Receiving

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Receiving

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Rule #1

When people ask what the single most important thing for a catcher to do is, the reply is Rule # 1. They say, “Rule #1? What is that?” Rule # 1 for a catcher is to CATCH THE BALL. With amazement everyone always looks at me and asks, “Ok, assuming that, what is the most important thing?" Once again I will always respond "to catch the ball". While obvious, it is the most important thing for a catcher to do. Find me an athlete that can catch the ball, and I can make him into a catcher. If you cannot catch the ball you cannot be a catcher, plain and simple. A catcher must heed this rule better than anyone else on the field because it is part of the name of his position. CATCHer! Nothing good can happen if the catcher does not catch the ball. The catcher must catch the ball or receive it at all costs.

Here are two of the biggest reasons.

If he cannot catch the ball, he cannot play the position.
If he misses the ball, nothing GOOD can happen
1. Runners can advance bases
2. Runners can score
3. Strikes can be lost by dropping or missing the ball

A catcher must understand that his first job is to make sure that the ball ends up securely in his glove.Everything else is secondary. Many people feel that a catcher must run the game first or block or throw first, but without catching the ball, none of this is even possible. Throwing and blocking the ball looks important, but that is a very small percentage of the plays that a catcher is involved in. 90 %+ of the time, his job starts and ends with catching the ball.

The goal of all catchers should be to catch every pitch that they can. You can have some success as a catcher if you can do that. That task is easier said than done. The amount of skill and concentration to catch 150-250 pitches in pre-game, in between inning warm ups, and the game is not easy. Challenging yourself as a player or your players as a coach to not drop a ball during a practice or game is a great goal to try to achieve.

CATCH & THROW RECEIVING TIPS

Catch the Ball every time that it is thrown to you
Beat the Ball to the spot where it is going to go
Use your Eyes, Hand, and Legs to catch the ball
Try to catch the ball “Clean” meaning catch it in the same spot in the glove every time
Limit the Head Movement so that you do not create more movement on the ball
Catch the Ball in front of you so you can see it
Use your Ankles, Knees, and Hips to counterbalance your body into a strong receiving position
Receive the ball. DO NOT Frame it.
Arm, Wrist, and Hand Position when catching the ball will help present strikes to the umpire
Fingers Up at the start
Good LARGE Target

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