How to take advantage of a strong armed catcher.

A lot of times, you see a catcher with a strong arm and you think, "well, he'll stop the running game." Actually, there are certainties that come with a team having a catcher that can throw. One of those certainties is the fact that he'll try and throw runners out. Here are some ways that you can take advantage of that fact.

1- 1st and 3rd and 2 out. Have the runner at 1st straight steal 2nd base. The catcher, more than likely, will attempt to throw the runner out at 2nd base. Have the runner stop short of second base to prevent a tag. The runner at 3B breaks as the catcher gets the ball up in throwing position. He does not wait until the ball is released. That is too late. The infielder awaiting the throw will have no one to tag out as the runner crosses the plate.

2- 2nd and 3rd with 2 out. This play relies on the secondary lead of the man on 2nd. Knowing that he is in plan view of the catcher. The trail runner gets a large secondary lead and "loafs" back to the bag. The strong armed catcher notices that he can get an out just by throwing in behind the runner at 2nd. The catch is that as soon as he goes to throw behind the runner the man at 3rd sprints home and the runner at 2nd gets in a rundown. Run scores.

3- This play is a more daring proposition. With runners on 1st and 2nd if the runner on 1st gets a large secondary, the catcher could throw behind the runner. When the catcher comes up to throw, the lead runner could take 3rd base. The tricky part is recognizing where the catcher is actually throwing the ball. It is also important to have the trail runner get back to 1st base.

All of these plays must be practiced and repped repeatedly. The trail runner in both instances must make sure he doesn't get tagged out before the run crosses the plate as these are usually two scenarios.