5 things to help MLB-look at #3

[beerguy55]

8 minutes ago, concertman1971 said:

My instincts as well as my DMs from guys complaining about "lazy" catchers are guys that caught in HS/college in the 80s and their knees are shot from it, so they think OKD is being lazy. It is not lazy, it is evolution. Guys knees are saved.

Believe me, the last thing I think is they are lazy.  It's situational and it has a time and place (until at least receiving becomes moot).  It has a purpose.   What I'm seeing are catchers who don't understand the purpose, and who are putting the knee down in scenarios where not only is the purpose not served, they are elevating the risk of a negative outcome for their team.  You don't go OKD with the winning run on third when your closer has a swing/miss sweeper/slider/curve.  You CAN go OKD if your closer paints the black with a 101 mph fastball, and is not at risk of overthrowing a slider.

 

Your graph doesn't really demonstrate anything, except that as a whole WP's/PB's seem to have dropped.  That can be attributed to many different things.   Until you can demonstrate the data of one stance vs the other we have just our anecdotal and observational evidence.  When the knee is down you're, to some degree, anchored...you will have a significantly more difficult time moving in that direction to block a pitch.  It may or may not make any difference to pitches straight in front of you (though in my experience it is harder to lean forward and over the ball) and may or may not have a lesser impact on your ability to move to the opposite side of your knee down, but the ability to move laterally to the side where your knee down is self evident.

Yes...I've caught...and I've down the knee down.  It's great when the pitcher hits his spots.

18 minutes ago, concertman1971 said:

I do not see MLB/NCAA allowing unlimited challenges.

If this is something that gets resolved consistently in under 5 seconds, I can see a high limit in MLB...not unlimited, but I could see a high number of challenges if they continue to be right...but, yes, capping the wrong challenges in some way.  The game gets along perfectly fine with unlimited check swing appeals...even when wrong...I don't see this being too far off that path.