Catching - an umpire's perspective

I'm not a catcher but I am an 18-year veteran umpire. I have called balls and strikes behind many young catchers. I wrote the article below and I thought you might find it helpful. As you move up in levels and age you might find some of the following advice useful. Knowing how to work an umpire is an important and often overlooked aspect to working behind the plate.

To Catchers from Me by Jim Porter

My inspiration for this little column came from the 1999 season. As I
stood behind catcher after catcher all season long, I found myself
wishing I could have a conversation about the things I’ve listed
below. In my opinion, these ideas would be beneficial for a catcher to
know.

Some are things you would agree with, some are not. Some of the
things I’ll say you may find controversial, but I still find them
worthwhile in my personal experience. Your experience may be
different. Special thanks to Erick Barkhuis for a few suggestions that
made it to print.

1. Don’t move that glove! - When you catch a pitch on the outside
corner, do not move your glove over the plate in a futile attempt to
fool the umpire. All umpires watch the ball come into your glove.
There’s no fooling them. And what’s worse, you’ve announced to the
better part of the crowd that you, the catcher - the player with the
best seat in the house for balls and strikes - thought the pitch was
outside. If it was over the corner and a strike why would you move
your glove? It makes it awfully difficult to call a strike. You’ve made
up our mind for us. Instead, try holding the glove right where you
caught the ball (but never after the call - see #8). That way, you’ll
make your umpire consider calling that pitch and future pitches as
well. It really is beneficial for you as a catcher to simply “frame” the
close pitches. Try it - you’ll like it.

2. Don’t set up on the extreme outside or the extreme inside of
the catcher’s box. - Picture this, you’re setting up for your pitcher
on the extreme outside part of the plate. The count is 0-2 and you
want your pitcher to throw a ball outside. He does and - POP! the
ball hits your glove right in the center of your body, but because you
are set up outside it is clearly a ball. The pitch was quite obviously
outside to you, to me, to the batter, to the pitcher and possibly
some fielders too. However, the benches and the stands see it
differently. They’re looking at it from the side angle. All they see is
the ball go straight into your glove right at the center of your body.
They see the ball as “right down the middle”. The managers yell, the
coaches yell, the benches yell and the spectators yell. All because
you were set up outside. This will tend to get your umpire slightly
agitated. And what’s worse, he may even “think harder” about giving
you those outside corner pitches. I’m certainly not advocating that
umpires are vindictive and would maliciously call a ball when a pitch
would be a strike, but what I am saying is that we are human and
humans do things subconsciously. These umps may not even realize
they’re doing this. They’re aggravated because everyone is yelling at
them and they’re calling the game just fine. So do yourself and the
umpires a favor - set up as close to the center of the plate as you
can. You’ll have a happier and more productive ump if you do so.

3. Don’t set up too far away. - This is an especially big problem in
youth league baseball and fast-pitch softball. If the catcher sets up
too far back, the pitches that may very well catch the knees will end
up in the dirt. This makes it difficult for an umpire to judge that
“knees” pitch, and it makes it difficult for an ump to even call a strike
there. After all, the ball was in the dirt. If you were batting and you
saw the ball hit the dirt, would you expect a strike call? I think not!
You’d say, “That ball was in the dirt!”.

4. Stay down! - Whatever you do, learn to get yourself up from your
crouch quickly. Don’t stand up before the ball reaches you. If you do,
you’ll block your umpire from seeing the pitch and therefore it’s a
“Ball!”. Not only that, but when you get up too soon, your body
inevitably moves forward. This could bring you in contact with the
batter’s swing - and that’s never good!

5. Once you’re set, don’t move! - Some umpires base their stance
on where you set up. If you then move and change your set up while
the pitcher is in motion, then the umpire likewise must reposition
himself. This could make him miss a pitch. He was too busy
repositioning himself. Just set up and don’t “jump” to another spot.
Stay still.

6. Keep your glove “up” on low pitches. - A good number of umps
simply will not give you a low pitch, even if it is right at the knees, if
you turn your glove down to catch it. It adds to an illusion that the
ball was too low. I’ve even heard some old timers go so far as to
remark that if the catcher’s glove is down - it’s a ball. If it’s up - it’s
a strike. Crazy, I know, you can’t find that in the rulebook. But if you
want to get more of those low pitches to be called strikes for your
pitcher, don’t turn the glove down to catch it. Learn to keep your
glove up. I guarantee results on this one.

7. Never put your catcher’s mitt on the ground. - Quite a few
catchers have a tendency to put their glove on the ground to
balance themselves as they crouch. Seems harmless enough, right?
Wrong! What you do when you put your mitt on the ground is pick up
a load of dirt. Can’t be helped. Baseball fields have dirt. And when
your hurlers fast ball comes into this glove, the dirt flies out of your
mitt and into your poor umpires face! Guess what? Your umpire
certainly can’t see a strike with dirt in his eyes. Furthermore, you run
the risk of getting dirt in your eyes too! That’s not convenient with
the go ahead runner stealing third!

8. Never “show up” your ump. - This is far more important than
you realize. Here’s ways to make your ump very unhappy by what is
commonly referred to as “showing him up”. Big reactions to his calls
(including gestures, and stopping your throw back to the pitcher),
cleaning the plate (if you want the plate cleaned, politely ask him to
do so), turning around to speak to him (if you want to speak to your
ump, don’t turn around - keep looking forward - he can hear you) and
holding your mitt well after the call (don’t hold it there - he won’t
change his mind). Remember, a happy ump is a consistent ump - if
you give him something else to think about, he can’t concentrate as
well on your pitcher’s strike zone. Never forget that there’s a human
being behind that plate, not a machine.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful to you. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Jim Porter

• Washington County Umpires' Association (more articles)