A baseball team cannot allow the other team to do what they want in terms of base running. Allowing this to happen allows the game to get out of hand quickly. Nothing is more demoralizing to a defense than having the other team steal bases at will and eventually score.
One of the challenges is when a runner gets on third base because he is a defensive mistake away from scoring. This is a challenge because we have to be aware of him, have to be careful with our pitches, and if we are the catcher we have to make sure that we stop that ball from getting past us. This runner also means we will not be doing pick off moves to the other bases lest he steal home.
A good catcher can help to minimize the impact of the runner on third base. There are several things he should be doing:
- Stop the ball
- If he cannot stop the ball, be able to run it down athletically while the pitcher covers home plate
- Pop up and threaten to throw to third every time he catches the ball
- Have a good throwdown move to third base
To throw the ball to third base, the catcher first needs to make sure that they catch it. From here, several things will happen:
- The catcher will explode up.
- As he explodes he will bring his hands together next to his right ear (right handed catcher).
- His right foot will move towards his left while is left foot steps towards third base.
- Weight will be back.
- The catcher will shift his weight forward as he throws the ball to third base.
- After releasing the ball, the catcher will take 1-2 steps towards third.
- The catcher will be ready to move back to cover home in case third base throws it back (i.e. the runner tries to advance to score).
This throw down should only be done if the third baseman is near the bag and is ready for the throw. Otherwise it will result in a mistake that the runner will score on.
