Catching Success

  An article about the toughest position on the baseball diamond

Out of all the positions on the baseball diamond, the catcher position is the hardest. They have to crouch behind the plate all day, get baseballs thrown at them to speeds up to 100 mph, taking foul balls of their hand, hit in the head with back swings, and to get an occasional collision while still coming up to bat 4 to 5 times a game. How do they do it? Take a look at Yadier Molina. He has one of the best arms for throwing at base runners. He can even throw out the base stealers even when his knees are on the ground. He snaps his wrist to get the runner out. Like other catchers, Yadier not only has to be prepared for base stealers but also for wild pitches. He is so good at his job that in 2014 he won the National League Platinum Glove for the best defensive player at any position. Through all this, Yadier Molina still comes through in the clutch for St. Louis Cardinals many times.

Buster Posey is another example of a great catcher. Buster is more on the offensive side than the defensive side. In 2012, Buster Posey won the National League Most Valuable Player award. That year, he batted a league leading .336 average, hit 24 home runs, and drove in 103 RBIs. Buster also won the 2010 Rookie of the Year award and multiple Silver Sluggers. Buster has helped the San Francisco Giants with his defensive skills, too. In 2013, Posey caught a no-hitter by Tim Lincecum against the San Diego Padres. Two years later, he caught Chris Heston’s no-hitter against the New York Mets. On top of that, he has caught 3 World Series titles in 5 years. A part of this is because he and Madison Bumgarner are a key battery pair.

Brian McCann of the New York Yankees is a good example of an all-around catcher. He handles the pitching staff well and he makes them feel comfortable so they can pitch good games. He throws out the average amount of base stealers and has tremendous power. Brian has more than 200 home runs although playing the roughest position on the baseball diamond. A specialty of Brian is his ability to block the split finger fastball. With Masahiro Tanaka and Nathan Evoaldi, he has to that a lot.