Catching and Catchers discussion Catchers Protect Your Umpires

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Catchers Protect Your Umpire!!

One of the most significant roles we work to develop in our catching students is their role as the protector of their umpire. We all have seen many times when a pitch goes in the dirt, the catcher misses the block, and the umpire takes the hit. This can happen more often when there are no runners on base and the catchers many times do not see the need to block a pitch in the dirt. After talking to umpires all over the country we have come to understand that a safe umpire is a happy umpire and a happy umpire is what we all want to have setting up behind our catcher.

Catchers that use 2 different stances many times are unsure how to execute a block when they are in their deep no-runners on stance. While this block is more difficult then when executed from a higher runners-on stance it can still be executed if practiced. The clip below shows the technique executed by a softball player. The technique is the same for a baseball catcher. The key is the legs and hips must be driven down and back much harder then if they use a higher runners-on stance. Likewise if the throwing hand is kept behind the leg it must be brought to the front behind the glove much faster then if the hand is kept out front behind the glove.

The bottom line is whether runners are on base or not your catcher needs to learn skills that will protect the umpire from getting hit. The temptation is to try and catch or ?pick? the low pitches when there are no runners on base. My recommendation is to train your catchers to block everything. If your catcher achieves this they will also be helping their pitcher to build more confidence in them as a catcher as well.

Video courtesy of Chaz Wood with Advanced Catching Concepts Liberty Mo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCz8RtNOQ1Y

 

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Unless the blue is squeezing your pitcher.

 

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Unless the blue is squeezing your pitcher.

:lmao: I was thinking the same thing.

 

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While protecting the umpire is certainly an admirable gesture, tell me how many coaches gives a rat's *** about what happens to Blue? His/Her main concern is how the catcher is handling the pitcher/batter/base runners!

 

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Unless the blue is squeezing your pitcher.

He gets poped once or twice, bet he will squeeze harder. Try getting a corner called after he gets a ball bounce up in the "berry bag".

 

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He gets poped once or twice, bet he will squeeze harder. Try getting a corner called after he gets a ball bounce up in the "berry bag".

Then he gets popped again until he calls the corners. hehe

 

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While protecting the umpire is certainly an admirable gesture, tell me how many coaches gives a rat's *** about what happens to Blue?

I tell my catcher's to view the strike zone through the eyes of the umpires. When you get right down to it his opinion is the only one that really matters. Don't really care what the coach thinks, he's not making the calls.

His/Her main concern is how the catcher is handling the pitcher/batter/base runners!

I acknowledge that these issues are very important and need to be emphasized in a catchers training. I am concerned however that the relationship between the catcher and HER umpire is greatly ignored and needs to be more emphasized.

 

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As an umpire, to break the ice with younger often nervous catchers, I often ask catchers what their job is--the smart ones answer protect Blue

 

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All joking aside, DD is a catcher, and pretty good at it too. She does pretty good at protecting the guys in blue (just ask Bretman). She tries to stay low to give them the best view of the plate, and the lower part of the zone. She will ask where the pitches are missing, and be polite in doing so. She will go out of her way to thank them after a game. If hte ump knows he isnt going to get hit, he will stay in there, not blink or brace for a hit, this way he sees the pitch all the way in. When I have upmired some Columbus Public High School games, I came home bruised and taken a beating. Hit in the hands, had my clicker broken. Its hard to call balls and strikes when even strikes hit you. She has learned it helps with the tough/close calls. Alot of the calls that could go either way she gets.

 

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As an umpire, to break the ice with younger often nervous catchers, I often ask catchers what their job is--the smart ones answer protect Blue

So your telling us to tell our catchers their first job is to protect blue, the pitchers will get the calls??

 

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So your telling us to tell our catchers their first job is to protect blue, the pitchers will get the calls??

No doesn't change my zone but it gets a smile out of 10U's when I tell them they passed the umpire quiz.

 

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CatchingCoach, maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but, you say, in essence, "the most significant thing you can teach a catcher is too protect the umpire".

I disagree. Teach the catchers to block wild pitches, yes. But that is what a good catcher does in order to prevent stolen bases and dropped-third-strikes. Their priority is the game in front of them, not the person behind them.

The Ump staying injury-free by standing behind a good catcher is a reward for being on the right field at the right time.

 

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CatchingCoach, maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but, you say, in essence, "the most significant thing you can teach a catcher is too protect the umpire".

I did not say it was the MOST significant thing. I was trying to say that it needs to be a very important thing to add to the list of things a catcher should pay attention to. Since it is so often never mentioned to a catcher I want to get it on the table when I am training catchers.

I disagree. Teach the catchers to block wild pitches, yes. But that is what a good catcher does in order to prevent stolen bases and dropped-third-strikes. Their priority is the game in front of them, not the person behind them.

I agree with your statement. But my original post was in reference to pitches in the dirt when there are no runners on and how a successful block can still be executed from a deep no-runners on stance. . Many catchers that come to me have been told not to worry about those pitches and just do what they can to stop them since there is no negative consequence if it gets passed them. I trying to show that an umpire getting hit is a negative consequence that doesn't need to happen if proper training is employed.

The Ump staying injury-free by standing behind a good catcher is a reward for being on the right field at the right time.

Agreed, but I am trying to make the point that coaches should be training their catchers to do the things that make their catcher one of those good ones.

 

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Blocking also keeps your catcher from making a ton of trips to backstop . dd would rather block than play fetch .

 

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Coach Weaver is absolutely correct! An unharmed and protected umpire is a happy umpire. A few people here are taking what Coach Weaver posted WAY out of context.

The catcher's (perceived) best friend on the field should be the umpire. If a catcher is not protecting the umpire very well and is moaning and griping about close pitches and calls, do you honestly think the umpire is going to give you any benefit of doubt? Technically, they are to call the game without bias but let's not fool ourselves. If a catcher protects the umpire and does not hassle them, some close calls and borderline pitches MAY go your way. If the umpire is constantly getting pelted and harrassed, negative bias WILL occur with most umpires. Umpires are not robots, they are human.

Read Coach Weaver's original post simply for what it is......good, sound advice. He never said that it was the most important job of the catcher, just one of many important tasks that should be taught.

Coach Weaver....I can't believe you're taking heat for this topic.....

Len

 

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I agree the catcher should protect the umpire if at all possible. It gets hard for the umpire to give you those close strikes after a couple shots to the jewels. I was always taught to respect them, be friendly to them, and do everything I can to prevent them from getting hit.

 

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As an umpire, I always ask about the second or third inning or so "how I am doing for you" and then the catcher lets me know.

I have known umpires over the years.. who have told me that there are two (2) people they protect at the plate when batting... and it's "their" catchers. Seems to be an incentive for a catcher to protect the umpire !!!

I have missed a pitch as an umpire and said to the catcher with the batter in earshot.. " I might have missed that strike Catch".

If you was teaching pitching, sir... I'd reccommend no gestures or rolling of the eyes from the pitcher. This seems to make MANY umpires mad and the strike zone just got smaller.

Personally, to me it doesn't matter what the pitcher is doing. When she throws what I consider a strike I will DEFINATELY call a strike as I like calling strikes. :yahoo:

Usually an umpires knows when he missed one or a close one... the pitcher doesn't have to remind him/her or try to show him/her up. If the pitcher just continues with her game... the odds are better when she is asking for that pitch that maybe "a string" caught the corner later down the road for a third strike.

 

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I'm not the kind of person to argue every point made on OFC, (there's enough of those people already), and I'm not trying to let CatchingCoach "take the heat".

But the first line of his post states "One of the most significant roles we work to develop in our catching students is their role as the protector of their umpire".

All I'm saying is that the catcher should be focusing on the game on the field. She shouldn't have "Oh geez, I better not let a ball hit the umpire" as her primary concern.

A good catcher will automatically protect Blue. It's part of being a good catcher.

 

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Q-man, I'm afraid you've just confirmed everyone's worst suspicions.

Of course I know it's unreasonable to expect an umpire to be completely unbiased (they're only human), but frankly I don't like the idea of an ump asking a catcher "how am I doing for you?".

I'm sure you mean it to be an ice-breaker, but it feels like an ump asking for praise for doing his job and can put a catcher in an awkward position. And a pitcher's eye-rolling shouldn't be cause for a shrinking strike zone...hopefully a good ump can ignore this.

In the real world we all know these things occur (and probably with more frequency than most of us realize), but it makes me very uncomfortable when an ump freely admits this sort of thing, and almost seems to be bragging about it.

 

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Coach Weaver is absolutely correct! An unharmed and protected umpire is a happy umpire. A few people here are taking what Coach Weaver posted WAY out of context.

The catcher's (perceived) best friend on the field should be the umpire. If a catcher is not protecting the umpire very well and is moaning and griping about close pitches and calls, do you honestly think the umpire is going to give you any benefit of doubt? Technically, they are to call the game without bias but let's not fool ourselves. If a catcher protects the umpire and does not hassle them, some close calls and borderline pitches MAY go your way. If the umpire is constantly getting pelted and harrassed, negative bias WILL occur with most umpires. Umpires are not robots, they are human.

Read Coach Weaver's original post simply for what it is......good, sound advice. He never said that it was the most important job of the catcher, just one of many important tasks that should be taught.

Coach Weaver....I can't believe you're taking heat for this topic.....

Len

I'm with ya Len, wayyyyy out of context. He never said at the expense of the game or it's the most important task. Cabin fever has some seeing things that aren't there. LOL