Catcher

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Position of the catcher
Catcher

The catcher or catchers is a player and / or a position in baseball - and softball . He usually sits right behind home plate when his team is on the defensive. The combination of catcher and pitcher is known as a battery or batterymen .

Duties of the catcher

  1. He intercepts the pitcher's throws if the batter fails to hit the ball . If he does not catch the ball ( wild pitch or passed ball ), there is a good opportunity for the batting team to advance to the next base.
  2. He is the baseman of Home Plate , where it can Runner who want to make a point that out to do.
  3. Since he has all the other players on his team in view from his position, he usually acts as captain and directs the actions of his team at the same time. It also shows the pitcher which throwing technique to use. In addition, each team has its own hand signals, which should not be understandable to the opponents. These are changed several times within a season. The vast majority of baseball managers (coaches) were catchers during their playing days - an indication of how important this position is in a team and how much understanding of the game it requires.

Catcher is a relatively strenuous position in baseball - he is constantly on duty, often the most important man in game-changing running situations at home plate, squats most of the time and wears heavy protective equipment and a special baseball glove that is even bigger, thicker and heavier than the ones other players is. As a result, a catcher's professional career is usually shorter than that of other baseball players, who are often still active beyond 40. In order to keep their skills in the team with particularly strong offensive catchers, they occasionally “train” such players to less stressful positions ( 1st base , 3rd base or outfield ).

Catchers are primarily selected based on their defensive skills. H. how well and safely they catch, how well they harmonize with the various pitchers, how well they “throw out” opposing runners (baserunners) . Catchers who are also strongly on the offensive are rather rare.

Catcher in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Bill Dickey, Catcher in the Hall of Fame

The following 19 catchers were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame :

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Battery (baseball) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia . Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved November 11, 2008.