TIIE MANY TASKS OF A BASEBALL CATCHER
C-J Young
[Assignment: Describe an activity by dividing it into stages or components. Assume you are writing for a general reader--not for one knowledgeable in the field.]
( 1 ) Baseball is America's pastime and an important part of the American tradition. The names of big-hitting heroes like Henry Aaron and Babe "The Babe" Ruth have become household names. Defensive greats like Ryne Sandberg and pitching stars such as Nolan Ryan are well known among baseball fans. However, while the spotlight shines on the hitters and the pitchers, the catcher sits behind the plate and quietly does his job. Catchers rarely get the credit they deserve.
( 2) Catching equipment has been called, "the tools of ignorance." Some people believe that catchers just sit stupidly waiting for the ball or that their job requires just muscle power rather than skill or intelligence. Such opinions are based on ignorance. Because I caught for seven years through Little League and part of high school, I know that a catcher should be anything but dumb. Instead, a catcher must be a step above the rest. The responsibilities of a catcher go far beyond sitting there and catching pitches. A baseball catcher has four main jobs: to catch pitches, to call the pitches, to run the infield, and to be an inspirational leader.
( 3) Obviously, the catcher's most visible job is to catch pitches effectively. However, this involves much more than a simple game of catch. When a professional pitcher throws a fastball ninety miles an hour, the catcher has less than half a second to decide exactly where the ball is going. In addition, when dealing with a wild pitch, the catcher must try to stop the ball by throwing his body in front of it. Proper technique for stopping a pitch thrown in the dirt involves falling to the knees and using the glove to attempt to catch the ball. The body, then, is used as a backstop in case the glove doesn't stop the ball. When the pitcher throws pitches with movement, such as curveballs, the difficulty of the task is heightened even more. The physical demands of catching, therefore, are grueling, and one must combine coordination with toughness in order to do a good job.
( 4 ) Besides catching the pitches, the catcher must also call the pitches. This is done by using finger symbols, usually numbers, in order to let the pitcher know what pitch the catcher believes should be thrown next. This involves much more than a random selection of pitches; certain pitches are thrown at certain times in order to keep the hitter guessing and to make it harder for him to hit the ball. Often, combinations of pitches work well together. For example, a catcher might call a fastball high and inside and then follow that pitch with a curveball. This combination works well because the hitter see the first pitch as coming near the area of his head, and the next pitch appears to be doing the same thing at first, but then might curve into the strike zone. Being a successful catcher also involves having a basic idea of which hitters have trouble with which pitches. Even great hitters usually have trouble with some pitches more than others. If the catcher knows who has trouble with
43 • what and which pitches to call in certain situations, he can make the pitcher's job much easier.
( 5) The catcher, however, does not only work with the pitcher. As well as catching and calling pitches, the catcher runs the field. Most people don't notice that teams have certain set plays in some key situations. It is the catcher's job to call these plays. One of the most common of these situations occurs when there are base-runners at first base and third base. Because a runner waits to score on third base, the runner on first has a great opportunity to steal second. It is the catcher's job to decide if they will try to throw the runner on first out, and if so, who in the infield should cover which base. In addition, the catcher calls similar plays in bunt situations. Finally, the catcher lines up the cut-off man at times when a long throw to the plate is needed. Clearly, the catcher plays a big part in running the defense.
( 6 ) Along with these responsibilities comes an even more challenging one of being an inspirational leader for the team. When the game is really tight and on the line, the catcher might call a time out and have a conference with the pitcher and, sometimes, the infield. When doing this, the catcher will say some reassuring words to calm the pitcher down, and give the team a vo.te of confidence. This may seem like a simple task, but when the game is on the line, such leadership and encouragement, as any pitcher will testify, can make a vital difference.
( 7 ) All in all, the catcher is your trustworthy and hardworking blue collar worker of a baseball team. Although he may not be the one with the glory or a twenty-million dollar contract, he is a vital part of the defense. So, next time you hear Nolan Ryan has thrown another no hitter, don't forget about the man behind the plate.
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