How to Catch a Pitch in Baseball

Video Transcript

" Hello! My name is Adrian Arceo and I am here on behalf of expertvillage.com. Now we are going to get in some catching. As a catcher, you are going to take more bumps and bruises than any other player out there. Because of the excitement, most players keep coming back to this position. When you set up to give the sign with your pitcher, you want to make sure that you are using your glove and your legs to block the sign. This is so the other team doesn't see what the pitcher's about to throw. So make sure you keep your hands nice and tight covered by your body. Once you and your pitcher agree on a sign, you want to set up into a crotch position. What this is you are not resting on your knees any more. You are on the tips of your toes and your legs are holding you up now. Once your legs are holding you up, you got to have your throwing hand off to the side of your body so that it doesn't get hit, and you have your glove set up wherever you call the pitch. Now I like both defensive positions. When you catch the ball, you don't really want to bring it into your body. You kind of want to hold it out there so you give the umpire a good look at the pitch. That way the pitcher gets as many strike calls as possible. Now remember there are a lot of other jobs to a catcher, but the most fundamental one is just catching the pitch. "