Catchers use tools of intelligence
Pitch-framing skill is still major asset behind the plate
The little things they do win games
Although Tony Wolters was drafted by the Colorado Rockies as an infielder, he has spent the past eight seasons becoming intimately familiar with the job description of a catcher.
It’s not exactly what the converted shortstop would describe as … well, short.
“You’ve got to do everything,” Wolters said. “You’ve got to hit. You’ve got to catch, block and throw. You have to manage the squad. You have to be a position player, but you have to be a pitcher also. You’ve got to be a pitching coach.
“There are a lot of jobs that a catcher has to do. That’s what makes it so fun but difficult at the same time.”
The job of a catcher, really, has never been easy. Squatting constantly. Getting whacked with foul balls or bats. Being crossed-up on pitches that can permanently damage a finger, something to which Jason Kendall could certainly attest.
Has the job of a catcher evolved or changed over the past handful of years? In some ways yes, said the Pirates’ top three catchers and manager Derek Shelton (a former catcher), when asked for their thoughts on the topic Thursday.
But the biggest difference has been the quantification and analysis of something catchers have been doing for years — receiving the ball well or pitch-framing.
“Something we’ve talked about a lot is the receiving aspect,” Pirates top catcher Jacob Stallings said. “When I was drafted and even coming up through the minor leagues, it was kind of measured by how many passed balls you had. The metrics were still kind of being introduced. Some teams were bought into them, but not every team.”
Suffice to say, no teams are measuring pitch-framing by the number of passed balls a catcher allows. It’s way more complicated than that and also fairly mainstream. If you want to check out Major League Baseball’s pitch-framing leaders, it’s easy to consult FanGraphs or Baseball Prospectus and sort through numbers.
The need for good pitch-framing potentially could disappear if MLB ever shifts to an automated strike zone, but for now, it remains a hugely important part of the game, with catchers trying to use subtle movements to steal strikes, flip counts and keep exit velocities low (sorry, traditionalists).
“Catchers now, their receiving really helps to win ballgames,” Wolters said. “If you have a 1-1 count and can get it to 1-2, you can get that guy out. If it’s 2-1, he’s maybe hitting a double after. There are pitches in a ballgame that are very important, and I think a catcher can help by receiving well. That’s where a lot of guys are focused right now.”
Curious what pitch-framing actually means? Here are a couple of quick examples:
• Say Stallings is behind the plate, and there’s a right-handed pitcher facing a right-handed batter. If that pitcher throws a slider — which generally has side-to-side movement — Stallings will want to catch the ball before it travels too far away from the plate.
That doesn’t mean he should jerk his left arm and pull it back. It’s more anticipation and being as soft and subtle with those movements as possible. “Meeting the ball” is a way you’ll often hear it described.
• Another one: Same setup with a right-handed pitcher against a right-handed hitter. This time, inside fastball. A catcher might tilt his thumb up and catch the ball while folding his glove toward the strike zone. Or he might keep his glove parallel with the ground and guide it left to right, toward the strike zone.
(The second method is generally preferred, although you certainly see both.)
• At the top of the strike zone, the catcher might fold the pitch downward with a soft wrist movement disguised by catching the ball. At the bottom, you’re looking for a slight, upward tug and a catcher’s ability to use the top part of the glove.
It’s all incumbent on catchers being able to identify what’s a borderline pitch.
“In terms of what we ask of our catchers, the biggest thing is make sure you’re aware of what gets called a strike and why it gets called a strike,” Shelton said.
This matters for several reasons. As Wolters outlined, on a micro level, it can put pitchers in more favorable counts. When talking bigger-picture with the way pitch-framing and catchers’ abilities are now quantified, it could help build a successful team.
For example, if there’s a catcher who has a history of stealing borderline pitches at the bottom of the zone but sometimes struggles at the top, it might make sense for him to catch a pitcher whose primary weapon is his sinker, which is most effective when kept lower in the zone.
You’re also starting to see catchers work more “underneath the ball.” This means a low target, and you can generally tell when a catcher is doing this because he has one leg out straight, the other bent or pressed on the dirt. This has become a popular trend for a few different reasons.
One, it can encourage pitchers to hit a low target, which is never bad. It’s also easier for catchers to subtly raise their glove up as opposed to stabbing down while also allowing umpires to see more of the actual strike zone.
This has led to umpires becoming a little more generous with strike calls with catchers moving their glove as opposed to a quieter framing technique that was required a decade or so ago.
“You see more guys on one knee,” Shelton said. “You see more guys with a lower target. You see more guys work underneath the ball, which, 15 years ago or 10 years ago, we didn’t do that because they weren’t called strikes because you were moving the glove.”
Another part of the game that has forced catchers to adjust involves pitching. When Stallings was starting out, the Pirates — you may have heard — preferred two-seamers low in the zone, pitching to contact and trying to
get ground balls. The trend now is more four-seam fastballs up in the zone with more spin pitches to complement that.
There’s also video. This has always been an important thing for catchers, but it’s now a huge part of the job to scout opposing hitters’ swings in addition to learning a new pitching staff, something Wolters and another catching candidate, Michael Perez, are doing.
“The game is always changing,” Perez said through team translator Mike Gonzalez. “The game is constantly adapting, and as a ball player, that’s something that I put on my back as well. I’ve got to continue learning and adjusting and adapting to the new things that are entering into the game, especially at my position.”
Putting so much stock into catchers’ defense has happened for a few different reasons, and it has diminished the offense teams look to get out of the position. If a catcher can frame pitches and throw effectively, perhaps they’re willing to overlook a lower OPS or something like that.
Why the throwing part has been so interesting is also a tricky thing considering teams aren’t running anywhere near as frequently as they used to. Figure in 2018, teams attempted 0.68 stolen bases per game, which was the lowest rate since 1964.
“When you are able to execute the receiving portion and throw the ball well, that’s when you have a gold standard,” Shelton said. “Because people don’t run anymore, the throwing component of it has lessened, and being able to execute getting strikes is way more important.”