My Office - Behind the Plate
My Office - Behind the Plate
I loved catching - I had the whole game in front of me. I could see everything. Placing the fielders was my job. Seeing whether long fly balls were fair or foul. What the pitcher had or lacked, I saw, as well. Did the pitcher need a break in the action because he was tired? If he did I would pay a little visit to the mound. The general on the field is what I was. A direct link to the coach.
My office was behind the plate. Having played all the other positions was great, but I felt the best place to be, was catching. I could cash in on all the activity that was in front of me. I had an opportunity to shape the game. I had power in my office that I did not have anywhere else on the field except for maybe pitching. I loved that responsibility.
Seeing a batter leaning one way and then calling the pitch that I thought would get him out was one strategy I successfully used. Striking out a batter was a joint effort between the pitcher and I. I felt it was
my job to study the batter and then relay any useful information I got, back to the pitcher.
My stock as a catcher increased when the pitcher pitched well. I felt I had to find the weakness in the batter. That was part of my job. And then calling the game was the essence of being a catcher.
If there was a background check on all the catchers that ever played, I think there is one thing that would be common. They all studied the game.
Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra are a few of my catching heroes.
About the Author
Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 45 years. His passions have included; playing, watching, reading , evaluating, and coaching the game he adores. Check out his baseball ezine. Do you love inspiring quotes, unusual statistics and most of all, heartwarming baseball stories? If you love baseball you will love his baseball ezine.
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