A learning process
New catcher Brian McCann has a new staff he must figure out.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Before the first pitches of Astros spring training were thrown, the six catchers in major league camp each took a seat on the bullpen grass. Seven pitchers circled around, and manager A.J. Hinch began the first of what has become an annual tradition — pitcher-catcher communication sessions. • Pitchers detailed their repertoires, reeled off their likes and dislikes, and explained what they perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses. The catchers listened, asked questions and began to take in the information. These pow-wows, lasting only 12 or 13 minutes, are merely intended as a baseline, a foundation to be built upon over six weeks in the Florida sun.
“The sport is set up (for players) to spend an enormous amount of time together, but there will always be a pitcher-catcher bond,” said Hinch, an ex-major league catcher. “It’s the catcher’s job every single day to get the most out of the pitcher. The only way you’re going to get the most out of the pitcher is to know sort of the good, the bad, the ugly — everything about the pitcher.”
For Brian McCann, that undertaking began earlier this week. In his 12 seasons and nearly 1,400 games behind the plate, the new Astros catcher has handled every type of pitch out there. But what he hadn’t done was work specifically with this group of individuals, making this spring invaluable for developing those connections between pitcher and catcher.
Communication essential
McCann, who turns 33 on Monday, probably will catch more this spring than past years because of the importance that he learns the ins and outs of his new staff. Come April 3, he and Evan Gattis will be tasked with guiding a rotation whose successes or failures will dictate whether the Astros are legitimate World Series contenders. Opening day will be the team’s first with a catcher other than Jason Castro since 2011.
Through the Astros’ first four days of workouts, McCann has caught each of their starters once, save for Collin McHugh, whom he may work with for the first time as soon as Sunday. He also has caught a few of their better relief pitchers, including Ken Giles and Luke Gregerson.
Communication is key. Even during the bullpen sessions, a pitcher will throw roughly every two days at this early stage of spring training. A brief chat between McCann and the pitcher precedes a session’s first pitch with a longer discussion, sometimes two or three minutes, reserved for afterward.
“There has to be constant communication, especially for a firstyear guy coming in and catching a bunch of new guys,” McCann said. “It’s important to constantly talk because everybody likes something different.”
The dialogue varies depending on the pitcher, but common questions from McCann involve where on the plate to set up and whether a pitcher likes his target set early or late. Conversations between pitcher and catcher will then spark back up later, perhaps in the dugout during games, amid downtime in the clubhouse or while eating meals in the players’ cafeteria.
As Hinch put it, “the communication part of it is what builds the trust.”
“It’s not a business deal,” starting pitcher Lance McCullers said. “You just don’t go to a nice dinner, have some good wine, handshake and sign on the dotted line.
“It’s one of those things that takes time.”
Establishing familiarity
McCann’s education of the Astros pitchers began, in earnest, just after the team acquired the seven-time All-Star in a trade with the New York Yankees in November. In maybe his second conversation with Hinch, McCann requested information on the new staff he would be charged with leading.
The Astros sent along video of all of the pitchers on the 40-man roster along with strengths and weakness listed for each. McCann made it a habit of studying the film on his iPad before bed.
But McCann said while “it’s great to have video, it’s nice to know their personalities and all that stuff.” Before arriving to West Palm Beach, the only pitchers he knew personally were Charlie Morton, a teammate with the Atlanta Braves, and McHugh, who a few offseasons ago re- habbed at the same Atlanta-area facility as McCann.
Morton’s relationship with McCann actually dates to 2001, when they were battery mates in the Area Code Games, an annual high school showcase held in Long Beach, Calif. The next year, the Braves used a second-round draft pick to select McCann and a third-round pick to take Morton. They played together in rookie ball before reuniting for Morton’s major league debut in 2008.
“I completely trust him,” said Morton, who signed with the Astros the day before the team acquired McCann. “I was really excited when he was traded here.
“He’s caught John Smoltz. He’s caught Tom Glavine. He caught Tim Hudson. And that was just (in) the time that I was on the team with him. He’s caught so many great pitchers. And he’s been around a long time. He’s great.”
The only active major leaguer with 20 home runs or more in nine consecutive seasons, the lefthanded-hitting McCann is much better known for his power bat than his defense. He projects to catch four or five games a week for the Astros in a loose platoon with the righthandedhitting Gattis.
“He’s been a very good catcher for a lot of years now,” said Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, who grew up a Braves fan. “I feel like I already know what he’s all about, and he knows what I’m about somewhat.
“We kind of already had a foundation set. But we’ll just continue to talk, and if we need to talk during the bullpen (session), then we’ll do that as well.”
Getting on the same page
Hinch has spent a noticeable amount of time working with McCann early in spring training. “You get the blessing and the curse of playing for an ex-catcher,” the manager joked with him late in the week.
On Friday morning, Hinch stood nearby as McCann readied to catch Jandel Gustave in the bullpen. The manager offered McCann a brief scouting report of the hard-throwing reliever and told some of the 24-year-old Dominican’s backstory, like how the Astros lost him in the 2014 Rule 5 Draft only to have him returned five months later.
“This will be a good test for you because he’s going to come in hot,” Hinch said.
After Gustave finished his session, Keuchel toed the rubber for his first of the spring. The bearded lefthander started with fastballs — on the inner half of the plate and then on the outside — before progressing to changeups.
He threw roughly 40 pitches before meeting McCann at the midway point between the mound and the plate for a chat that lasted approximately three minutes.
“Once we get in the games, it will be a lot easier just because he’ll get to read the hitters, I’ll get to read the hitters, and then we’ll see where we’re at game plan-wise,” Keuchel said. “That won’t come until the games start. But as of right now, it’s just communicating in between the lines and making sure we’re on the same page.”
Game scenarios also will be important as dry runs for McCann to learn which offerings Astros pitchers are most convicted in throwing in which counts. Every pitcher comes with his own set of tendencies and preferences.
“At the end of the day, it’s about attacking hitter’s weaknesses and being consistent,” McCann said. “That’s what we’re searching for down here.”