Tips on Being a Solid Receiver by Keith Anderson Also read the Keith Anderson Interview: MABL Catcher Who Turned Pro Shares His Secrets

Photo 1 Relaxed Position Photo 1 shows the catcher in the relaxed position. He is comfortable, balanced, low to the ground, and he presents a full (open glove) target to his pitcher. His throwing hand is behind his back. The catcher assumes the relaxed position when no runners are on base, and the hitter has less than two strikes against him in the count.

Business Position Photos 2 and 3 (front & side views) show the catcher in the business position. He assumes this position any time runners are on base, or when the hitter has two strikes against him in the count. In this position, the catcher is ready to block and throw. His buttocks are elevated, he has a wide base, and good balance. The wide base is vital in the event the catcher must block a pitch in the dirt. Also, his throwing hand is close to the glove in anticipation of the need to throw to a base. Photo 2 Photo 3

Photo 4 Giving and Disguising the Sign As shown in Photo 4, when giving the sign, the catcher is keenly aware that the opposing team will try to take a peek. He makes sure to give the signal directly in front of the crotch. He holds his glove outside his left leg and below the knee in order to block the view of the third base coach. He is prepared to use his right knee to block the view of the first base coach or the runner.

Receiving a Marginal Pitch In Photo 5a, the receiver reaches all the way across his body. Even if the pitch clipped the corner of the plate, the umpire is likely to call it a ball. This is poor technique. In Photo 5b, the receiver reads the location of the pitch well before it is near the plate, and allows his upper body to float toward the corner. When he receives it, his glove is centered in front of his chest. Now the umpire is much more likely to call it a strike. Photo 5a Photo 5b   Blocking

Photo 6 Blocking A catcher who can’t block balls can’t stop opposing runner from advancing. Photo 6 shows the catcher in the standard blocking posture. His head is down with the chin against the neck. His shoulders are wide to increase the likelihood that the ball will hit his torso and fall in front of him and within quick reach. His bare hand is behind his glove, and the glove is in contact with the ground to prevent the ball from skipping under his legs and past him.

The side view depicted in Photo 7 shows that the catcher drops completely to his knees to block a ball. Notice how he bends his upper body so that if the ball hits him in the chest, it will fall directly in from of him. Photo 7

Photo 8 Blocking a pitch to the side In Photo 8, the catcher blocks a pitch that bounces on the first base side of the plate. From the business position depicted in Photo 2, the catcher takes a step to his right, and then drops to his knees. His glove again is in contact with the ground, his throwing hand behind it, his shoulders are wide, and his chin is down. Notice that he angles his body with the objective of blocking the ball and having it fall towards the plate. This will give him the best chance of retrieving the ball quickly and positioning himself to throw to a base to which a runner would threaten to advance.

Proper Throwing Technique In Photo 9a, the catcher is in the ideal position to throw the ball to second. His body is in a good athletic position, and the line through his shoulders would extend directly to second base. He holds the ball with a four seam grip to minimize sideways movement of the ball during flight. His glove is extended in front of his chest. His elbows work in a counterbalancing fashion, and by positioning his glove fairly high, he creates the optimal positioning of his throwing hand. The throwing elbow is slightly above the back shoulder. When he releases the ball, he will maintain the high glove position, and his chest will move toward his glove. This is vital to an accurate throw. Dropping the glove hand to the side during the throw helps to defeat accuracy. When a catcher executes the throw correctly, he will feel his mask falling from his face just after his chest comes forward to his glove. Photo 9a

Footwork In Photo 9b and 9c, we see the correct footwork that allows the catcher to arrive in the optimal throwing position. In Photo 9b, the catcher moves his right foot forward and rotates in 90 degrees so that the instep of the right foot faces second base. Upon anchoring the right foot, he crosses over with his left foot and plants it to arrive in the position shown in Photo 9c. Photo 9b Photo 9c

T-Drill: Catcher’s Footwork for Proper Throwing Diagram A shows an overhead view of the catcher’s feet in the starting business position. In Diagram B, the catcher takes the first of two steps in preparation to make a throw to second base. Notice that the catcher’s first step is with his right foot. This is the foot in his throwing side, and he positions it by advancing the foot just a bit, and rotating it so that the instep of the foot faces second base. Diagram C shows the second step in which the catcher advances his left foot to an area just in front of the plate. Once the catcher’s feet are in the position shown in Diagram C, his throwing arm is in the launch position, and his glove is extended in front of him, as shown in Photo 9a. The steps shown in the about diagram are the foundation of the T-Drill that professional catchers practice regularly. If you are a catcher, you should practice this drill daily until you have mastered it.

Pitch-Out Sequence When executing a pitch-out, the catcher rises from his crouched position at the moment the pitcher lifts his knee. This is what he has done in Photo 10a. Next, as shown in Photo 10b, the catcher prepares to receive the ball with two hands. The pitch-out comes to the catcher at chest height, and once he has the ball in his glove, he watches the exchange from glove to throwing hand. In Photo 10c, the catcher has made a clean exchange, and has turned his body to be in the optimal throwing position. Photo 10a Photo 10b Photo 10c

Fielding a Bunt When fielding a bunt, the catcher starts from the crouch and stays low as he leaves the box. As shown in Photo 11a, he keeps his knees bent as he advances toward the ball. When he reaches the ball, as shown in Photo 11b, he grasps it with his bare hand and then rakes it into the glove. His eyes stay fixed on the ball until it is securely in his glove. Once he has possession of the ball, he squares to his target base, and assumes the sound throwing position shown in Photo 11c. Now he is ready to fire the ball to the base. Many amateur catchers make the mistake of rushing the throw, and fail to square up to the base before releasing the ball. Photo 11a Photo 11b Photo 11c

Also read the Keith Anderson Interview: MABL Catcher Who Turned Pro Shares His Secrets.

Credits Graphic presentation and content: Keith Anderson. Photos and text: Dan Piro. Catcher/Model: Adam Thompson, North County San Diego MABL. Web conversion: Brett Rudy. As originally seen in Hardball Magazine, Fall 2003.