Protect Home Plate! How to Correctly Receive Throws and Block the Dish

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This article: [ Protect Home Plate! How to Correctly Receive Throws and Block the Dish ] may be reprinted in accordance with the following Reprint Guidelines.

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      The most important job of the catcher, second only to receiving  the pitch, is to protect home plate. While some leagues have  specific rules regarding plays at the dish, there are  universal principles that work well in any league, from eight  year olds on up to the pros.<BR><BR>On any play where the ball  is hit fairly, the cacther should immediately come up out of  his crouch and move in fron of home plate. The mask should  stay on; discourage the "macho" impulse to rip it off on every  play, reserving this instead for popups and pitches that are  not cleanly caught. Leaving the mask on gives protection in  the event that you have a "bang-bang" play at the plate and a  ball gets away.<BR><BR>The catcher should position himself  relative to the location of the hit, using home plate as a  reference. If the ball is hit to the left field side, he  should line up using the third base corner of home plate as a  guide. Likewise, if the ball is hit to the right field side,  he should use the first base corner of the plate as a guide.  The catcher should be no more than a foot or so in front of  the plate in order to give himself the best position on a  potential tag. In most leagues, it is illegal for the catcher  to block the plate unless he actually has the ball in his  possesion, though unwritten rules allow him to do so if the  ball is actually in the air. <BR><BR>When blocking the plate,  give the runner the back half of the plate. This gives the  runner a clear target (which will reduce the number of  collisions), and also the ilusion of a safe path to home.  <BR><BR>Once the ball is caught, the catcher should take a  quick step onto the third base line, making sure to square his  knees toward third base. The knee is very resistant to damage  from head on collisions, but likewise very succeptible to  injury if struck from the side. <B>It is imperitive that the  catcher stay low</B> - the runner will have the advantage of  momentum, and the only way to counter this is for the catcher  to have a lowe center of gravity.<BR><BR>The ball should be  gripped tightly in the throwing hand, then placed inside of  the mitt. If the ball is held in the mitt alone, the shock of  an impact can very easily dislodge it. The tag should only be  applied with the back of the mitt. Keep the tag low. Only  apply a sweeping tag if the throw was off target, preventing  the catcher from getting into the correct  position.<BR><BR>Once the tag is applied, the catcher should  spin away toward the infield, ready to make a throw to another  base if the situation calls for it. <BR><BR><BR>Follow these  steps to realize a greater percentage of outs at the plate,  and to protect your catcher from injury. <BR><p></p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" class="main-text14">
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Protect Home Plate! How to Correctly Receive Throws and Block the Dish

Olan Suddeth

The most important job of the catcher, second only to receiving  the pitch, is to protect home plate. While some leagues have  specific rules regarding plays at the dish, there are  universal principles that work well in any league, from eight  year olds on up to the pros.<BR><BR>On any play where the ball  is hit fairly, the cacther should immediately come up out of  his crouch and move in fron of home plate. The mask should  stay on; discourage the "macho" impulse to rip it off on every  play, reserving this instead for popups and pitches that are  not cleanly caught. Leaving the mask on gives protection in  the event that you have a "bang-bang" play at the plate and a  ball gets away.<BR><BR>The catcher should position himself  relative to the location of the hit, using home plate as a  reference. If the ball is hit to the left field side, he  should line up using the third base corner of home plate as a  guide. Likewise, if the ball is hit to the right field side,  he should use the first base corner of the plate as a guide.  The catcher should be no more than a foot or so in front of  the plate in order to give himself the best position on a  potential tag. In most leagues, it is illegal for the catcher  to block the plate unless he actually has the ball in his  possesion, though unwritten rules allow him to do so if the  ball is actually in the air. <BR><BR>When blocking the plate,  give the runner the back half of the plate. This gives the  runner a clear target (which will reduce the number of  collisions), and also the ilusion of a safe path to home.  <BR><BR>Once the ball is caught, the catcher should take a  quick step onto the third base line, making sure to square his  knees toward third base. The knee is very resistant to damage  from head on collisions, but likewise very succeptible to  injury if struck from the side. <B>It is imperitive that the  catcher stay low</B> - the runner will have the advantage of  momentum, and the only way to counter this is for the catcher  to have a lowe center of gravity.<BR><BR>The ball should be  gripped tightly in the throwing hand, then placed inside of  the mitt. If the ball is held in the mitt alone, the shock of  an impact can very easily dislodge it. The tag should only be  applied with the back of the mitt. Keep the tag low. Only  apply a sweeping tag if the throw was off target, preventing  the catcher from getting into the correct  position.<BR><BR>Once the tag is applied, the catcher should  spin away toward the infield, ready to make a throw to another  base if the situation calls for it. <BR><BR><BR>Follow these  steps to realize a greater percentage of outs at the plate,  and to protect your catcher from injury. <BR>

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