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Baseball Wisdom From the Masters 
6/22/2010 - Catching Tip of the Week: "The Speed of the Game" brentmayne.com
By Brent Mayne / Kansas City Royals, NY Mets, Oakland A’s, SF Giants, Colorado Rockies, AZ Diamondbacks, LA Dodgers I often see catchers squatting down with their right foot dropped way behind the left…especially when a man is on base. Many receivers feel this angled set up gives them a head start on the throwing process and favorably decreases their pop time. I’m personally not a big fan of this and here’s why. First of all, as catchers, we’ve got to get our priorities straight. Your number one job is to catch the ball. Your number two job is to block the ball. Throwing should probably be your third priority. Setting up “side saddle” (right foot dropped back) makes receiving and blocking any pitch to the left a challenge because the right knee gets in the way and limits range. And in reality, even though it feels like it’d be quicker, an off center set up won’t favorably effect pop time. I prefer to see a “square” set up. In other words, in the catcher’s stance, a line drawn in the dirt connecting the big toes should run parallel to the line of the front of home plate. This will give the pitcher a better target to throw to, increase your lateral range for blocking, and enhance receiving ability. As a compromise, if you just have to drop the right leg back, I’m alright with the toes of the right foot lining up with the instep of the left foot. To me, a catcher with a square set up understands his priorities (receiving-bloocking-throwing…in that order) and gives up nothing in pop time. Till next week, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball. |
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