At the amateur level, there may be nothing more difficult than the pop up that goes straight up the cattle chute. Not only is the ball difficult to find sometimes but the real challenge is it has amazing backspin on it.
It usually occurs when a player slightly deflects a fastball at the very bottom of the ball. The fastball is approaching the plate with backspin in the direction of the plate. The batter actually accelerates that same spin as it deflects the ball straight up.
The ball is now spinning extremely fast towards the direction of the field of play. The catcher looks up to find the ball and it looks like a normal ball flight coming down from the sky.
However, the pop up to the catcher has more spin on it than any other batted ball. It will dramatically change direction as it begins to descend.
Here's what needs to happen.
The catcher needs to always keep the ball on average about ten degrees in front of him. The higher the ball, the greater the degree. With an average pop up, 10 degrees in front of him will spin back to him.
The other important piece of advice is the higher the pop up, the slower you walk at it. As the ball descends it will begin to cut that angle down significantly. If you are moving rapidly in the direction of the ball then the angle really shrinks quickly.
Professionals, for the most part, have this spin and angle thing figured out. However, I would be willing to place money on a high pop at the amateur level being dropped. I don't even think it's 50 50.
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