Catchers Core Skills: Catchers Receiving

Catchers are an essential part of the game of baseball. They have to be able to catch the ball, frame pitches, and block balls in the dirt. Receiving is a key skill for catchers, as it involves catching and controlling the baseball. Receiving also requires catchers to be alert and agile enough to quickly react when balls are thrown in their direction. In this article, we will go into depth on the importance of receiving for catchers and how it can change a game. 

Receiving is an important skill for any catcher and they must practice it regularly if they want to improve their game. A little fact about baseball is that catchers have many jobs but when you actually look at it 90% of the time you are receiving or “catching” the baseball (5% is blocking and the other 5% is throwing the baseball). So when we talk about receiving, understanding how much of it you do in the game helps recognize the importance of it. Underneath this, there will be the six main focus points to receiving and how to keep elevating your skills.

1. Proper stance and glove positioning: The catcher should have a low and athletic stance behind the plate with their glove positioned in a way that allows them to receive the ball directly in front of their body.

2. Soft hands: Catchers should use soft, relaxed hands when receiving the ball and that means that they should allow the ball to come to them until the catcher "gets to extension" to beat the baseball to the spot. 

3. Receiving: The catcher should use slight movements of their glove to frame the pitch in a way that makes it appear as a strike to the umpire without exaggerating or overreaching.

4. Catching The Low Pitch: One of the most important parts of receiving is being able to work through the low pitches. An article posted by Fan Graphs asked Former All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy questions on receiving and this was his response, “You want your pitcher to be down.” So Lucroy set out to get good at catching the low pitch and holding it and “sticking it.” 

5. Consistency: Catchers should strive to be consistent in their receiving technique while maintaining the same stance, glove position, and movements for every pitch regardless of count or situation.

6. Focus: Catchers should stay focused and engaged throughout the game while anticipating each pitch and being ready to react quickly.

Remember, catching is not just about catching the ball, it’s about having good form, anticipating the pitch, and working well with the pitcher. Practice these skills consistently, and your receiving abilities will improve. With proper drills, catchers can learn how to catch the ball in the right spot and become more successful on the field. Good receiving can help a team win games by preventing runs from scoring while bad receiving can cost them dearly. Teams must invest in training their catchers in receiving if they want to be successful on the field.

Receiving is an essential skill for any catcher in baseball. It requires a great deal of focus and concentration, along with understanding the importance of why we practice it. At Dream Team Sports Center, our catching coaches know that the main focus is perfecting how our catchers receive the baseball. We go into depth on all of the main concepts behind receiving with making sure we are working through the baseball, the correct movements to the baseball, understanding the difference between receiving and framing, learning body positioning to help your chances when catching a baseball and more. We will cover all the drills you need to get comfortable with your craft and work on your receiving skills. Our coaches are here and are experienced working with our catchers one on one to help them develop their receiving skills and to become better catchers every day. Sign up for a lesson today to improve your player's catcher receiving skills to the next level!