What makes a baseball player decide they want to be a Catcher?

-In a crouch all day.

-Used hot and sweaty equipment.

-Foul tips.

-Getting short hopped in the junk.

-Home plate collisions.

Why would anybody do this gig?

I think it all starts in little league. The catcher is always the fat kind that can't move fast enough to play anywhere else.

^Bingo...that was me. Catchers can usually hit for power too. You have to. You'll get thrown out otherwise.

Well, catchers get to be in on EVERY pitch of EVERY game. I would assume there is some enjoyment in that.

#2 Wrong. You just have to be a little mentally ill. I never really enjoyed baseball much when I played outfield. One year I played on a team that had a very good 1st string catcher...and no backup. Kind of a problem when the 1st stringer tore a groing muscle. Yeah, still makes me wince thinking about it, too.

Coach asked for volunteers. I raised my hand, and after about the second or third practice, I was hooked. You're in on every play, you call pitches, can set the defense (depending on the team and coach), and there is a far higher mental challenge to playing the position than anywhere else in the field.

I even recall games where I might feel a little run-down, lethargic, whatever. Take that first fould ball off of the helmet, and that wakes you up in a hurry!

BTW, I played several sports year-round, usually was one of the faster baserunners on the team, and I was in very good condition. I actually had, at one point, 25" thighs and a 24" waist. Crouching behind the plate and playing a lot of running sports (soccer, basketball, whatever) will do that.

To this day, I will watch a game, think what pitch I would call, what plays (if any) if someone is already on base, etc. Used to attend games years ago with a neighbor who had played professionally, and we could sit and talk strategy and the mental part of the game all 9 innings and never be bored.

Catcher is the field general and heart of the team. Must bridge the gap between quirky pitchers and everyday players by understanding both and interpreting. They are calling the game based on their knowlege of the players and tendencies. Note how many ex catchers end up managing. They live in both worlds. And, as a young player, if you can handle a pitching staff and hit even a little, it is a fast-track to the Bigs.

..plus it wrecks your knees and lets you limp later in life!

Big sis was married to the Dodgers' Steve Yeager (until the f'ing drunk beat her up the second time). I was living in Japan and didn't hear about the abuse until years later or I'd probably still be in jail.

ScottHar

Yup. If I hadn't just totally destroyed a knee while sliding on a badly-maintained field years ago, who knows? Even a .200 switch-hitting backup catcher could be pulling down $2 mil a year.

I dunno, someone ask CE why he decided to be a catcher.

There you have it.

Pac officially says he's a switch-hitter.

****.

fret

However, and to the point, my kid played Catcher one season. Toughest gig, but most rewarding, on the field. She preferred First, and has become pretty darn good since.

#10 You heard it here first. That sick pervert fretkllr likes to watch his daughter get to first base with other girls.

I played 3rd and 2nd base in organized baseball all the way through to high school.

As an adult I joined a coed company fast pitch softball team. Nobody wanted to catch. I volunteered and started every game for about 3 years.

It took awhile to get used to I'll give ya that. I liked razzing the batters like Berringer did in Major League. Sometimes I'd hear the ump snort and giggle at some of the smack I was throwing out there. After the games we'd all be hanging out drinking pitchers and several opposing players would come over and start laughing and joking with me about what went down on the field.

Playing the position I can tell ya, that's one of the most crucial positions that I never gave a fart about. I never knew what went into it. Now, when I watch baseball I'm keyed into the pitcher/catcher.

I remember some of the greats when I was a kid...Johnny Bench...Bobby Mercer...Carlton Fisk and Gene Tenace. I'm a big fan of Pudge Rodriguez no matter waht team he's on.

Sorry to hear Yeager turned into a creep. He did invent that dangling thing from the bottom of the mask to prevent throat injuries.

As little kids, the catcher is usually just the fat kid.

As the kids mature, and the games become competative, the catcher has more impact than most pitchers will.

Base running is the difference between winning and losing when you're 10, 12 or 14 years old.

If you've got a catcher that prevents passed balls, and can actually throw out an attempted steal, then you've got control of the game.

This importance carries through as the kids get older, and the catcher is the probably the most common position to be a team captain.

So, if your involvement with baseball begins and ends at age 8, then you're right. The fat kid is the catcher.

If you've been involved with competitive ball, then you'll see that the catcher is perhaps the most important position on the field. Akin to a goalie in hockey.

re 12: "Sorry to hear Yeager turned into a creep. He did invent that dangling thing from the bottom of the mask to prevent throat injuries."

He kept the splinters that were removed from his throat in a little jar in his trophy room.

ScottHar

My 17 year old has played catcher ever since "farm majors" (8 years old). He hated playing outfield, too boring. A good catcher will win you games. They will keep runners on first, prevent runners from getting to first (Calling pitches,framing pitches, positioning himself to change the umpires perspective when pitchers are painting the corners, etc.). Generally they will re-position the defense. In the game from start to finish. Probably the most cerebral position in the game.

"..Big sis was married to the Dodgers’ Steve Yeager (until the f’ing drunk beat her up the second time). .."

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Steve Yeager was a reasonable defensive catcher. But your sister is the only thing he could hit.

I was a catcher from LL through College and NEVER saw a fat kid behind the plate. Even "Pudge" was in better shape than 98.2% of the people on these boards.

Catcher also has to be quick and willing to take a beating from both the balls and players crashing the plate.

My problem was I couldn't hit worth a lick .....

Here is a perspective from a father of a 7 year old that plays catcher at times.

This is coach pitch so no wild pitches.

You have to have someone with a decent glove and enough arm strength to not 3 hop it to a base.

The kid also needs to understand and follow the game...they can't be playing in the dirt if a runner is going to be thrown out at home.

I think my son likes putting on all the equipment.

He is almost the smallest / fastest kid on the team but can catch and throw.(He's really a soccer player at heart) I'm also proud to say that he's a tough little kid...tipped balls don't scare him.

I was a catcher til 10th grade when I beat the crap out of a kid with my mask . . . I was a much better 2nd baseman anyway.

#16 Ouch! Oh, man...you're going to Hell for that one, for sure.

#17 I played on a number of teams that had catchers who were good athletes. One year I was catching, one of the best umps in the league showed up for our game. He was sporting a new cast on his wrist. We were both getting our gear on, and I asked him what happened. Turns out a team with a pitcher who threw some serious--but wild--heat also had a catcher who wasn't particularly talented. The pitcher broke the ump's wrist with a pitch the catcher completely missed. As we were both settling in for the first pitch, he put a hand on my shoulder and told me he was glad I was catching that day. Best compliment on my playing I ever got.

Then again, if you can't hit a lick today...maybe you'd have to get by on $1-1.5 million a year.

#18 You can't really tell at the very young ages unless you've got a kid who is either really exceptional or about to get killed (as in, needing to move the kid for his own safety on the latter). Still, some kids take to it well and learn to become good catchers.

The flinch factor usually washes out those who shouldn't be back there but wanted to try it out. If you're flinching at swinging baseball bats and foul balls, you'll find the kid usually gets hurt soon enough and badly enough to want out. Then again, if you have some gonzo little adrenaline monkey who doesn't realize that 42 bruises on his body is a sign he wasn't cut out for the position (I'd say a dozen at any given time is about the max unless you're in the higher leagues and have a coach deliberately firing at you to teach blocking technique), you need to be able to coax him to a different position.

Best of all, get your kid a professional pitching coach. By the time he's old enough for MLB, he can earn enough to pay you back for the coach and set you up in a nice big home by plying his craft every 5 days.

BTW, taking gear on and off to hit is kind of a pain, but it's more a ritual of the game and position than anything for those who play the position long enough. The fact that he enjoys it is a good sign...provided he's handling it OK.