Life Behind the Plate: There's More to it Than You Think

You know that old myth that the catcher on a baseball team is usually the short, rotund fellow who only plays the position because he can withstand wearing the heavy amount equipment and he’s better off not playing in the field anyway?

Well, let me introduce you to a few of the catchers I’ve covered this baseball season who completely defy that misguided stereotype.

Brian Kummerlowe (Lansdowne), Mike Skaro (Franklin), Theo DiPace (Catonsville) and Jean Carlos Sologuren (Owings Mills) have proven this season that there is whole lot more to catching than sitting behind the plate, sticking down a finger or two and then throwing the ball back to the pitcher after you catch it. If that’s where you think the responsibility ends, well than you’re simply not “catching” on.

Please, don’t hurt yourself laughing.

There is so much more to the position than what you see on the field. Not only is the average game physically strenuous—squatting for long innings and putting pressure on your knees while shifting your weight around to block wild pitches and controlling the opponent’s run game—but mentally taxing as well. 

The catcher is literally placed in the driver’s seat on every defensive play. And, going around and talking to all those guys, that’s exactly what they like about it—crouched behind the plate with the pitcher and the seven other fielders under their command, they are in complete control.

“I get to call every pitch,” DiPace, a senior, said. “I get to basically determine if it’s going to be a pitch the guy can hit, or not at all.”

Said Skaro, also a senior, “I just like being able to control the game. My sophomore year the coaches let me call the game on my own and I control the game, what pitch, what call. I’m more in control of the game.”

However, the catcher’s job starts even before the pitch is thrown. Catchers will often help align the defense based on what they remember the batter doing his last time at the plate or where they intend to pitch a particular hitter. 

That’s where the intelligence factors in. Yeah, these guys are damn smart too. Keeping track of what pitches were successful to specific batters is crucial—from at-bat to at-bat and even sometimes from game-to-game.

“I definitely watch them when they come up to bat,” Skaro said. "Against Catosnville, this guy really had trouble with the curveball. The second time we played them, I don’t think he saw a fastball.” 

Kummerlowe, who like the other catchers, has been playing the position basically since they started playing baseball all together, noted that often behind the plate, you’ve got to put yourself in the shoes of the pitcher.

Just listening to all these guys talk, I’ve learned that there are so many details and so much consideration that goes into each pitch. The casual observer, much less the tuned-in savant, simply cannot pick up on this from just watching from afar.

You’ve got to get in the catcher’s head to truly understand it.

“You got to think a lot about pitching,” Kummerlowe said. “The first time through the lineup you have to remember where you threw the pitch and where the guy hit and what you want to do. If you see the guy is late on a fastball you don’t want to give him an inside curveball because he’s already late.” 

With so much running through a catcher’s mind on any given moment during a game, how do you balance all that’s going on? Sologuren, a junior, explained it quite simply.

“You just stay focused pretty much. Stay focused and stay in the game,” the Eagles catcher said. “People think it’s a lazy position. But, it’s quick feet, conditioning, leg work, stamina. Staying in communication with your pitcher and finding what the umpire likes—the zones, the corners.”

To me, Sologuren’s last point about appeasing the home plate umpire is probably the least thought of part of being a catcher, while at the same time, perhaps the most intriguing.

With all that’s going on, a catcher must develop a positive, working relationship with the gentleman hovering less than a foot behind for him a good two hours on a given afternoon. While it may seem insignificant, understanding the tendencies and preferences of the home plate umpire could make the difference in a ballgame.

“Definitely have to be good friends with the umpire,” DiPace said. “You got to protect him, you got to do your job. It really helps because if they see you, they like you, they remember you—you’ll get that call or two.”

“I think it’s a big part of the game,” Kummerlowe said. “You have to play a game with the umpires in a way. You got to find out where the zone is and you never want to get on their wrong side. You got to find out the zone and sweet talk him a bit.”

 Working the umpires can certainly include engaging in casual conversation, but it also means doing the little things to get calls to go your way.

Skaro, in particular, has noticed that high school umps are more likely to call a pitch a ball when the catcher has to drastically move his glove—even if the pitch crosses over the plate. So, the crafty senior will move his body to the intended location of the pitch (prior to it being thrown) to remove the guessing game and focus the umpire.

“He doesn’t have to make a judgment call on where your glove is because he’s already looking for your body—you get a wider strike zone as a catcher,” Skaro said. “Your zone extends because most umpires that ref high school are just looking for you to not move. It’s almost always a ball if you have to move.”

While there are loads of responsibility and certainly many aches and pains from playing the position, the ultimate reward is feeling like your profound effect on the game is what led your team to victory.

The bruises from foul tips will wear off and the headaches from wild pitchers will go away—that’s not what bothers them.

But, don’t go thinking that if a kid’s playing catcher, it’s because he’s a big, dim-witted oaf with nowhere else on the field to play. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“The irony to it all is that people think the catcher is just the stumpy fat kid that’s not really athletic,” Skaro said. “But if you look at any good ball team, their catcher is usually six-foot, 185 pounds. They have an athletic guy back there who is definitely smarter than there average stumpy kid who isn’t really smart but can swing the bat—that’s not a catcher.”