How much does the catcher affect your zone

[carolinablue]

I normally give a ball on the outside and just a hair on the inside but that's not what this is about. Tonight I did a LL majors game which turned out to be the best game I have seen all season. It was very close and I think it was for 1st place so every call gets some reaction somewhere.

One teams catcher was low and stuck every pitch, he set up a ball outside and when the pitcher hit the mitt ( which was often ) it was a strike. The other teams pitcher had pretty good control as well but the catcher was killing me. He set straight up and caught the ball close to his body and his mitt moved with every pitch, but what was hurting me the most was he favored the inside ( where he set up ) on every pitch and would reach across his body to catch the ball just off the plate. The worst thing was that when he done this he would also let his upper body turn with the reach and I would be looking at his back. I told him if he wanted that pitch that was really off the plate he was going to have to help me a little but he just would not move outside. I'm sure the other team got a couple of strikes that this team didn't get but like I said, if your going to give a strike that really is off the plate, I feel it at least needs to look like a strike.

The one's they were complaining about didn't look like strikes to me or I would have called them.

So am I wrong about this ? How much does the catcher affect the way the way you call borderline pitches?

[jnazz]

Good catchers get their pitchers strikes that average catchers don't. They work hard at honing their game and their hard work pays off. I know some guys will say a strike is a strike and a ball is a ball -- period. I'm not from that school.

[jkumpire]

Presentation mechanics do matter! If catchers catch more strikes they get more strikes period. If they butcher marginal pitches, they don't get them.

In my opinion, the higher up the ladder you go, the more important they are. Most HS and college F2's know this.

[JaxRolo]

Catchers have a big role when it comes to close pitches.

For example: I have been taught that whenever a catcher turns is glove to catch a low pitch never call it a strike. (well maybe 10U is ok) any older groups its a ball. But if a catcher can frame it nicely its a strike.

[noumpere]

In my opinion, the higher up the ladder you go, the more important they are. Most HS and college F2's know this.

I agree with this and Im not sure that LL majors as was asked about is very high up the ladder. Now I dont mean that to be a negative thing it jsut that at that level Id be much more worried about the pitch and much less worried about the catcher than at college or pro levels.

[mtnump]

I do a lot of LL majors and juniors games and while most of those catchers don't have the savvy to frame a pitch to get a strike, their poor positioning can cost their pitcher - especially some on the outside portion of the plate.

[mstaylor]

A really good catcher can get some strikes for his pitcher, even at the majors level. However, conversely a bad catcher isn't going to hurt him as bad as higher levels. Many catchers sit too deep, catch too close to their body and pull their gloves all over the place. This means you have to call the pitches without reference to what the catcher does. Now if he sits up tight and sticks pitches, that could benefi his pitcher.

[carolinablue]

In my opinion, the higher up the ladder you go, the more important they are. Most HS and college F2's know this.

I agree with this and Im not sure that LL majors as was asked about is very high up the ladder. Now I dont mean that to be a negative thing it jsut that at that level Id be much more worried about the pitch and much less worried about the catcher than at college or pro levels.

I agree that it's a lower level but you may be surprised how capable these 12 year olds are on the small diamond.

Also it wasn't that I knew they were strikes and didn't call them, I wanted badly to call them, but the way he was moving around and blocking me out I just wasn't getting the look I needed.

Maybe I have become too dependant on the catcher and need to make some adjustments in that area.

[Dragon29]

I would agree with others who have said the lower the level of ball you're calling, the less the catcher should influence your calls. LL Majors is not high enough (IMHO) to allow the catcher to influence you. (more than subconsciously, anyway) Some of those F2s are good, but most are just happy to catch the pitch. Once you get into the higher levels, you start dealing more with expectations - the concept of the 'strike zone of least resistance' comes to mind.

[wek29]

So I did a younger game Saturday, around 12ish and both teams has new catchers. One would literally have his glove even with the right side of the plate. He was so far to the right that it felt odd behind the plate. The poor pitcher was already having a release issue that was leaving his pitch out to the right as it was. The other catcher had me against the backstop...so I was having fun on both sides.

[Umpire in Chief]

I good catcher knows how to catch a ball to make it look better than it was. They generally get the benefit on close calls. Not cheating not being biased, just a symbiotic relationship between the catcher and the PU.

[JamesC]

A bad catcher can make you feel like you're doing a horrible job. Whether you're calling the strikes that he is sweeping a mile outside (because technically they are catching the corner), you're getting bad looks at pitches because he can't be still, or because he's dropping to his knees 5' behind the plate to block a curveball that was at the batter's knees. It is very disappointing when calling a high school game and it seems as these kids have no sense sometimes, and the coaches don't have enough sense to correct them. But they don't mind griping about how terrible of a job YOU are doing!