Pitcher/Catcher question

What......

about what the "kid" has to say about the whole deal?

 

I may be naive about this but most high schools don't have that many studs on their team. Some teams might have two at most, so usually the best player plays all the time, including pitching. A high school team can't afford to place their best player on the bench just because he isn't pitching, so I think it comes down to what the player says. If a coach is approachable by his team, then players are usually open with the coach, therefore they would be more likely to inform the coach of a sore shoulder, elbow or arm. I don't particularly like seeing a catcher come from behind the plate and pitch but sometimes I agree that they should. Take the Harvey kid that went to Clemson for example. He caught and pitched. He was drafted in the fifth round as a catcher/hitter although some people thought he would be drafted as a pitcher, so how fair would it be to him to not let him do both if he has the ability to do so?

 

The Son

I like what I have heard so far but I have two points. The first one is this. If you have a #1 catcher who do you think your other pitchers are going to want to throw to. I would like to throw to my #1 catcher. But if you are put in situation were you don't have any pitching you have a different story. I think he should be able to pitch because that is the best thing for the team. But you have to keep a very close eye on him. You can't just go off of what he says. (You know what I mean Braves. Me and someone have been through this before.) You have to pay attention to the pitchers/catchers body language and see what they are thinking through that. I know that if I was on the mound I wouldn't tell a coach that my arm is hurting unless it was about to fall off. It is the little shakes of the arm, the constant stretching when on the mound, and facial expressions. The only way you as a coach can do this is by spending time with your players more than usual and getting to know them. I have stopped one of my best friends from pitching anymore in high school and in summer ball because I could tell how his arm was feeling by his body language. I am not saying I stopped him for good or stopped him after the inning was over. I stopped him right there in the middle of an at bat.
My other point is that many pitchers at the college level and some in the pros were catchers and have been changed to pitchers. They didn't change any of their arm motions or anything. The ACE for Cal State last year was a catcher who they changed into a pitcher. A closer for Wake a couple of years ago made the change as well. Many of the relief pitchers in the pros now have that short arm motion. So its not so much about the arm motion but the over use of the arm. You also have to put it up to the kid to take care of that thing. It doesn't last forever.
These are just some things that I have seen.

 

Agreed!

Listen & OBSERVE more specifically as any experienced and knowledgeable coach will tell you! More times than not the coach that hasplayed and experienced arm pain to have a ssense of the "symptoms" OPEN lines of communication and trust and understanding that EVERYONE is doing what they should OR NOT for the team AND only the team good points ...!

 

44magnum,
i don't think anyone on here is saying "sit" your stud when he is not pitching. the original question is..... are there certain positions that pitchers shouldn't play when they are not pitching.

 

The way I read the initial quote on HSBBW was do you let a kid pitch and catch? Then later you ask about playing other positions. What I was referring to was the kid that is a catcher and a pitcher. Maybe he doesn't play any other position, so therefore it puts the coach in a tough spot as to what to do. I don't think just because a kid catches he shouldn't pitch and vice versa. But, I would shy away from bringing a kid to the mound after he has caught up until that point. I think that spells trouble because as you know from being a catcher, the body becomes tired and it is more susceptible to injury after having caught for an extended period of time during that game then having to come in and pitch. Therefore, the risk of injury in that circumstance, I feel, is much greater than if the kid caught on Tuesday then pitched on Friday. Bottom line though, if the kid is good enough to pitch and good enough to catch and he wants to do both why not let him? As stated earlier many pitchers are converted catchers so I don't see much of an increase in the risk of injury from the arm angle (before every one jumps on me, I said much of an INCREASE in the risk of injury, but there is obviously some risk of injury) Just my opinion though.

 

We ran into that problem last year as I ahd to move an putstanding pitcher into the shortstop position in the middle of the season to shore up a gaping defensive hole. This kid with an 85-87 MPH heater became my egular SS and did not pitch another inning last year as I had nobody I felt comfortable with putting there. We won 6 in a row and finished 2nd in the conference. I was fortunate to have a sophomore that came up and went 3-1 for me down the stretch. I want to keep my defemse as consistent and strong as possible, but sometimes you have to make do with what you have. If I can find a good glove man to play there (I can DH for him), I will but the middle combo must be good and both need to be confident in each other.

As far as catching and pitching go, I dont like it at all, 2 entoirely different throwing motions IMHO.

I do believe that Hatcher at Garner did not pitch until he senior year at Garner in HS ball. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that to be the truth based on my conversations with him at the State Games