The Importance Of Catching In Baseball

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One of the greatest catchers of all time Yogi Berra was once quoted saying, “You can learn a lot by just observing”. Baseball is a very broad sport, and to learn it all is very challenging, so people just stick to mastering a single craft. Catching is one of the most demanding positions on the field and takes a lot of skill and dedication to be a catcher. There are 3 integral components to be a great catcher, which are, throwing consistently, blocking, and having soft hands.
To be a catcher in any level of baseball one of the crucial aspects is throwing, and being able to do it consistently it can either win or lose you a game. Many young baseball players do not understand the importance of throwing. As Richard Feynman states “Then they …show more content…

This is the part that is most challenging for most people and separates the mediocre catchers from the greats. If you go back and trace the game of baseball to its roots and the history of all-time great catchers “Pudge” Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Yogi Berra, etc... Their greatest asset to them was their ability to be a “wall” behind the plate. They had their pitchers complete confidence, whenever the pitcher would be on the mound he knew he could throw any pitch anywhere because they would block that ball and ensure it would not pass them. Way in which I can teach this to them would be by showing them drills that they can practice and do anytime and stress that repetition is very important when it comes to blocking, have a little bit of both because when it comes to blocking it cannot be taught by just verbally telling someone how to do it, it must be shown and applied in order for the person receiving the training to fully comprehend what the goal is. Being a great blocker is as much mental as it is physical. As a catcher the mentality should be “I will do anything to block this ball”, because it can really hurt or help the …show more content…

Being a catcher is the most important position out on the field besides the pitcher, because the catcher has to be able of control every aspect of the game and know what to do when certain situation arises. As Feynman says “You can know the name of the bird in every language and still not know anything about the bird” (pg. 54). Just how you can know exactly what pitch is coming and what play will happen, but if you do not know how to react or what to do in that situation what difference does it make? To teach this would require a more rigorous form of teaching and using some more methods that will instill the importance of how important it is to be the leader out there on the field for your team. Being a catcher is no joke and that is what should be instilled into young ball player’s minds from a young age.
Throughout my years of playing baseball at its highest level I have come across almost very method and learned quite a lot. There have been some methods I agree with and some that I don’t, but overall having a more hands on approach as well as a little bit or virtual learning has always helped more players. Continuing to teach the methods that I learned from will hopefully result in future players thinking of me as a great teacher

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