Talk to 2 different coaches about a specific strategy, and there's a good chance you'll get 2 different answers...

Quotable...

Take control of what you control. You can't control whether you walk away from a game with four hits. You can control how well you pulled for your teammates. You can give up your at-bat and bunt a guy into scoring position. You can run the bases intelligently. In short, you can control how good a teammate you are.  If you base how great a game you had on how good a teammate you were, I'll guarantee a couple things. One, you'll have a lot more fun. And two, the Baseball Gods will reward you with the best statistical season you ever had. Don't ask me how, the game was just designed that way. Remember, results are just a by-product of your approach to the game. 

 

(Brent Mayne - 15 Year Major League Catcher)

 

 

 Coaching Thought...

Catcher Blocking Drills

St. Olaf Midwinter Baseball Clinic - January 30, 2010

Mark Downey - mark.downey@moundsviewschools.org

 

 

Sit and Get Hit - Start in block position.  Bounce balls into catcher.  Warm-Up Drill.

Emphasis: Proper blocking position. Catcher tracks ball in, curl and exhale.

 

5-Ball Point Drill - Lay 5 balls in front of plate (middle, each corner, and about 1 foot outside each direction) - Point to one of the 5 balls, Catcher drops to block that ball.

Emphasis: Proper drop mechanics & blocking position. Get around inside/outside balls.

 

Stick Drill - Similar to 5-Ball Drill, just a different method.  Coach with ball on end of stick places ball in front of catcher who drops to block at that location. 

Emphasis: Proper drop mechanics & blocking position. Get around inside/outside balls.

 

Wall Drill - Catcher squats about 6 feet from a wall. Partner stands behind Catcher and overhand the ball against the wall and Catcher blocks.

Emphasis: Quickness. A way to provide variety/fun.

 

Contest - Draw a circle and have a contest to see which catcher can block the most balls that stay in that circle.  Make up other contests/competitions!

Emphasis: Competition provides focus and fun.

 

Get Around - Exaggeration Drill: Coach acts as Pitcher; standing or kneeling in front of the plate. Throw inside and outside pitches.  Catcher's goal is to get around the pitch so that the ball goes by him (doesn't hit him). Can keep moving the pitches further off the plate to challenge.

Emphasis: Understand the feeling of getting the body around on balls off the plate.

 

No Cheat - Coach sometimes throws a ball to block and sometimes throws a strike.

Emphasis: Prevent Catcher from dropping prematurely. Don't let them cheat in blocking drills - can do this with any blocking drill.

 

Block and Stop - Catcher pauses after blocking to insure proper position.

Emphasis: Proper position.  Can do this with any blocking drill.

 

Rapid Fire - Throw 3-5 in a row. Catcher has to quickly recover and get back into Ready Stance.

Emphasis: Quickness in recovery from blocking position.

 

Quickness - Kneel down close and throw hard right at them; Partner tries to throw it hard enough to get it underneath Catcher's legs.  Catcher tries to be quick but don't cheat and go down early.

Emphasis: Quickness in getting to blocking position - beat the ball to the spot.

 

Block and Recover - Coach throws pitch to block. Catcher blocks and recovers the ball.  It's what really happens in a game.

-         Throw to either 2B or 3B. Can start with just getting body in throwing position and progress to actually throwing the baseball.

-         Pretend block and miss ball; scramble back to get it and throw to home for play at the plate.

Emphasis: Game like. Pick up ball 2 hands if moving, 1 hand if not moving. Feet set-up and get over the top of the ball to pick it up. Body square to throwing target.

 

Real Deal - Coach throwing balls to block; gradually moving back and increasing velocity.  Can use pitching machine to get consistent reps, hard thrown balls, and nasty breaking balls.

Emphasis: Ability to handle hard thrown balls and breaking balls.

 

Mess Up - Throw ball where Catcher will either:

-         Catch and frame (Thrower says nothing)

-         Catch and throw (Thrower says "going" or whatever your team's word is)

-         Block (Thrower says nothing, the pitch is in the dirt)

Emphasis: Ability to react to the pitch. Game like.

 

Conditioning

-         Drop to blocking position, immediately pop back up and drop again, gaining ground each time.  Finished when Catcher goes a certain distance or a certain number of blocks.

-         Or, can alternate straight down, right, left, and so on.

-         Or, can do the 5-Ball Drill or Stick Drill in rapid fashion.

Emphasis: Conditioning, agility.

 

No Hands - Can practice blocking with hands behind back to focus on legwork and not relying on hands.  Go easy on tossing (can use tennis balls), you're not trying to hurt them, just trying to get their body into proper position.  Since the hands in front is a critical part of the block, you're practicing something that's not what we want to be natural for the Catcher.  But, for those that need to get their arms out of the equation to focus on the rest of the body, this can be effective.

Emphasis: The body blocks the ball; we're not trying to catch it..

 

 


 

Blocking - Some Concepts

 

 

-         Most anyone can do it.  Need to embrace it!  Takes hard work, heart and lots of reps. Have to be in the right frame of mind; have to want to do it!

-         Anticipation just as important as mechanics.

-         Be aggressive!

-         Remember that you need to be able to get out of the blocking position to retrieve the ball quickly.  If not, it's all for naught! Block, and then scramble, is what actually happens.

-         Concepts are similar to an infielder in that you must stay athletic and follow the ball all the way in.

-         Define what you expect for your Catchers in blocking.  For example: 1) Steer everything towards the plate and keep it close to you.  2) The runner(s) don't advance.

-         Effective blocking is critical for Pitcher confidence!

 

 

-        Should be able to block anything within a forearm's distance away - extend arms to the side; that's how far you should be able to get to.

-         The blocking position is the same regardless of pitch location, the angle of your body relative to the plate is different depending on pitch location.

-         Be square to the pitch, trust your gear.

-         You-re blocking the ball, not trying to catch it - priority is to prevent ball from getting by you.  The glove's only purpose is to clog the five hole.

-         Beat the ball to the spot - Be strong to the spot, yet soft with the ball. Approach the ball aggressively, but block it passively.  Anticipate!

-         Follow the ball with your eyes - see it hit you.  Face mask looking down on the ball.  Better to say "follow ball in" or "track the ball" vs. "tuck chin" ("tuck chin" may convey to them to "tuck"it too early and take their eye off the ball).

 


 

-        The Drop:

  • First: Glove out front to the ball, throwing hand behind it. 
  • Second: Body follows glove down.  Move from the hips and knees, not the feet - "throw the hips,"  "Sink the hips." "Collapse," whatever phrase works for them.  Simply get to the ground as quickly as possible.
  • Moving forward toward the ball - gain ground - shorten the hop distance to get the best hop possible (applies mostly to off-speed pitches - may not have time to gain much ground on a FB, more of a donkey kick drop straight down).  The risk with talking about gaining ground is that some catchers will then not collapse down enough (those guys that lean too far forward) - for these catchers, just emphasize collapsing straight down.
  • Balls to the Side:

-         UConn: "Throw the hips"

-         Gophers: "Push the Glove, Slide, and Collapse"

-         Remember that different pitches react differently: A FB will generally stay in the same trajectory.  A curve ball will react differently because of the spin of the ball.

-         Get around the ball and direct the ball to the plate.

-         Weight down - not up on the knee caps

-         Shoulders square to the ball.  Shoulders in line with the knees.

-         Shin guards drop flat to the ground.

-        Toes pointed out - Feet stay flat. The shoe laces should be on the ground or at least facing down and ultimately your butt will sit on your cleats.

-         Chest bent and shoulders rolled over ball - looking from the side of Catcher, body makes a "C" with head and eyes down.

-         Elbows as wide as possible with no gaps.  Arms tension-free.  The more you anticipate getting hit and tense up, the more the arms tend to come together in front of the chest.

-         Glove straight (perpendicular to ground) so ball doesn't roll or deflect up off the glove.

-         Plug all the holes!

-         Be soft and exhale - blow out air and curl as ball hits you.  Be a "pillow" not a "board."