Information AboutCatcher |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT CATCHER | |
| baseball positions | |
| softball | |
| major league catchers | |
Catcher is also a general term for a fielder who catches the ball in Cricket . Catcher is a Position played in Baseball . The catcher crouches behind Home Plate and receives the ball from the Pitcher . In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the catcher is assigned the number 2 (see Baseball Scorekeeping ). The role of the catcher is similar to that of the Wicket-keeper in Cricket . Positioned behind home plate (by rule the catcher is the only player who is allowed to be in 's weaknesses. In addition, because the catcher's job is to catch Pitches which often come in at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour, the catcher wears protective equipment including a mask, chest protector, shin guards, and an extra-thick glove (see photo). Because the position necessarily involves a comprehensive understanding of the game's strategic elements, the pool of catchers yields a disproportionate number of major-league managers, including such prominent examples as Mike Scioscia , Joe Torre , and Joe Girardi . Catchers virtually always throw with their right hand. Since most hitters are , have suggested that the real reason that there are no left-handed catchers is because lefties with a strong throwing arm are almost always turned into pitchers at an early age. The critical defensive plays of catchers, aside from managing the pitcher by calling pitches and catching the ball on all pitches, include:
Much can go wrong with any failure by the catcher. Wild pitches and passed balls are possible at any time. A failure to block the plate or dropping the ball thrown from the outfield on a play at home plate means that a run that otherwise might not occur does occur. On a throw to prevent a stolen base, a bad throw might get past the infielder and allow an advance to another base as the ball goes to the outfield. INJURY Despite being heavily padded, catchers routinely suffer the worst physical abuse in baseball. The catcher has the physically risky job of Blocking The Plate from runners. Catchers also constantly get bruised and battered by pitches, and have a long history of knee ailments stemming from the awkward crouched stance they assume. Because of this, catchers have a reputation as being slow baserunners; even if they have speed at the beginning of their careers, the eventual toll taken on their knees slows them down. Some players who begin their career as catchers may be moved to other positions to preserve their running speed; recent prominent examples of this include Craig Biggio , B.J. Surhoff , and Dale Murphy . With few exceptions, catchers of good-to-great ability as hitters have shorter careers than players of similar offensive value. Mike Piazza is the only catcher with at least 400 career home runs, and no catcher has 3000 career hits. Bill James cites as an example the contrast between Johnny Bench and Reggie Jackson , who had similar value as hitters in the peak of their careers; Bench had a career about five years shorter than Jackson. The larger the catcher, the greater the effect tends to be. James associates this effect with the crouch. Catchers also have an increased risk of Circulatory abnormalities in the catching hand. A study of minor-league ballplayers showed that, of 36 players in various positions, all 9 of the catchers had hand pain during a game and several had chronic pain in the catching hand. The results of catching high-speed pitches constantly causes the index finger on the glove hand to swell to twice the size of the other in some cases. Ultrasound and Blood Pressure tests showed altered blood flow in the glove hand of five of the catchers, a higher proportion than the other baseball positions in the study.Ginn, ''et al.'', 2005) During the 2006 season, San Francisco Giants catcher Mike Matheny went on the disabled list after a series of foul tips caromed off his mask, resulting in a serious concussion. On February 1 2007 , Matheny announced his retirement from Major league baseball due to his on-going symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. DEFENSIVE STYLE To block balls pitchers throw on a bounce to the catcher, or "in the dirt", they will slide over, drop to their knees, and "scoop" it up. This process is often hard, depending on how fast the ball travels. EQUIPMENT Catchers in baseball use the following equipment to help prevent injury while behind the plate:
Additionally, some catchers choose to use the following optional equipment:
Given the physical punishment often suffered by catchers, the equipment associated with the position is often referred to as "the tools of ignorance". HALL OF FAME CATCHERS
|
|
|