When should catchers start calling pitches?

[riseball]

When a catcher can tell you accurately where the pitcher is throwing, where the umpire's zone is, and what the batter did the last time up, I'd say give her the conn...but in my experience (admittedly not as much as some, more than others) I have only met one catcher that I would absolutely trust to call pitches...and she's got a ride to Cal Poly SLO next year because of it and her work ethic...

When a catcher can't tell you 5 seconds after a pitch, where the pitch was - she's not ready...JMHO...

Spot on!

I would add that I expect catchers (18U) to provide feedback on movement, spin axis, and spin rate.

 

[riseball]

So in watching the TN vs SC game over the weekend I saw what I think was a bad pitch calling scenario from the benches:

BOTH teams pitch-calling appeared to be desperately trying to get the outside corner call and in the case of TN it appeared they were additionally trying to "force" Ellen Renfroe into getting her screw to become an inside strike.

To me, for a good while there, it seemed to be the definition of insanity going on for both teams (continually trying for a different outcome on a strategy that was failing). To me, if the pitcher/catcher were empowered to realize EARLIER that the outside strike was NOT going to be called and Ellen's screw was NOT going to come up off the inside ground that allot of walks could have been avoided...

At least that is what I saw.

That is 100% on the catchers. If they are not providing feedback to the pitch caller that the umpire is not giving it up on the inside they are not doing their job.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

A number of high level TB coaches gave their opinion on this...

Should pitchers & catchers call games?

Calling pitches: Another coach perspective.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

That is 100% on the catchers. If they are not providing feedback to the pitch caller that the umpire is not giving it up on the inside they are not doing their job.

I agree IF the coach is open to the catchers feedback.

 

[riseball]

I agree IF the coach is open to the catchers feedback.

One of my favorite quotes is from comedian Ron White - "You can't fix stupid."

It should be a team effort. If the battery and the coach are on the same page and communicating effectively with each other and the rest of the team, great things can happen.

 

[Greenmonsters]

A number of high level TB coaches gave their opinion on this...

Should pitchers & catchers call games?

Calling pitches: Another coach perspective.

Good reads - thanks for the links SoCD.

Talking about some of the opinions offered by some of the high-level TB coaches. If you have experienced personnel, i.e., a competent, student of the game type catcher and a familiar pitcher who is comfortable and learned to trust the catcher, they can better implement a coach-prepared game plan with pitches being called on the field instead of from the dugout. The "I'll alleviate the pressure by assuming the responsibility" coach mentality is a lame BS cop out. In college and afterwards in life, these young ladies will be held accountable for their actions in all other aspects of their lives, but pitch-calling in softball might be too much to handle? Get real - at college they will be required to be accountable and make good decisions about whether to drink alcohol, drive, do drugs, have sex, cheat, etc., yet they can't face the immense pressure of calling a "wrong" freakin' softball pitch (and wrong 99.9% of the time means a pitch that wasn't executed as intended AND resulted in an unfavorable outcome)? And the coaches' references to lack of experience? Well, they just need to look in the mirror and they'll see who is responsible for that shortcoming and not engaged in addressing that aspect of player development. And, I still want to know where most of these coaches gained their own pitch-calling experience because the next coach I hear say that they couldn't call a better game if they were behind the the plate instead of in the dugout will be the first one.

 

[Greenmonsters]

One of my favorite quotes is from comedian Ron White - "You can't fix stupid."

It should be a team effort. If the battery and the coach are on the same page and communicating effectively with each other and the rest of the team, great things can happen.

The game plan gets developed by the coach and discussed collaboratively pre-game and interactively between innnings with the battery, but the only way to take it to the next level is to enable on-field pitch calling. What other reason could there be that MLB games get called from behind the plate and .220-hitting catchers have regular jobs?