The Catcher In Baseball

by : Jim Brown



In a baseball game, the catcher can be found crouched behind the home plate and catches the ball from the pitcher. He has the most difficult task in the game as far as importance is concerned. From his position he has the view of the entire field. In this case, he has the responsibility to lead the other players into play. He has the task to be aware of the pitcher's strengths and the batter's weakness. He gestures the right moves to the pitcher through hand signals to eliminate the batter in any way.

Pitches may exceed the speeds of 90 miles per hour, so in this case, the catcher must be geared in a way that he must be well protected from the head down. His protective equipments should include a mask to protect their head, a chest protector to protect the body from the impact of the ball, knee pads for the catcher to rest on when he is in the crouched position and also gives support to the knee ligaments, shin guards to protect the legs, protective cup to protect the groin, inner protective gloves which are worn inside the mitt to absorb the shock and gloves which are extra thick to lessen the friction that the ball may bring.

Catcher's usually throw with their right hand. This is because most batters are right handed. The reason that there are a few left handed catchers would be because most lefties are trained to be pitchers at an early age.

The catcher's mistake might lead to an unexpected scoring or even the victory of a team. So aside from the strategic things and theories that he must ingest, he must also be careful with all the moves he makes. Wild pitches will happen at any time and so do the passed balls. Miscalculations in blocking the plate or dropping the ball in any condition of the play may mean the end. Consequences should be considered for every failure.

Injury is always a considered addition to the catcher's presence in the game. Although he wears protective gears this character suffers the most physically abused role in the game. From catching the high speed ball to blocking the runners from the base plate. Their crouched positions contribute to some knee ailments that they will suffer later on in their lives. Aside from knee disorders they may also develop circulatory abnormalities in their catching hand.