The Art of Catching

Baseball is a sport of grit, smarts, and toughness. It is a game of failure. Think about it, if someone hits for a batting average of .500, or 50 percent, they’re breaking records. All in all, I would say that baseball is a sport of mental toughness. It takes a lot for somebody to continuously fail, and continue to love the sport. Although baseball as a whole is a sport of mental toughness and agility, there is one position that this applies especially too. That position is like the quarterback of the diamond, the toughest guy on the field, and it’s where everything starts. This position is the catcher.

There is definitely a special art that an effective catcher must learn. For those that do not know baseball well, the catcher has much more responsibility than just catching the ball. The first priority a catcher has, is to decide what pitch the pitcher should throw. As that decision is being made, the catcher must also know the exact situation the game stands at. He must know how many outs there are, if and where the runners are on base, what inning it is , part of the order, and what the score is.  Other responsibilities that lie on the catcher are blocking wild pitches, gunning down risky base sealers, and calling for where the ball must go. The catcher can see the entire field, therefore he usually will decide what base the ball should be thrown too. I am definitely not saying that catchers rule the team, because they do not, but I am saying that catchers carry an extensive amount of pressure and responsibility, and that should be recognized.