Making the Tag at Home Plate Without Getting Hurt

[chazbz1]

Making the Tag at Home Plate Without Getting Hurt- Molina's Example!

I am a big advocate of having catchers avoid colliding with the runner trying to score. We see this a lot in the major leagues and in college ball. Even some fastpitch coaches instruct their catchers to block the plate with runners trying to score. There is a better way.

We work with catchers to set up off the line and out of the path of the runner coming in. From there the catcher can first catch the ball and rotate towards the runner to sweep the tag. We teach our catchers to use a two-handed tag whenever possible to avoid having the ball jarred loose during the tag. Besides avoiding colliding with the runner, the catcher can continue coming around and come up ready to throw and looking to get another out.

Yadier Molina provided an excellent example in game three of the world series by getting the out at home and avoiding the collision. Molina even gets the out while keeping his mask on.
Chaz at ACC

[video=youtube_share;qIPBaOJ9lXY]http://youtu.be/qIPBaOJ9lXY[/video]

 

[quincy]

Last year DD stopped running about 2’ from home plate, moved around the C who was blocking her lane, DD wasn’t even moving anymore and just stepped on home. DD was called out for not sliding, not even a rule. Similar thing happened to a different Team during the same Tourney and I think the Manager is still yelling at the umpire.

Other side of this we had a must slide rule, passed ball and my P gave the runner a lane. Runner never slowed down and sprinted over the plate, close play. We were penalized for teaching the game properly. 1 of the 2 games I have protested and was going to lose the protest.

 

[chazbz1]

Posey odered not to block the plate!

Buster Posey told not to block plate

I know this is baseball, but how much more does this aply to our fastpitch catchers....

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy orders Posey not to block the plate! "I've already talked to Buster about this. There are ways to make the tag without putting yourself in jeopardy,'' Bochy said"...

It's extremely important that our kids know that they don't have to get in a collision to get the tag out at home. Not only is it extremely hazardous, it's not game-smart. Being in a collision means that the catcher cannot go after additional outs. If less than two outs, there are still runners advancing. The only thing better than getting the tag out at the plate is getting that out AND then turn it into a double play!

 

[chazbz1]

Ninja Base Runner?

Another great reason to keep your mask on and not block the plate... Ninja Runners!

Seriously though, The catcher got the out, but did get cleated on the thigh. Fortunately the cleats were plastic and she came away with only a nasty bruise.

 

[Steve Huff]

This is perfect for throws from left field, but what about from center or right field on throws to the 3rd base side? Here is what I teach the catcher to do to keep safe by not blocking the base path.

The catcher's first priority must be to catch the ball, so her position must facilitate that foremost. But when possible, she stands with her left foot on the would-be baseline, in the batter's box. As she receives the throw, she drops the left leg straight back extending beyond the baseline, and the knee should not be any further back than the baseline. If the ball must be caught too far from the plate, a diving tag or sweep tag is necessary. But here the key is to allow a path to the plate and avoid injury. In these photos, the catcher is a little too far back by about 1 foot, and this is an ideal scenario.

1) if the runner runs by, she can tag her.
2) if the runner tries to do a back-door slide, she is too close to the plate to allow it without a tag.
3) if the runner slides, they automatically spin the catcher into a tag when they contact the leg. If they take the catcher out at the knee, it just causes them to roll toward the runner.

 

[chazbz1]

Here is somefootage of the DD demonstrating how we instruct our left handed catchers to get the tag at home safely. As with right handers, she stays on her feet with toes pointing towars third. Should the runner try to take down the catcher, the feet fold up under her and the chance for injury is greatly reduced. The catcher can take throws from all fields by swiveling at the hips. Some catchers may need to open up the right foot slightly for throws in from right field. Note that the catcher here sets up the same as Molina in the opening video for this thread... Off the plate towards third and away from the baseline... The difference for the southpaws is that once they catch the ball, they need only to pivot at the hips and make the tag. Notice that hooks slides require the catcher to drop to her knees and extend out then reverse direction and go after another out. Remember. If the catcher is tangled up on the ground witt the runner, they cannot turn the douple play.
-Chaz @ ACC

[video=youtube_share;LCE8LE1aw4A]http://youtu.be/LCE8LE1aw4A[/video]

 

[Steve Huff]

A left handed catcher? Really? Just kidding. The best catcher I ever saw on the US National Team was Gillian Boxx. Nice video and demo!

 

[Jr10234]

We can teach our kids to defend properly and safely, but the coaches who teach their players how take out a fielder are the dangers here. I witnessed a few dangerous collisions at home due to agressive runners intentionally targeting the catcher, despite having a lane. How do you combat teams trying to cause injury?

 

[Steve Huff]

We can teach our kids to defend properly and safely, but the coaches who teach their players how take out a fielder are the dangers here. I witnessed a few dangerous collisions at home due to agressive runners intentionally targeting the catcher, despite having a lane. How do you combat teams trying to cause injury?

It is called umpire training. In pregame meetings at home plate you can ask for a clarification of their interpretation. I have seen it myself. Some umpires are too intimidated or timid to do what they know is right! But I don't think is right. I don't know if it is true, but I would guess 14U and older is the major issue. I would like to know.

 

[hen]

First off, great posts Chaz. I'd like to add about the setup to RF. My feeling is that if you open up your right foot a bit you're in a better position to get any throw that's slightly offline. For instance, something thrown (or a bounce) to the 1B dugout side would be trouble as they're already turned at the waist and may not have that much more range.

I'm 100% with you on the toes up the 3B line, but when it comes do doing the actual tag I think it's important to make sure the knees turn towards the 3B dugout. Molina does it naturally because he is set up properly off the line, but also because he had to move toward RF for the throw, then had to come back for the tag. The C in your video does it just fine as well (probably naturally). Like you said, they will roll over their feet naturally if they get cleaned out (~0.05s in your video). It may be a no-teach, but I think it is something the coach should notice and correct if necessary.

As for Buster Posey, his toes and knees were pointed to 3B, but when he got cleaned out they were still facing 3B and things didn't roll over so nicely...
Buster Posey Injury REAL VIDEO - YouTube