A catcher's influence on the umpire

Segment 22 in "trick or treat' month.

No position player can influence the course of a game more than the catcher. Regardless of how the ball crosses the plate, the catcher's presentation to the home plate umpire is critical. In fact, right or wrong many umpires actually call balls and strikes on how the catcher presents the ball rather than where the ball crosses the plate. Let's see how a catcher can "deceive" an umpire.

The first thing that a good catcher must understand is that moving the glove in the direction of the strike zone after the catch has been made is irrelevant. The umpire would obviously detect that late movement. The object is to deceive the umpire by having him think that you didn't move the glove at all but simply caught the ball in the position that you are presenting it. Here are the major tenets to be used.

1- Get very wide and low. This allows you to have more range with your glove hand. The ability to have more range or reach further in every direction is critical to "deceiving" the umpire.

2- Anticipate moving the ball into the strike zone. If the ball is on the inside corner to a righty, your glove should approach the ball from the left. That is, you do not catch the ball directly behind the ball. There is a subtle movement from the left of the ball moving in the direction of the strike zone. Therefore, when the ball is caught the glove has been stopped slightly more to the right than where the ball actually crossed the zone. This way of receiving the ball in consistent with all pitches. Stay outside every ball and move it back in the direction of the trike zone.

3- Don't be afraid to drop to a knee to receive the ball moving away from you. By dropping to a knee you actually center your body better and improve balance through the ball. Balance is critcial for presenting a pitch and dropping your left knee makes a solid presentation to the umpire and allows you to be lower than the low pitch a whole lot easier.

Notice the good catchers and you'll notice how subtle they "frame" the ball. Their technique is administered prior to catching the ball. When done correctly the umpire really has a difficult time discerning where the ball actually crossed the plate and where the catcher presented the ball.