Strategy Index volume 1: Tools of Ignorance

[TheLegend]

Every now and then I have this urge to speak strategy on a more insightful level than we are able to in a mid-game. A lot of times, I'll make a suggestion that is glazed over or ignored because we don't really have the time to think it out, so to eleviate this problem (and to bring some civility to this forum) I have come up with the greatest idea known to man!!! A COLUMN!

Ok, well, not really a column, but an occational blog to inspire thought about the more insightful part of the game we love. Of course all ye mighty baseball lovers are encouraged to participate since my knowledge of baseball strategy isn't as profound as I would like it to be. Also, this is a forum, right? I think that means stuff posted here is meant to be discussed...

but enough with the small talk. I now present you with:

Strategy Index Volume 1: Tools of Ignorance

In terms of football, I would definately consider myself to be a defensive minded coach. I love defense, I live for it. In football defense is complete instinct and requires lightning reactions, while offense is so scripted it's almost boring. In baseball however, offense and defense are a lot more similar, due in no small part to the wild card of the pitcher and his ability to manipulate the batter (note that this doesn't really apply in our group, but you know... in theory, that's the way it works). Nonetheless, being the defensive mastermind that I am, defensive positioning will be our first topic of discussion. I'll save shifting, depth and deeper defensive strategy for another day. For the first few weeks let's just figure out what makes a good defender at the each position.

Catcher-
With no stealing or pitch calling or even bunting in our little group the importance of a catcher is greatly down played, but at more competative levels the catcher is usually the captain of the infield. He's the one who get's the infield lined up and is 50-75% responsible for where the pitcher throws the ball, which can in a great way limit where the batter is able to hit the ball. But as I said, that doesn't come into effect much here at parkbaseball.tk, so I'll just be discussing the fielding aspects of the catcher position.

Bunts
While you will often see a thirdbaseman, pitcher or first baseman fielding a bunted ball, the catcher is the one who has the most responsibility on the play, unless there's a play at the plate in which case the pitcher is most responsible. This will be especially true in our league where the thirdbasemen, the first basemen and even the pitchers are forced to play pretty far back.

The hardest part of getting an out on a bunt for a catcher is locating the ball quickly. Some "experts" suggest throwing your mask off to improve your vision, but in practice, I don't find this to be much help. On bunt plays the cost of obscured vision is outweighed by the time cost of taking your helmet off and realligning yourself afterwords. I would suggest leaving your mask on. The catcher should always be focused on the pitched ball as it approaches home plate, but this is especially true if the batter is squaring up for a bunt. The catcher has to be able to pop out from behind the plate and locate the ball very quickly, especially with Defremery's infield hit friendly basepaths.

When fielding a bunt, pick it up with your bare hand. Not only is this an easier pickup on the slow moving ground ball, but the time it takes to transfer from glove hand to throwing hand can easily be the difference between a hit and an out.

The first basemen (or possibly the second baseman, if the bunt gets far enough down the first base line) should be ready for your throw to first as soon as you look up from fielding the ball. If it was a bunt towards first he should be standing in foul territory with his right foot on the bag and if it was a bunt towards third the opposite is true. Be prepared to throw the ball hard, but if you think you might have a problem with accuracy just hold on to it as we all know what happens when a catcher guns the ball down the rightfield line...

If there's a runner at third and less than two outs, the catcher should hold the plate and the pitcher should play a few steps closer as he'll likely be the one fielding the bunted ball. If the pitcher picks the ball up cleanly, there will likely be a play at the plate...

Plays at the Plate

No one will argue that some of the most exciting plays in the game happen at home plate, and that the main priority of the catcher in our games is to protect that area. A good catcher will probably have a larger frame (to present a bigger target for the relay man, and present more of an obsticle to the would be scorer) and good body awareness to allow him to keep his legs in the way in case the runner decides to slide.

Generally speaking, our catchers have done a very poor job of blocking off the plate and forcing the runner to make the agressive play. It seems like on every play at the plate our catchers are simply standing behind the plate. This makes it much easier for the scorer to slide in as well as making it much more difficult for them to apply the tag if and when they get the opportunity.

On a play at the plate the catcher should pop out in front of home, remove his helmet to improve his vision, put his hands up and make some noise ("four! four!", "home!home!" "All the way!", etc.) so the fielder / cut-off man knows where the throw needs to be. AS SOON AS THE BALL IS HEADING FOR HOME (as opposed to when the catcher has already caught the ball) the catcher can block the basepath and put the pressure on the runner to get around his body. On very close plays (or ones where the throw is a tad late) this can be accomplished by laying your back leg across the basepath (put your left shin flat on the ground with your shinguard blocking off as much of the plate as possible). If the runner takes a straight forward slide his foot or hand should be stopped by your leg before he reaches home, allowing you to apply the tag for the out.

If the play isn't as close, the catcher will have time get more of his body in the way by catching the ball and then shifting so his whole body is in the basepaths. When the ball gets to you, bounce and turn 90 degrees, putting your entire body between the runner and home plate. If the runner is still coming full throttle, secure the ball with both hands in case of hard contact and hold your position. If he stops, hold the ball in your bare hand and run at him to create a pickle.

Extra Innings: The Pickle
RUNDOWNS SHOULD ALWAYS RESULT IN OUTS.
If the runner is watching you, keep running at him and pump fake often to force him to hold his position, but don't let him get too close to any base(you wanna force him 2/3 or 3/4 of the way back before throwing the ball).

If you have the ball and the runner turns his back on you, that means he's committed to returning to the other base. Throw the ball to the person guarding the bag and he should have a fairly easy play.

Remember that a rundown gives the defense an advantage because the runner is continually in a state of "stop-and-go" while the defense can always run straight. This however, does require that at least four infielders (and ideally all 6) have to get involved on the play. I can't help but scream at my TV when I see a catcher throw the ball to the thirdbaseman just to have the runner sprint past him to the uncovered plate for an easy run.


Well, that's it for now. What do you guys think? Is there anything I missed? Chime in, share your wisdom and opinions, and all that good stuff.

Next Week: Who's On First?- An inspection of the corner infield positions.

[retep]

Next Week: Who's On First?- An inspection of the corner infield positions.

Bitch, I'm on first! Why ya gotta put me on the spot!?

[Baseball=Life]

That was a great post, Kenyatte.

You covered most everything a catcher needs to be concerned about when he's not calling pitches, or dealing with people stealing.

In our league, there is one unorthodox responsibility of catchers: to call FAIR/FOUL balls. The catcher has by far the best view of balls hit down either 1st or 3rd baselines.

The defense should presume every batted ball is FAIR unless the catcher yells out "Foul!" and puts both hands in the air.

When the ball is FAIR, the catcher says nothing and just points toward the ground in fair territory.

Going back to non-umpiring responsibilities of catchers, there's one more thing that I can think of. Let's say there's a runner on 2nd, and there's a basehit. The catcher, as you said, get's out in front of the plate to prepare for the throw home to stop that runner from scoring on the hit. The catcher yells "4! 4!" or "Home! Home!" like you said. But once the ball is in the air, the catcher must determine, while getting into position for the play, whether there will even be a play. The throw could be off line, or on-line but at too much of an arc, or maybe the runner just turned on the speed and there's no chance to get him.

Once the catcher determines that there isn't a chance to get the runner coming home, he must then yell "Cut!". This tells the pitcher to cut off the incoming throw, thus holding the batter-runner at first base and preserving the double play possibility. Often the pitcher can even get that batter-runner in a pickle between 1st and 2nd by cutting off this throw.

That's it for now, maybe I'll come up with more catcher tips later.

[retep]

Plus, there is the task of un-nerving the opposing batters!

[Southpaw Slim]

Usually as catcher, I will ask the batter where he likes the ball and try to set up there. But occasionally, (i.e. close games, personal vendettae) I like to set up slightly off target. Even while pitching to his own team, the pitcher can't help but get caught by the target and deliver a fairly hittable pitch as opposed to an easily hittable one. On the other hand, sometimes I'll know a batter's best pitch to hit and give out a freebie to see what happens (usually Carlos). It can really throw off the batter if he's been watching pitch after pitch fall over the center of the plate and isn't prepared, and usually frustrate him into screwing up for that at-bat after letting "The One" get by.

So even in our friendly league, there's still some thought given to pitch location.

P.S. Chris is never affected by this technique. However, it helped tremendously when Lyman was pitching. Having a resident pitcher for a whole game really evens out the playing field (although pitching ability is often considered when forming teams).

[gohlkus]

Chris IS unflappable, is he not?

I think thinking about these things between games would make anyone a better fielder during the game. Looking forward to hearing infield analysis.

I would play catcher, but my shins are too short for the gear. The knee guards would block my view of the pitcher.

I definitely appreciated having Lyman pitch for both teams -- it definitely allowed the game to get into a good rhythm that we don't have when we keep switching pitchers (and have to figure out when the guy is at bat, and then if he's pitching while on deck wait for him to get ready, etc. etc.).

[dtrizzle]

Kenyatte,

You suck. And you don't know how to write. Mr. make 5 billion errors in one game then teach people how to play baseball in a column the next week.

If you want somebody to teach you how to play, just ask! Biotch!

- Angry Black Man

[TheLegend]

- Angry Black Man

I'd be angry too if I was the career offensive strike out leader.

[gohlkus]

let it begin...

[dtrizzle]

Ken,

Correction, I am not the all time career strikeout leader. Perhaps you missed that Paul on my team had 4 strikeouts in the last game alone. (Sorry to bust you out). I have struck out three time in my career. One on the first game I ever played, and the two from the game before last. Nigga.

- D

[tallguy]

Yes, that's right - I AM THE KING OF STRIKE-OUTS.

OK, nobody can say I didn't admit it.

I'm seeing am ortho about my arm next week, I just hope to Hell I can play the next game and set a few things straight.

[Southpaw Slim]

If we're counting the entire year and a half I've played, I could qualify. I totally sucked the first 3 months we played. I had a 1 for 5, 4K game myself even after I became a better contact hitter. Don't beat yourself up about it. Just keep your elbow on ice or something. That's really what you should be concerned about,

[retep]

My first day, I nearly hit a HR. It was down hill from there.

But Chris is right. Baseball is the only sport where the hero can become the goat so drasticly. Look at Mr. 4 homeruns! Today: Goat!