Sometimes, no matter how good our catcher is, the ball will still get past him. In a previous post we covered how the pitcher should communicate with the catcher so that the catcher knows where the ball went. This saves us fractions of a second in a situation where a baserunner is trying to steal home and score.
When the ball gets past the catcher and there is a runner on third base, several things have to happen. First, the pitcher has to start running towards home plate to cover. Second, while the pitcher is running towards home he needs to be telling the catcher where the ball is. Third, the catcher has to run the ball down. Finally, the catcher has to get the ball to the pitcher at home in time for the pitcher to get the out.
Once the catcher has located the ball, they need to sprint towards the ball. As they approach it they need to be able to get to it quickly and make a fast and accurate throw to the pitcher. To do this, the catcher needs to use his shin guards.
The catcher will slide on his shin guards to the ball. It’s important to angle the slide so that the catcher has his non-throwing shoulder pointing towards home plate. The catcher slides to the ball, picks it up, and is lined up to throw at home plate. Done right, this means that a right handed catcher will always slide to the ball so that their left shoulder is lined up with home plate.
