher's throw to 2B and how to improve upon their existing throw or fix a specific issue they may be experiencing.

The issue could be that the ball is sailing into the outfield, tailing into the runner, or spiking the ball into the ground, but my first question will always be the same: "What does the catcher's stance look like before the ball leaves the pitcher's hand?"

Very often, I'll get this response from the person at the other end of the phone: "Coach Jay, you must have misunderstood me, the issue isn't with the stance, we're just having trouble keeping the ball from flying over the infielder's head and into centerfield. How do we fix that?" My frustration with this reply has no boundaries.

Remember at the beginning of this chapter I made note of "Scope and Sequence" and how that frames the instruction and analysis our program provides? The ball flying over the infielder's head is NOT the cause of the problem. The same can be said for the release point in the throw. Those are symptoms of the real issue that is causing the body to produce a throw perfectly over the infielder's head. Very often, we can trace the flaw in a catcher's throw all the way back to the stance they used to receive the pitch.

To allow your body to work through this very complicated athletic process, the starting position you use must be athletic, balanced, and powerful. Hence the "Runner's On Base Stance" we outlined at the beginning of this e-book.

The goal is to "unlock our hips" and allow for a quick explosive move upward while getting our body turned before heading towards our target. Staying in a deep crouch with a runner on base can force us to waste time getting our hips back to neutral (in line with knees) before we can start a positive move up out of our crouch.

Staying low may also force our lower body to kick out to the glove-side while we attempt to bring our throwing-side foot underneath our center of gravity, causing the weight of our body to start heading in the wrong direction.

OVERLAPPING MOVEMENTS:

How many times have you heard this? "Stay low, throw low." Or better yet, "if you stay lower in your throw, you'll be able to save time in your release by not spending the 'extra' time to stand up." This misinformation is so widely accepted in the game that it has become most coaches' routine approach to teaching catchers the skill of throwing to 2B.

Let me ask you this: How many catchers stand on the foul line before the game and throw from a prone position while warming up? The answer? Not one!

Our body does not work through a throwing motion most efficiently while prone. At least, it won't within a small window of time when trying to get the body turned in the direction of 2B. Now, I will concede that if catchers had an actual missile launcher attached to their arm and all they needed to do was simply crouch down, line it up with 2B, and pull the trigger, this approach would indeed make sense. But if I am not mistaken, science hasn't yet developed a catcher's bionic rocket ball-launcher artificial arm.

There are a lot of moving parts here, folks. We need these moving parts to move fluidly, and that won't happen while tense in a prone position. The other argument claims that by standing up, we somehow lose time getting rid of the ball. Again, this line of thinking is short-sighted and just not true in any way.

I'll concede that if a catcher simply stood straight up immediately after catching the ball, without making any other movement whatsoever, this argument would be plausible. This isn't what ACTUALLY happens in a high-level throw, though.

Are these catchers "staying low" in their throw? They are not. Are they rigidly upright? They aren't doing that either. Are they athletically upright? Yes, they are.

Staying low also does NOT save time! Catchers are going to stand up in a throw no matter what. They can either stand up in the beginning of the throw like we prefer since it allows them to generate a throw "downhill" through second base, or they can stand up at the end of the throw, which will often lead to a high throw away from the play.

This throw from Austin Barnes in 2018 may have been the most important throw of his career to this point. The pitch was low, for sure, but our arms can work quicker than the rest of our body, and a simple turn up of the wrist after he caught the ball was all it would have taken to have gotten it to the middle of the chest to make the exchange. Instead, he stayed low at the beginning of the throw and stood up as he was throwing, causing the ball to get to second base high. The runner, Ryan Braun, was safe. The fact remains, however, that the throw actually beat Braun to the bag. But, because it was about four feet too high, the infielder couldn't get the tag down in time.

Our goal should be to get our body moving early, before the ball ever hits our glove, and do so while moving upward as we get our upper body turning towards our target.

I've heard coaches calling this "cheating," but I would wholeheartedly disagree. I will trade a strike for an out all day long.

PROCESS:

There are multiple things that need to happen in order to get the body positioned to throw a ball towards a particular base:

1. Start standing up.

2. Pinch the throwing-hand-side knee slightly to clear a path for the front hip to point towards the target.

3. Start turning the upper body/shoulders towards the target.

4. Catch the ball.

5. Bring the hands together in the middle of the chest to transfer control of the ball to the throwing hand.

6. Finish turning the upper body towards the target.

7. Bring the throwing-side foot directly underneath our center of gravity, pointing the instep of that foot to 2B.

8. Get our front hip closed towards our target.

9. Stride forward while beginning to throw.

Of the nine movements listed above, the first seven are going to happen while the catcher stands up. The keyword here is OVERLAP.

These overlapping movements allow the body to get athletically upright, turned towards our target, gain control of the ball in our throwing hand, and have the back foot planted underneath our center of gravity. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. This domino effect of movements is what allows catchers to get rid of the ball faster, but only if the catcher has been taught how to execute them consistently.

WHAT MOVES FIRST?

There are a lot of opinions on what should happen first, but I believe there is truly only one way to initiate the throw efficiently. In keeping with the idea of overlapping movements, we must first concede that what moves first is not a singular part of the body. There are multiple things occurring, not just the moment the ball hits the mitt, but in the moments prior as well.

I want you to pay attention to what is happening as the ball makes its way to the catcher's gloves in the videos in this section. You'll notice that their left knee begins to tuck in towards their right.

This will allow them to ensure that their hips don't shift to the left while getting their upper and lower body turned towards 2B as they stand up.

Without this move, it is far more likely a catcher will lose their hips before the body ever starts moving towards their target during the throw.

This pinch in of the knee transitions directly into the move upwards out of their crouch as they catch the ball.

Before the ball even gets to their gloves, you can see the glove-side knee pinching in towards the other.

Think of this knee pinch as the top part of the leg (the femur) simply rotating inside the hip socket as the left knee is pinched slightly towards the right (for righties; the reverse for a left-handed catcher). It is also important to realize that this movement does NOT happen until the ball is on its way to us. Pre-setting the pinched knee before the pitcher lets go of the ball might put us in a fairly restricted position which will prevent us from adjusting to a pitch not thrown where we called for it. At least in a way that allows us to keep strikes looking like strikes. The catcher should wait until they know exactly where the ball is going to be, shift their body to make sure they are receiving it inside their shoulders, and THEN pinch the knee in.

EXCHANGE AND FOOTWORK DURING THROWS TO 2B:

What defines the exchange?

Now it is very important to note that they aren't pivoting on their left foot and sinking into their left side. Doing this would force the hips to the left, and that is the direction their body weight and momentum would follow. We want to control all of our momentum, not wasting any energy moving in a direction other than towards our target (once our back foot gets underneath our middle).

Ask yourself this question: "Where is the ball traveling its fastest on its journey to 2B?" The answer is simple: "When the ball is out of your hand and in the air in front of you." But, you can't get the ball into the air until the ball is in your hand, right?

The exchange of the ball from glove to hand is obviously one of the most important steps in the throwing process, and it can very often be the difference between "safe" and "out." Let's focus on this one piece of the throw here for a moment.

The physical location of the exchange in relation to the body is also one of the greatest influences on the success or failure of a catcher's throw. We need to make sure that the exchange is happening not only at the right time but also at the optimal location. In order to find both the proper timing and location for the exchange, we need to first understand what the word "exchange" means.

The "exchange" is the point at which we have directional control of the ball in our throwing hand. This should happen while the hand is wrapped around the ball, still inside the glove, and should be completed during the process of getting our body to an athletically upright level.

When should the exchange occur? When is my body prepared to make the exchange?

I'll reiterate the point that the exchange is NOT when the ball leaves the glove. It is when the throwing hand has control of the ball inside the glove.

The timing of the exchange is imperative to an efficient throw towards our target. If the throwing hand reaches the ball too late, we will begin our load too late and possibly in the wrong direction. This will almost assuredly have a negative effect on our throw. If the throwing hand separates from the glove and our body is not in a position to immediately begin loading the arms behind us as we start striding forward, we risk inefficiency and quite often inaccuracy as a result.

So, when should we gain control of the ball in our throwing hand? The exchange should take place as we are standing up out of our crouch. We want to make sure that the moment our body is turned towards our target, the separation of the hands signals the beginning of the throwing motion.

WHERE SHOULD THE EXCHANGE TAKE PLACE?":

As we stand up out of our crouch, the trunk of our upper body turns against our hips to ensure that the angle and direction of the arm movement during the throwing motion are optimal.

What is the next step, you might ask? Footwork.

After we've gained control of the ball in our throwing hand, with our throwing hand still tucked inside our glove, our body at an upright and athletic level, and the shoulders completely turned towards our target, the throwing-side foot/instep must begin to make its way underneath our center of gravity.

Our instep (pictured below) should be positioned directly underneath where the bulk of our body weight is resting, our center of gravity.

A number of things need to happen as we pick up and set down the back foot underneath our center of gravity. We should complete the upper-body turn, and right before our throwing-side foot stops at our center of gravity, our hips will finish closing towards our target. Once the back foot hits the ground, and hopefully with the entire front side of our body lined up with our target, we begin our stride forward. This will allow us to drive into the throw using our lower body the instant that the back foot hits the ground underneath us. This entire sequence reinforces the previously mentioned concept of overlapping athletic movements.

Something to pay close attention to here is the direction of our hip movement as we get our back foot underneath our center of gravity. If we have not stood up enough (or we've started in a stance where our hips are lower than our knees), the amount of force and friction acting on the moving foot will be too great to allow it to move as freely and accurately as we need it to, and it's common to see a catcher's hips kicking out to the side.

Once our hips kick out to the side, we are instantly in a battle to maintain control of our body momentum during our throw, and it is a battle we won't often win. Sometimes our back foot will move past our center of gravity, and we'll end up stepping across our body during the throw. This not only will take us longer to get rid of the ball but will also lead to a throw that primarily uses our upper body to power it.

If the front foot hits the ground as we are closing the front side of our body instead of opening it, it will be hard to use our lower half to generate power in the throw. It'll essentially become a spin open with our upper body, and the responsibility of creating power in the throw will fall on the arm.

The problem here is that it will cause too much pressure and unwanted force to be put on the arm. This can also cause our throwing arm to work away from our body as we spin our upper body to throw, leading to a throw that tails to our throwing arm side or misses high.

Once we're athletically upright and turned towards our target with control of the ball in our throwing hand, what's next?

Simple...THROW THE BALL!

Once a catcher begins their stride forward, they should be in the process of throwing. Their throwing motion is their load, and their loading motion is their throw. These movements are one and the same. As the catcher drives off the planted back foot, their back hip begins to rotate forward. As their back hip begins to rotate forward, the catcher's upper body remains turned towards 2B. This creates resistance between the upper and lower body as we move forward. This resistance helps increase the force of the throw while decreasing the stress on the arm as it works through the high-level throwing pattern.

Now, again, we should initiate the throw with our hands below our chin, in the middle of the chest, with the hands above our elbows and the elbows below our shoulders. If our hands are pushed down below the elbows as they separate from each other, it will not only elongate the throwing motion and force us out of an efficient throwing sequence, but it will also force our elbows up above the shoulder as we throw. Should this happen, we will create far too much tension in the shoulder joint. We do not want excess tension in this joint during a throw, as it needs to remain relatively relaxed to allow the arm to move through the pattern unrestricted. The tighter our shoulder joint gets during the throwing motion, the more restricted the arm is in its ability to externally rotate and lay back into the pattern we need it to when we need it to, in order to avoid creating a throwing motion that puts too much pressure on parts of our arm that are not meant to handle it.

The phrase we use to teach catchers to limit downward or upward movement with their arms after they've established control of the ball in their throwing hand is to "throw from their middle". The moment the hands separate, we're throwing. And, we need to do that while limiting the space in which our arms move through the throwing motion. This pattern should be very repeatable, but that only comes with practice.

BALL FLIGHT TO SECOND BASE:

For the catchers whose bodies are not yet capable of producing a throw that gets to second base, coaches need to do a better job of making sure they know it's okay to one or two-hop the ball there. Otherwise, those catchers are going to completely abandon the approach they've been taught above, just so they can muscle a ball to second base in the air, farther than their body is capable of. Remember, the ball is never traveling any faster on its way to second base than when it is out of the catcher's hand and in the air. Anything they do in an effort to gain more distance in their throw that costs themselves the ability to get rid of the ball quickly will have a negative impact on the throw long-term. I'd rather my catchers throw the ball on a line to second base rather than launch a ball that almost touches the sun in an effort to get it there in the air.

We're looking for a "downhill", "line drive" type of throw through second base. No matter what level a catcher is playing at, if they aren't throwing the ball down to second, they are going to cost themselves outs. Not only will the misses likely be high or take longer to get there, but it will almost always lead to a throwing motion that uses far more of the arm to power the throw than it should.

A simple verbal cue we've used in the past is to tell catchers to "lead their hips towards second base with their front shoulder". This can help catchers start the move towards second base with their shoulders fairly level to the ground, and that can help them maintain an efficient throwing motion and stay on top of their throws.

BODY MOVEMENT ON PITCHES THROWN OUTSIDE OUR SHOULDERS:

We've already covered just how important it is to control the direction your hips move during a throw, and how catchers receive a pitch during a steal attempt will have a direct impact on how much of a chance they give themselves to get the out.

Our goal should be to get our back foot underneath where our middle is at the point the ball makes contact with our glove. We should be shifting our weight to the ball to make sure that our body weight is behind our glove and can support the impact of the pitch. So, if our center of gravity changes during the flight of the ball, we need to make changes to the way the back foot moves to get underneath our body.

One of the most challenging pitches to throw off of is a pitch to our throwing side. A lot of catchers turn their body and reach for this pitch. That rotation almost always forces the hips to shift off to our side and lead to our momentum heading the wrong direction.

In this clip, you can see Willson Contreras handling it perfectly. A pitch to his throwing side, he shifts his body weight in that direction while turning his body, picking up his right foot, and putting it down directly underneath his center of gravity. Once that foot comes down, he simply goes forward into the throw. No wasted energy or time. He has complete control of the direction his body is traveling at every step of the throw.

Likewise, a pitch to our glove side and outside of our shoulders presents its complications. But, if we shift our body so that we are able to receive the pitch inside our shoulders, we have a much better chance of controlling our hips.

In the clip above, you can see Kyle Higashioka shift his body to his glove side to receive the pitch and, as he stands up and gets turned towards 2B, he brings his foot directly underneath his center of gravity.

Again, no wasted energy or time.

THROWING FROM THE KNEES:

To conclude this section, let's address a burning question in many minds: "But what about throwing from your knees?"

We've seen countless instructional videos promoting the throw from the knees to 2B as not just flashier but more effective than standing up. Moreover, we have witnessed other "well-respected" catching instructors irresponsibly teaching this approach, disregarding scientific research and testing on the biomechanics of athletic throwing patterns. In short, athletes who have not established these patterns should never throw from their knees under any circumstances.

We have advocated for the standing approach as a far more efficient method of throwing to 2B for as long as I can remember. However, let's take a moment to outline all the reasons why relying on this approach, even with an advanced and efficient athletic throwing pattern, is not advisable for consistent results or as the default approach to throws.

REASON #1: It is NOT safe for the majority of athletes.

Using a throw from the knees as the default approach to throwing is dangerous for most catchers. The reason is simple. There is a significant amount of misleading information available regarding throwing technique and mechanics. Unfortunately, some of this misinformation comes from those at the top of the instructional hierarchy, resulting in high-level athletes exhibiting throwing pattern deficiencies. Until athletes have established efficient throwing patterns that do not put their arms at risk, they should NEVER attempt a throw from their knees. Doing so will put even greater stress on their arm since the bulk of the excess stress in the throw will be felt there. In essence, if you cannot throw efficiently while standing up, it is unrealistic to expect that you can do it from your knees. If I encountered a player with exceptional movement patterns from a prone position but flawed standing up, I would still work tirelessly to fix the problem while throwing from a standing position.

REASON #2: It is NOT faster.

When we consider the throw, we often focus on technique and overlook the fact that it is essentially a mathematical problem: getting "Object A" to "Object B" before "Object C" reaches "Object B." Our goal is to achieve this in the most efficient way possible. Throwing from our knees is not the answer. We cannot generate the same velocity from our knees as we can from a standing position. If we can, it indicates a suboptimal throwing motion in general rather than the ability to throw from our knees. In other words, if the velocity of a throw from the knees is the same as the velocity while standing up, there is something fundamentally wrong with the throwing technique.

To gain insights from experts in the field, I reached out to the team at Driveline in Seattle, WA. Led by Kyle Boddy, they have revolutionized the game with a scientific approach and quantifiable metrics for analyzing athletic movement patterns. Their understanding of the human body and throwing skill is unmatched worldwide. Here's what former catcher Maxx Garrett from Driveline had to say about our question:

"I think it is pretty safe to say that you can put more force into the ground from the standing position. From the standing position, I would think that you will be able to create more Ground Reaction Force and greater hip rotation, which will lead to greater velocities. Ball flight takes up a great portion of pop time, so creating this velocity is an important thing to think about."

It is generally assumed that ground reaction force is greater when throwing from a standing position than when throwing from the knees. Although Maxx mentioned they hadn't conducted specific testing on this, it aligns with the principles of physics and biomechanics. Ground reaction force refers to the force exerted by the ground on a body in contact with it. In simple terms, you can create more ground reaction force while standing compared to kneeling, resulting in higher velocities. This is not a matter of opinion; it is a fact.

Some may argue, "But coach, I release the ball significantly faster, so the lower velocity doesn't matter." Here's the issue: we must not overlook the math behind the throw. For every 5 mph decrease in velocity from throwing from the knees, we need to reduce at least 0.10 seconds in our release time. The problem is that most catchers are not actually quicker when releasing from their knees; often, it's exactly the same. The overwhelming majority of catchers cannot release the ball a tenth of a second faster from their knees. Additionally, most catchers will lose 10-20 percent of their throwing velocity when throwing from their knees. If a catcher can only throw 60 mph from a standing position, they will likely throw anywhere from 48-54 mph from their knees—a range that guarantees a slower overall throw from the knees. Despite all these reasons, some coaches continue to hold steadfast to the notion. Even if we were to concede that it might be faster (which it's not—let's not forget that), we still have to confront the fact that...

REASON #3: …It's far less consistently accurate.

In general, the throw from the knees is less accurate. Much of it has to do with the stability of our body while executing the throw, such as shin guards sliding on the ground instead of having the traction provided by cleats when standing. The spikes on our footwear give us better control of our bodies. I cannot count the number of times I have witnessed catchers unleashing a throw from their knees only to see it fail to reach the bag, sail high, or veer off-line to the right or left. We have significantly more control over the direction of our throw while standing. Therefore, it is unwise to take that risk when we are not gaining any real advantage from it and, at the very least, potentially putting ourselves in harm's way.

The only explanation I've heard that I could even partially understand or respect is that it "LOOKS COOLER and is MORE INTIMIDATING." However, the only reason this holds true is because coaches at higher levels keep instructing catchers to do it, especially in softball. But you know what isn't intimidating? A runner safely reaching second base due to a late throw by the catcher or, worse, a runner advancing to 3B or Home because our inaccurate throw evades the infielder. The reputation and control of the running game at the highest levels allow certain catchers to do whatever they want, but that does not apply to everyone. One frequently mentioned name is Benito Santiago. While he was captivating to watch behind the plate, his throwing ability was barely average. His release time was consistently over seven-tenths of a second, and his pop time exceeded 2.00 seconds—both below the MLB average. In terms of success throwing out runners, he was only 4% better than the average MLB catcher throughout his career. To put that in perspective, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez was 15% better than his competition throughout his career. Santiago led the league in caught stealing percentage only once in his 20-year MLB career. We are not talking about an elite throwing catcher; we are discussing someone who made it look good when it worked.

Now, it's possible that in certain circumstances, an athlete's subpar athleticism and physical constraints may lead them to develop a high-level throwing motion that is more efficient from their knees. However, in over 22 years of working with over 16,000 students, I have never encountered a catcher for whom that was true. With all this said, it is not to suggest that throwing from the knees should not be a skill in a catcher's repertoire. There are situations where a throw from the knees should be the default approach. Here are some examples:

1. Throwing off a block when the catcher has previously established highly efficient throwing patterns.

2. A pickoff to 1B or 3B when the catcher has previously established highly efficient throwing patterns.

3. A straight steal of 3B, with the pitch bringing the catcher to their knees when the catcher has previously established highly efficient throwing patterns.

4. If, while tracking down a pop-up, the catcher trips, falls, catches the ball, and the runner on 1B inexplicably starts chatting with friends in the stands while standing 5 feet off the bag... and the catcher has previously established highly efficient throwing patterns!

Some argue that catchers who throw out runners from their knees will impress coaches at the next level and deter the opposing team from running. However, throwing from the knees does not accomplish either of those things. What matters is the runner safely reaching second base.

Throwing from the knees may be effective in certain situations (as outlined above), but as a default approach, it is not faster or more effective. It also has the potential to damage an athlete's arm if they have not first established an efficient throwing motion. Therefore, it should not be taught until those athletic movement patterns have been developed.

THROWS TO 3B:

When it comes to making a throw to 3B on an attempted steal, it's essential for catchers to understand the rulebook. Most importantly, a right-handed hitter does not need to move out of the way of a catcher's throw. They are entitled to the batter's box, and as long as they don't impede the throw intentionally or unintentionally, they can stand still in the catcher's way. It's the catcher's responsibility to create a throwing lane to 3B.

Do hitters sometimes step back into the path of the catcher? Absolutely. Do umpires always make the call? Definitely not. Therefore, it's crucial for catchers to avoid attempting a throw if the hitter moves into their throwing lane. Why don't we teach catchers to make the throw regardless? It's simple. Since there is no guarantee of interference being called, making the throw in such a situation has almost no chance of resulting in an out. However, it does have a decent chance of resulting in a run.

The most important thing to consider during this play is that if the throw gets by the third baseman, whether due to the catcher's errant throw or a mistake by the third baseman in catching the ball, it's almost certain that a run will score. If a hitter backs into the throw, DON'T THROW! Not only are we risking an errant throw, but we are also risking injury if we end up hitting our hand on the hitter's helmet or bat. It's simply not worth it. Hold onto the ball, shut the play down, and give your pitcher a chance to get out of the inning without allowing that runner to score. According to the rulebook, batter's interference is a delayed dead ball where the batter will be called out, and runners sent back to their original base, only if the catcher fails to throw out the runner.

In some situations, it might be more advantageous to keep the hitter at the plate and have an opportunity to take a runner in scoring position off the base paths. However, I believe the risk is too high when considering all the angles. While I can see the argument for letting it rip in college and above, I cannot support that approach otherwise.

Now, if there is a left-handed batter in the box, does a right-handed catcher need to do anything other than stand up, get slightly more turned towards 3B while shuffling their feet, and throw? No, that about sums it up for that scenario. But assuming there's a right-handed batter who isn't stepping back into our throwing lane, we want to find a way to execute this throw quickly and accurately.

FOOTWORK DURING A THROW TO 3B:

The first step in a throw to 3B is to create our throwing lane behind the batter. Some coaches advocate jumping backward to get behind the batter and clear a path for the throw. Unfortunately, while this does clear a path for the catcher, it often results in little or no control over body momentum, leading to a backward fall while making the throw. This is not ideal for accuracy purposes.

Instead, we advocate for creating the path behind the batter and slightly up the foul line using a controlled approach.

Catchers should slide their right foot behind and past their left foot while keeping their center of gravity over their hips. The phrase we like to use is "keep your chin and nose in front of your hips and toes" while dragging the right foot behind the left. This ensures that catchers maintain control over the direction their body weight is traveling when making the throw. If a catcher's center of gravity sits behind their hips, their body will fall backward while trying to make the throw, likely resulting in a high and inaccurate throw. By keeping the bodyweight forward, the legs can work underneath to create a throwing lane without losing control.

To line up our hips with the target, the instep of the catcher's back foot should be turned toward 3B by the time it moves behind and past the front foot. Once the back foot plants into the ground, we can redirect all our momentum toward 3B. If the instep of the back foot is not turned toward third base, the catcher will almost always throw with their front side open, causing a high throw. We want catchers to aggressively turn that corner behind the batter and get their front side pointed at third base.

COMMON MISTAKES DURING A THROW TO 3B:

Aside from jumping backward and throwing off balance, the most common mistake is waiting too long to get the body moving toward 3B. In each of the videos above, you'll see the catcher initiating movement before the ball reaches their glove. While we want strikes to look like strikes, we don't have the luxury of waiting to catch the pitch before getting our body in motion for the throw. Lastly, catchers frequently lose control of their arms during this throw by letting the throwing arm swing down as their feet move behind the batter. This lengthens the throwing motion and makes it nearly impossible for the catcher to stay "on top" of the throw, leading to a high throw away from the intended play or tag. It's crucial for catchers to maintain the same exchange point and hand/arm positioning as in a throw to 2B to ensure an efficient throwing motion.

PICKOFFS TO 1B:

Pickoffs to first base can be an incredibly valuable weapon for catchers, but it's important to understand the intent behind any throw a catcher makes. A pickoff to first base can have two separate goals. First, we might want to shorten the runner's lead to second base, which can increase our team's chances of getting the lead runner out on a ground ball, preventing them from reaching third base or home on a double, or throwing them out if they attempt a steal. Second, we might aim to catch the runner sleeping and throw them out.

While I never want catchers to be afraid to throw for fear of making an error, it's important to note that the primary goal of keeping the runner closer to first base can often be achieved without actually throwing the ball. Simply acting as if we might throw to first can plant a seed of doubt in the runner's mind and make them shorten their lead. That said, catchers should understand that part of their job is to hunt for outs. Opponents may give you extra outs, and catchers have the best chance of finding those opportunities and making them happen. This is one of those opportunities, so if a runner appears inattentive and willing to give you an out, take it—but only if you have confidence in making an accurate throw.

You see, I have no problem with catchers who have worked on this skill attempting a pickoff in almost any situation. However, what frustrates me is watching a catcher make a simple error that could have been prevented with more practice or a better approach. Now that we understand the "why" behind making this throw, let's focus on the "how."

FOOTWORK/BODY POSITIONING DURING A PICKOFF TO 1B:

We'll split this next section into the approaches associated with throws to first base while standing up and throws from our knees.

For throws to first base while standing up, the initial steps are quite familiar:

1. Start in a standing position and begin getting the upper body turned before the ball reaches the glove.

2. Catch the ball.

3. Bring the hands together in the middle of the chest and gain control of the ball in the throwing hand.

4. Get upright and turn the lower body toward the target.

The significant difference compared to throws to second base and third base lies in the last step. Instead of bringing the back foot underneath the center of gravity, we use what is called a "negative step." This means the throwing-side foot travels backward while we turn toward first base, closing the hips more quickly.

As we catch the ball, we need to get our front side pointed toward first base as soon as possible. The key to achieving this is pulling the right foot backward and getting the instep pointed at first base while starting our stride in that direction. How can we maintain control of our body when the right foot moves past the center of gravity? The left foot balances this movement by starting the stride forward almost simultaneously. The legs essentially switch places as we turn our body. From there, it's as simple as finishing the stride and making the throw.

Take a look at a couple high-level athletes demonstrating this approach in-game.

You can see both Danny Jansen and Keibert Ruiz using this approach to pick off runners at first base. Jansen with a clear path to first base and Keibert from behind the batter.

Once the back foot plants into the ground, they can redirect all their momentum toward first base and make the throw. The key is that both these throws, while incredibly quick, are executed under complete control, and neither catcher is off-balance at any point.

PICKOFFS TO 1B FROM THE KNEES:

While I firmly believe that throwing from the knees is not actually faster, there's a lot to say about the approach's deceptiveness in pickoff situations. It is less recognizable than a catcher who is already in the process of standing up. Let's examine a few throws and break down the process.

Two throws, one with no obstruction and the other with a left-handed batter in the way, show two very similar approaches. Both catchers initiate body movement just before the ball reaches their glove, and as they catch the ball, they turn their left knee down and toward first base. 

Once they've caught the ball, they create the necessary resistance between the upper and lower halves of their body by driving their left knee toward the ground and their right foot toward the target. By digging their right foot into the ground and pushing off in the direction of their target, they generate the force needed for separation between their slightly closed upper body and open lower body. This resistance and tension are felt in the strongest parts of the catcher's body, allowing the arm to follow the high-level throwing pattern discussed earlier.

As the lower body drives forward and open against the slightly turned torso, the arms work behind the body into thoracic extension. Simultaneously, the upper body shifts open toward the target, allowing the arms to lay back behind the head. This throwing pattern is identical to the one used when throwing standing up, but because it's executed from the knees, it won't generate the same velocity. However, the deceptiveness can compensate for the reduced velocity, as demonstrated by both catchers successfully throwing the runner out at first base.

FINAL THOUGHTS - THROWING:

There are numerous different approaches to throwing being taught to catchers worldwide. Many of these approaches are based on misconceptions about how the human body works most efficiently. While we have examined every aspect of body movement during a throw, it's not rocket science. Establishing consistent high-level movement patterns allows us to utilize our body's capabilities in a throw.

Every individual's body is different, and some approaches may require slight modifications. However, the foundation for each throw should remain largely the same from athlete to athlete. This doesn't mean we're trying to fit everyone into a standardized mold. Individual style doesn't necessarily mean inefficiency, and there are plenty of differences between one athlete's body and the next that may necessitate some adjustments. Nevertheless, we shouldn't let these differences detract us from understanding the most efficient way to perform any skill. We should always strive to find the best approach, one that gives us an advantage over those who don't utilize it. I wholeheartedly believe that this section has provided anyone reading this e-book with precisely that.

NEXT CHAPTER

OTHER CHAPTERS

FIELDING SKILLS

BUNTS

The proper fielding of a bunt begins with understanding three main premises:

1. I will never make a better, more accurate throw than when I am balanced, under control, and have my momentum going towards my target.

2. I will approach the ball, get my feet set, and position my left hip towards the target before picking up the ball.

3. Until my front foot is set, my hands never go below my knees.

Before discussing what I believe is a good way to field these balls, I want to remind us of what happens when bad technique is used.

I believe one of the most common reasons for bad throws by catchers after fielding a bunt is that the catchers pick up the ball before being properly set up and aligned for the throw. Then, when they have picked up the ball, the brain kicks into "throw mode," and they make the throw regardless of how they are aligned to the target. The throw is often off-target, and an out is lost.

While we won't always have the time to get properly aligned to our target, it should be the default approach, and we should do everything in our power to be in control of our body when making the throw.

To continue, we're going to split the field into three areas, each with a slightly different approach since each requires different body movement to align ourselves with our target. These areas are in the middle of the field directly in front of home plate, up the third baseline, and up the first baseline.

To figure out how we're going to attack each field area, we'll break the skill into two distinct parts:

a. Approach and setup

b. Pick up and throw

MIDDLE:

A. Approach and setup:

The basic concept here is that while we are approaching the ball as quickly as we can, we must get ourselves set up over the ball and aligned towards the target.

Catchers should come out from behind the plate and take a route that follows a slightly curved path to the ball. I tell the players that the path is a banana-shaped route that starts out going to the left of home plate and curves back around to the right, so we end up coming into the ball from the left side.

As we approach the ball, we set the instep of our right foot towards first base, then set our left foot so we are positioned directly over the ball, our left hip towards the target.

When we are over the ball, our hands are separated, out in front of our body, we are balanced and in control, and our weight is evenly distributed across the balls of our feet.

From here, we can now lower our hands to the ball and prepare to pick it up.

B. Pick up and Throw:

At this time, both of my hands head towards the ball. I "rake" the ball into the throwing hand using the glove and throwing hand.

In all but the most extreme circumstances, we're going to avoid separating our hands from below our knees. This can lead to the brain yelling at us to throw when we're not in control of our body or from an angle we cannot guarantee accuracy.

Instead, we'll be bringing the hands and the ball to the middle of our chest as we stand up. From here, we take a shuffle towards first base, our hands separate, and we make a strong, balanced, controlled throw to first base.

Since my hips were already set towards the target as soon as I pick up the ball, I can put all my effort into making a good strong throw, knowing I am properly aligned.

FIRST BASELINE:

A. Approach and setup:

When the bunt goes down the first baseline, we can take a slightly more direct path to the ball. We again attack the left side of the ball, set the right foot first, then the left, with our hips pointed towards our target.

B. Pickup and throw:

Just as before, we bend down and rake the ball into our glove, standing up with our hands still together. However, we now have a bit of an issue—the batter running up the first baseline. We want to avoid throwing the ball near the batter or making it hard for our first baseman to catch.

To create an angle that gives our first baseman a clear view of the ball, we slide our right foot backward behind our left and up the line. Once the back foot plants past the front and off the line, we can redirect all of our momentum towards our target. The hands separate at the same time, and we make a strong throw to first base. To maintain control, we recommend staying in contact with the ground while the back foot moves off and up the line behind the front, keeping our chin and nose in front of our hips and toes.

THIRD BASELINE:

A. Approach, Setup & Throw:

When a bunt goes up the third base line, we change our initial approach to the ball. There are two ways to approach a bunt to a catcher's left.

The first approach is to slightly extend the "banana curve" we took with a bunt in the middle of the field to get around the ball and aligned towards your target. From that point, we'd go through the rest of the play as outlined above.

The second approach is a bit more direct but poses a bit more risk of losing control of your body while going through the footwork. In this approach, we run to the right side of the ball. Once we are in front of it, we step over to the left side of the ball with our right foot, getting the instep of that right foot pointed towards first base. As we plant that foot into the ground, we go down with two hands, rake the ball into our throwing hand, bring our hands together, and immediately redirect our momentum towards first base with a shuffle in that direction.

FINAL THOUGHTS - BUNTS:

As I mentioned in the video, bunts are routinely one of the most given-away outs in the games of baseball and softball. It's our job as a catcher to not reward the hitter with something they didn't earn. There will be moments where we just have to rely on our athleticism and get the ball to our target the best way we can in that moment, but having a good fundamental foundation that we will always default to will make it easier when the time comes for improvisation.

Accuracy matters more than anything here. Being on target is more important than being on time.

 TAG PLAY AT HOME PLATE

When it comes to the tag play at home plate, safety has to be our number one focus. Getting the out is obviously important, but if we record that out in a way that puts our body in an extremely vulnerable position, at some point, it will backfire and lead to a potentially serious injury. Remember, catchers, we are no good to our team on the bench hurt.

The first step in learning how to approach this play is to understand where and how to set our body up for the play. While we may need to leave our original position, we must establish a setup on the field that gives us the best chance of getting the out and keeping our body intact.

FEET PLACEMENT:

We want to set our feet so that our left foot is about a foot to two feet up the foul line and about four inches inside the foul line. Setting our left foot this way not only forces the runner to the outside/back half of home plate, but it also helps keep us safe from injury or an obstruction call. While there will be contact during this play, we want to position ourselves in a way that allows us to deflect as much of that contact away from our body as possible.

We want the toes on our left foot pointed towards third base to ensure that if there is contact, it will force the foot backward and the leg to bend at the knee joint as it is supposed to. If the left foot is turned open or closed away from third base, we risk severe injury to our knee if any contact with that foot occurs.

Once our feet are set, we want to give our outfielder or cutoff infielder a big target to throw to. We raise our hands above our head to indicate that we're ready for the throw. We can turn our chest toward whatever part of the field the ball is being thrown from, but the feet stay where they started unless the throw requires us to adjust our body positioning to make the catch and tag.

THE CATCH AND TAG:

We're going to split this section of the tag up into three different approaches, all of which depend on how the runner comes into home plate.

STANDING:

The first approach is for when the runner does not slide at all and comes into home plate standing. One of the biggest mistakes I see catchers make is bringing their body to the ground to make a tag on a runner who didn't slide. This puts the catcher in an incredibly vulnerable position, anchored to the ground, with a runner who is going to run right over them.

Instead, we're going to wait for the runner to commit to sliding before heading to the ground for the tag. If they don't slide, we stay up on our feet.

We're going to position ourselves as described above, inside the foul line, and prepare for the throw. Ideally, we would like to secure the ball with two hands. Depending on how close the play is, that may not be feasible. Sometimes we're going to have to make a quick tag one-handed with just the ball in our glove.

All other times, we want to make sure we have full control of the ball inside our mitt with our throwing hand. We'll make the tag two-handed with the ball tightly wrapped inside all five fingers of our throwing hand, and that hand tucked inside our glove.

Once we've secured the ball, we're going to start turning into the tag. Our goal is always going to be to stay to the side of the runner and make the tag on the side of their body to avoid as much contact as possible. We'll use the momentum of that tag to spin back towards the infield and look for another out. Teams will give us opportunities for extra outs throughout the game, and this play is one of the situations that can lead to one of them. It's not hard to spot a runner paying too much attention to the play at the plate and not enough to the infielders sneaking in behind them to receive our throw.

DIRECT SLIDE:

The second approach to a tag will apply when the runner slides and takes a direct route into home plate. Once the runner commits to sliding, we can start heading to the ground to make the tag.

We're going to keep our chest upright and drive our back knee to the ground. We want to keep the front knee up off the ground to give us the freedom to make an adjustment if the runner's path to the plate changes. It also helps keep our body under control through the tag.

Once we've secured the ball and driven our back knee to the ground, we can begin making the tag to the side of the runner. Our goal should be to deflect the force of the runner away from us with our tag. Catchers shouldn't try to hurt anyone during this play but need to be aggressive with the tag to ensure the out and protect themselves.

After the tag has been applied, catchers must get confirmation from the umpire that the play is over. Whether they've called the runner out or safe, it's our job to make sure the play is over before looking for another one. I routinely see catchers abandon the play at home plate far too early because they assumed they made the tag or that the runner scored. Sometimes neither is the case, and if we haven't heard anything from the umpire, it's our responsibility to track down the runner and make another attempt at the tag.

One important thing to note here is that the runner always has to come to us. Catchers shouldn't go chasing after runners if they slide past home plate. If we leave home plate, we give the runner a chance to get by us and score. Obviously, there's only so much a runner can do before they'll be called out for being out of the base path, but that is a judgment call for an umpire and not one that is guaranteed to be made.

WIDE SLIDE:

One way that runners will attempt to avoid the tag and still score is to take a wider angle into home plate. From our perspective, the catcher may see a wider turn around third base, or the runner veering towards the back corner of the plate. This can make staying inside the foul line difficult and might require us to cross the line to make the tag.

First, we must be in possession of the ball and attempt to make the tag before crossing this line. Otherwise, we risk being called for blocking the plate. Second, we should never dive across the foul line to make this tag.

For those of you who have been to one of our events in the last ten years, you've heard the cautionary tale we tell when talking about this play to our camp students. A story about how a 15-year-old student of ours was playing in a tournament one summer and suffered an unimaginable injury. It was a tie game in the seventh inning of the first game of this tournament, and there was a play at home plate to prevent the winning run from scoring. The throw from the outfield pulled this young catcher away from the foul line a bit, and they attempted to shuffle back to make the play, but they were late. The run scored, and this student's team lost the first game.

The catcher started hearing their own coach berating them from the dugout. This coach told them that they were a disappointment to their team and that they had let down their coaches, their family, and their friends. Completely distraught, this catcher vowed to never let that happen again. So, later on in the tournament, when the exact same play occurred, this catcher caught the ball and dove headfirst across the foul line to make the tag. Unfortunately, being a bang-bang play, the catcher's neck was met with the metal spikes of the sliding runner and ended up with a severe laceration of his throat.

I don't ever want to get the phone call that I received that day from this student's parents informing me that their child was fighting for their life because some absolute moron of a coach had it in their head that wins and losses at the fifteen-year-old level mean more than their players' safety. To be clear, they don't.

Winning is certainly more fun, losing stinks... I get it. But none of it matters if athletes are putting themselves in extremely dangerous situations simply to give themselves a slightly better chance at a single out.

Although it will be slightly less effective, there is a significantly safer way of going about this play. Remember, no catcher is any good to their team hurt.

As we are headed towards the ground, and our back knee starts driving down, we may realize that the path the runner has taken to home plate would prevent us from reaching them where we are set up. In this moment, we can start to let the front knee drive forward and to the ground as well.

We want to make sure these movements are made as fluidly as possible, giving us the ability to use our momentum to deflect contact away from us during the tag.

Once we've applied the tag and gotten confirmation that the umpire has made their call, we'll use that same momentum to spin with the tag, pull ourselves off the ground, and look for another out if there were other runners on base.

Catchers should be confident in their call for the ball and never second-guess themselves. If a catcher thinks they have a play at the plate, they shouldn't hesitate to make that call. They should loudly and concisely yell, "Four, Four, Four!" to let their teammates know that they want the ball to come home. If they hesitate or mumble, it will lead to confusion among the other fielders, and there is significantly less chance of recording an out anywhere.

FINAL THOUGHTS - TAG PLAY AT HOME PLATE:

As fast as this play happens, it can be tricky to know which approach to use and when. Awareness is so important as a catcher, as is being prepared for every play before the pitch is ever thrown. Catchers must have their head on a swivel and be able to make split-second adjustments to not only get the out but also keep themselves safe.

On the topic of safety during this play, it is so important to go over where the mask should go during this play. It's simple, really... it stays on the head! In some of the video examples of body positioning and technique above, you may see the mask come off. This is NOT what should happen. There is absolutely no argument that makes taking the mask off make any sense at all.

In fact, I've actually gotten into an argument with a Major League manager (unnamed for the time being) who has managed in a World Series about this particular issue.

A while back, I was presenting at a National baseball and softball coaches' convention about this play, and after I finished, this gentleman walked up to me to discuss his feelings about what I spoke about. His comment? "The mask has to come off. The mask gets in the way of a catcher being able to see the high throw coming in from the outfield."

My response? "Interesting opinion, but I was under the impression that my neck still worked." The only thing a catcher ever needs to do to be able to track the ball in from the release of their outfielder's hand to their glove is to simply LOOK UP! It is that simple.

Masks these days are not nearly as cumbersome as they were in the past, and they are designed to give catchers a clear sight of everything that is going on in front of them. There is no reason to take it off, but there are plenty of reasons to keep it on. For one, contact is almost a guarantee during a tag play at home plate. We want to avoid any of that contact occurring on our face. Leaving the mask on helps keep us safe.

Another reason to keep it on would be to avoid an obstruction call. Regardless of whether the catcher tags the runner before they score, if they flip the mask off over their head and it ends up in the way of the runner's slide, the runner is safe.

Again, we can see the ball just fine. All we have to do is move our head to find the ball. Leave the mask on!

 POP-UPS

There are a number of situations that catchers encounter which provide ample opportunities for mistakes. Mistakes, mind you, that cost them a sure out.

Pop-ups are certainly one of those plays. Our pitcher did their job and induced contact that should lead to an out. Yet, way too often, I see catchers making mistakes that give the hitter a second chance. When it comes to pop-ups, it's important to understand the dramatic differences between the approach a baseball catcher will need to take compared to that of a softball catcher.

For one, baseball catchers are almost always going to turn their back to the infield to make the grab. Because of the diameter of the ball, the average velocity it's leaving the bat, and the average height the ball will reach, the spin rate will be significantly more than a softball. This spin is what often causes the ball to go up and then work back towards the infield. I've witnessed more than my fair share of catchers having to backpedal to make the catch as a result of not taking this into account.

In the game of softball, the ball isn't spinning anywhere near enough, nor given enough time to allow the spin to affect the natural trajectory of the ball after it leaves the bat. While the initial approach in each game is very different, the first thing any catcher should do when a hitter pops a pitch up in the air is not. Regardless of which game a catcher is playing, the very first thing we should do the moment we think the ball has been popped up is look to our pitcher. "You mean we shouldn't look up first?" No, we shouldn't, and I'll explain why.

The first steps we take are so important that we don't want to be heading in the wrong direction right out of the gate. Every catcher should get in the habit of reminding their pitchers before the game to point up in the air with their arm to show the catcher where the ball was hit. Yelling the location isn't a great way to communicate this information. There are simply too many people yelling and screaming to decipher whose voice is the pitcher's and what they are actually saying. This will help us identify our next move. Since it's easier to run forward to catch a ball, aware of what's in front of us, baseball catchers should immediately work themselves in front of home plate and turn in the direction they saw their pitcher point. Softball catchers won't have time to do this, nor should they be overly worried about the ball working back to the infield behind them. Instead of working their body in front of the plate, they are going to drop step in the direction they either saw the ball go or where their pitcher is pointing.

From this point on, things are relatively similar as far as actually making the catch... except for one important thing: the helmet. While it most definitely does not need to come off during this play, baseball catchers have the luxury of doing so if it makes them more comfortable. Softball catchers, however, do not have the time. Our preference would be for everyone to leave their mask on. You can see just fine. For any coaches or catchers that don't believe this, I'd highly recommend finding a mask, going out to a field, and having someone hit you pop-ups to see for yourself. What you will undoubtedly find is how much easier it is than you would think. If nothing else, it saves time. Which is exactly the reason softball catchers have to leave it on. Since baseball catchers are afforded the choice, we'll separate the rest of this play into two different approaches: one with the mask off (baseball only), and one with the mask on (both baseball and softball).

MASK OFF: 

Once the ball has been hit up into the air, the catcher will look up at their pitcher, who should be pointing in the direction of the ball. The catcher will work themselves in front of the plate to account for the spin of the ball back towards the infield. They'll then turn their back to the infield and take the mask off. It's important that the catcher doesn't simply flip the mask off anywhere, as doing so could lead to the catcher tripping on it since they will be looking up and the ball can change direction (spin and/or wind). The chance we'll make the catch while tripping over our mask is slim, and the risk of injury is significant.

Once the catcher has spotted the ball and has an idea of the relative area where the ball is going to be, they can ditch the mask, throwing it firmly to the side of their body. If they need to run towards the backstop to make the catch, they should position themselves about two feet behind where they believe the ball would fall to the ground. The reason for this is pretty simple - the ball could be working back towards the infield and, if the catcher sets up directly underneath the ball, it could lead to them needing to make the catch over and behind their head.

At some point, right before the ball hits their glove, they'll lose sight of it. They also might have to backpedal to make the catch, and that could lead to them falling backward while trying to make the catch. Neither are ideal. We'll need to stabilize our body, so we'll create a balanced base by positioning one foot in front of the other. Catchers should extend their arms comfortably away from their chest and at around head height to be able to see the ball into their glove.

While not always possible, we should try to make this catch with two hands. To help us do this, we should cross the throwing hand thumb over our glove hand thumb, and when the ball enters the glove, proceed to cover over the top of the ball with our throwing hand. After making the catch, we have to make sure we aren't ignoring any other runners on the base paths.

Remember, a foul pop-up is not a dead ball after we catch it. Look for another out!

MASK ON:

The exact same approach as we took with the mask off, except we won't be taking it off, and we'll be able to start the process of finding the ball and setting our body up sooner. Again, softball catchers will NOT have time to take their mask off during this play, so please leave it on. As for baseball catchers? They can also see just fine.

FINAL THOUGHTS - POP UPS:

Solidifying a fundamental approach to this play will make it exponentially easier for catchers to improvise when they need to. There will certainly be times when we can't go through all of the steps the way we want to. We often won't have the time to do so. Sometimes, catchers will need to make this catch with one hand or while diving. But, as long as we have a solid foundation to work from, we can trust in our athleticism and other intangibles to make these plays as often as possible.

One habit catchers should create is walking the area behind home plate before each game. Ever see those ditches created by teams taking soft-toss into the backstop? The last thing we want to happen is to trip on them while we're looking up into the air for the ball. It's also important to know exactly how many steps it is from where the catcher sets up to the backstop, and catchers should get into the habit of pacing that distance out before the game to know exactly how far they have until they run into the fence or wall. Once they get down to the last few steps, they should reach their throwing arm out in the direction of the backstop to help avoid a collision.

It's also important for catchers to remember that communication in our games is critical. Once we have figured out where the ball is and given ourselves a chance to make the catch, we have to make sure our teammates know that. We have to shout out "BALL, BALL, BALL!" or "MINE, MINE, MINE!" to let them know we've got it. However, we have to be conscious that there is usually an infielder with a far easier path to making this catch. The reason they can't make the play is that it will often take them too long to get to the ball before it drops to the ground. But, if another teammate calls for the ball, we need to immediately bail on the play and get out of their way, regardless of how well we appear to be set up to make the catch. Miscommunication and lack of trust lead to errors and lost outs. Trust your teammates and let them make the play if they are telling you they have one.

PASSED BALLS

It is certain that no matter how good a catcher is, balls will get past them. You can call them wild pitches or passed balls, but it doesn't make any difference at the time of the play. The important thing is making sure that the catcher knows how to make the play correctly and how to minimize the damage if there is a runner on third base trying to score. Catchers should always turn to their glove side after they stand up and head back to the ball. This guarantees that the catcher will approach the ball on the side of their body that allows them to already be pointed back towards the field.

As the catcher gets close to the ball, they should slide on their knees and slide to the ball. There is a difference between sliding "to" and "at" that ball. If the catcher slides at the ball, the ball will likely end up underneath their body and make it harder to retrieve to make a throw. By sliding to it, the catcher should end up with the ball out in front of the middle of their body.

The catcher will be in a better position to make a throw to the plate or a base, and this technique permits them to attack more aggressively, especially if the ball is up against the backstop. It also lets the catcher approach the ball without slowing up as they near the backstop, which saves valuable time.

As the catcher gets to the ball, they should rake it into their throwing hand with their glove and NOT try to grab it with the glove to pick it up off the ground. As the catcher rakes the ball into their throwing hand, and as the hands are pulled up off the ground to the middle of the chest, the catcher should also bring the front leg up so that their front foot is flat to the ground with the thigh parallel to the ground. The leg coming up stabilizes the rest of the body as we make the throw back towards home plate.

The catcher should make a firm throw to the pitcher's glove using a velocity appropriate for the distance. Keep in mind that many of these throws will be from about twenty feet away or less. A catcher who makes that throw at even 30 MPH is not giving their pitcher a lot of time to see and catch the ball. In fact, at that distance and release velocity, the pitcher will have about the same reaction time as a hitter does to a 90 MPH fastball in the game of baseball or a 60 MPH fastball in the game of softball. Knowing how little time the pitcher actually has to see and catch the ball, it is important that the catcher throws to the pitcher's glove no matter what. Even if the pitcher has their glove too high to make the tag, the throw should still be made to their glove.

Too often, I see catchers making the hard throw to a location where the tag should be made, but because of the speed, there is little to no chance that the pitcher can react in time to make the adjustment and catch the ball. The ball just sails past the pitcher's knees. It is far better to hit a chest-high glove and miss the tag than let an errant ball get by the pitcher and potentially give another runner an opportunity to move up even further. Practice between catchers and pitchers, with both getting into the proper position, will greatly reduce errors and increase tags at home on passed balls and wild pitches.

In the game of softball, the backstops are a lot closer, so a full approach and throw may not be possible or advisable. Even in the game of baseball, it is possible to be playing on a field without a deep backstop, or the ball could bounce off the backstop and come back to the catcher. In all of these cases, the catcher simply needs to turn in the direction of the ball (not necessarily glove side) and shovel pass the ball back to the pitcher, who should be covering home plate.

PRE-GAME ROUTINE:

Catchers should have a pre-game routine, especially on away games. They should practice sliding in a few locations behind the plate and up against the backstop. They should walk along the grass or dirt line along the backstop, looking for debris or things like sprinkler heads. They should search for anything that will interfere with their gameplay. This also means looking at the bottom of the fence for holes and poorly maintained fencing that may pose a danger to them. Catchers should also get into the habit of throwing a few balls at the backstop before the game to understand how the ball is going to act after it hits it. All of these things will affect our approach to the ball and our ability to make the play. A few moments spent in pre-game assessing the territory (sliding around, examining, checking how the ball will bounce off the backstop) will make a big difference during the game.

FINAL THOUGHTS - PASSED BALLS:

While the goal is to do whatever we can to avoid ever being faced with a ball that gets by us with a runner on 3B, the reality is that it will happen at some point or another. All we can do is make sure that we are prepared to act in that moment and give our team the best chance of getting the out at home plate. At the very least, we want to make sure that our approach doesn't make a difficult situation even worse by making an unwanted error. Act quickly, stay under control, make an accurate throw, and hope for the best.

 BLOCK & RECOVER

A block is only as valuable as the play we can make after we've executed it. If we haven't given ourselves the ability to get to the ball quickly after firing a block, runners could advance on us and put our team in a difficult position it otherwise should have been in. Assuming we did our job by recognizing the ball heading for the dirt and firing a successful block, we need to make sure that we can get to the ball quickly and be in a position to make a play as soon as possible.

There will be some differences when it comes to the games of baseball and softball. The primary difference is the speed of the game and what that allows the catcher the time to accomplish after firing a block.

In softball, if the runner takes off after recognizing that the ball is heading into the dirt, catchers will not often have the time to get to their feet before making the throw. It's one of the reasons that softball catchers have less room for error than baseball catchers. The ball can't be much further than an arm's reach away from their body. If it is, the runner will likely be safe. This is the one play where we do advocate, for softball catchers only, to default to a throw from their knees without spending the time to stand up. But again, that approach is only acceptable if the athlete has established highly efficient and healthy throwing patterns. Otherwise, they risk injury. If the ball gets further away from their body than an arm's reach, they'll have to approach the play the same as baseball catchers and hope there is still some time to make the throw. In those situations, and as a default in the game of baseball, the catcher is going to want to find the quickest path to the ball and back to their feet to make the throw to the base the runner is advancing to.

One of the critical mistakes I see a lot of catchers making is popping up off the ground immediately only to have to go back down to field the ball, and then stand back up to make the throw. This is a monumental waste of time. Now, if the ball gets more than five to seven feet away from their body, is there any way to avoid this? Nope, we just have to live with that as a result of not keeping the ball close to our body. Chalk this up as just one more reason keeping the ball in front of our body is simply not good enough. We must keep the ball close to our body after a block. What we want to do is stay low as we work to the ball so that when we stand up, we are also working into the throw and building momentum towards our target once we have the ball in our hand. The approach is called the "Plant and Pivot".

The first step we are going to take will help ensure that our body will be positioned over the ball in a way that makes it easy to pick up and immediately start throwing. That step is sending our glove and throwing hand fist to the ground, comfortably out in front of us in the direction of the ball. I say comfortably because if the ball is 10 feet away from our body, we don't want to extend our entire upper body to the ground to get our hands to actually reach the ball. That isn't necessary or conducive to moving quickly and under control. The ball, regardless of how far out in front of our body it is, should simply be lined up in the middle of both hands.

We want the throwing hand to stay in a fist to avoid the palm of our hand getting a bunch of dirt or gravel on it, which could make handling the ball more difficult once we retrieve it. Once we send our hands in the direction of the ball, we're going to swing our body to the side of it, still keeping our upper body as low as possible.

From here, we are going to rake the ball into our throwing hand using our glove, and then we can stand up and look for an out on the base paths. By approaching the ball in this way, we guarantee that we only have to stand up fully one time as we make our way to the ball.

You might ask, "But what about balls that get far away from us?" Well, on those occasions, we're either going to shuffle to the balls that aren't that far away but are far enough that the "plant and pivot" approach won't get our body over the ball. Or, we're going to have to stand up, run to the ball, and field it the same way we would a bunt and hope to make the play.

FINAL THOUGHTS - BLOCK AND RECOVER:

Remember this phrase, "A block is only ever as good as the play we can make after we've executed it." This is the brutal reality of the position catchers play. We may do everything we can to train our brain to recognize the ball heading towards the ground and then develop the muscle memory to fire a fundamentally sound block, but if we can't make a play afterward, none of it will actually matter. Saving time whenever we can is vital to our success behind the plate and adds so much value when we are able to execute these skills in a game. Blocking is the one skill that separates the great catchers from the good ones, and how we attack the ball afterward will determine how successful they will be at every level of each game.

DOUBLE PLAYS AT HOME PLATE

Force outs at home plate can be a bit tricky. They are frequently the start of a possible double play, but the reason they don't often turn into a double play is due to the approach from the catcher. To best explain our approach to this play, we'll separate it into three different scenarios. First, the lone force out at home plate after a ball is hit to a non-pitcher infielder and there is no chance of a double play. Next, the double play on a ball hit back to the pitcher or a sharply hit ball to an infielder, from home plate to first base.

In a close game, with the bases loaded and less than two outs, getting the lead runner out at home plate is very important. However, a softly hit ball to an infielder will likely ensure that the only possible out is at home plate, and the play will often be a close one. I have observed many catchers putting themselves in very dangerous situations while setting up for this play. Instead, I want to give catchers an approach to get the out and keep themselves safe.

During a bang-bang force out at home plate, the catcher is going to want to set themselves up in a way that keeps their back foot on part of home plate while also giving the runner a lane to slide through without taking the catcher's leg out from under them. I prefer catchers to set up on the top right-hand corner of the plate, with both feet somewhat in line with each other, and not commit to stretching towards the ball until they know exactly where it's going to be. Catchers should keep their foot on that corner of the plate as long as they can but not be afraid of stepping out to avoid injury from the sliding runner.

The reason we want to start with both feet somewhat in line with each other is to avoid over-committing to a direction before the infielder has let go of the ball. If we stretch in the direction we THINK the ball is being thrown, we risk being out of position for where the ball IS thrown.

If the ball is hit hard to an infielder or the pitcher, there is a very good chance of a double play with the bases loaded. In this situation, the catcher will want to make sure they get as much of their momentum as possible heading towards first base the moment the ball arrives at home plate. Since the catcher doesn't need to worry about the runner coming from third base, they can take a more aggressive approach to this play.

They will set up behind home plate with both feet somewhat in line with each other. Once the infielder lets go of the ball, only then will they step across the plate towards the ball and use that step to build momentum as they drag their back foot over the plate while getting their body turned towards first base to make the throw.

By staying behind the plate until the ball is in the air, the catcher will be able to adjust to an errant throw and simply catch and touch home for the out. If the throw is on the mark, this technique creates a faster release from the catcher since the touch to home plate is done during the throw to first in one fluid motion.

FINAL THOUGHTS - DOUBLE PLAY AT HOME PLATE:

One of the most important aspects of being a catcher is understanding where and how to set up for a play. This play, in particular, can have pretty severe consequences if the catcher sets up incorrectly. Not only are they risking losing outs, but they are also at risk for injury. By being aware of the situation and recognizing how much time they have to clear the plate area before the runner slides into them, catchers not only protect themselves but also give themselves a chance at a double play.

At TCC, we do not believe in having catchers run through drills just for the sake of doing a drill. Each and every physical action a catcher makes in a training environment should have a purpose. You should be able to draw a direct line between a particular drill and the desired result of a skill performed at full speed. Anything other than that is at least a waste of time and unproductive, and at worst is destructive to overall skill development.

Drills will be added to the “Drill Vault” as they are vetted and filmed, and every single one of them will have a definitive purpose and explanation for why we believe it is beneficial for a catcher to implement it in their training.