Stats4Gnats posted:cabbagedad posted:
This is a discussion/debate that comes up fairly often here. As some have pointed out, most HS and college programs have a coach call pitches and there are many valid reasons. Will your HS son catcher actually be up on scouting reports and spray charts of opponents as much as the most qualified coach on staff? Even if he is, will his other responsibilities suffer a bit in order for him to keep track of all this? The catcher has so many responsibilities and things to keep track of without calling pitches. How many HS kids are really equipped to add that and put the team in a better position to win than if that qualified coach was calling? …
Many VALID reasons or many reasons?
I suppose a lot has to do with what one considers valid reasons.
How many HS teams scout every game and how many actually have access to an opponent’s spray charts? I know our coaches have sometimes scouted teams in tournaments and playoffs when they can, but other than that there isn’t a whole lot of scouting going on. I’ve been doing HSV for a good while now and have never once see a scatter chart for any opponent other than occasionally when we’ve played a team a 2nd or 3rd time, and then its only for the games we’ve played against them.
What does the catcher have to keep track of that the person calling the pitches in the dugout doesn’t have to?
I don’t know for sure what percentage of HS catchers calling pitches would put the team in a better position to win if they were all allowed to call the games themselves, but on the other hand how does anyone know for sure what percentage wouldn’t do at least an equal or better job?
I guess much of how a person feels about it depends on how much s/he feels the game is impacted by the calling of the pitches and I’m sure that varies from pitcher to pitcher, game to game, and situation to situation. Personally, I don’t think the pitches and locations called impact the game nearly as much as the pitcher’s ability to execute the pitch correctly, and I haven’t seen many HS pitchers can do that even half the time. Unfortunately, since there are no do overs there’s no way to test anyone’s philosophy on it.
Well, Stats, I'm certainly not surprised that you came through with yet another thinly veiled insult with your "many VALID reasons or many reasons? wink, wink" remark.
Interesting that you give HS P's virtually no credit for being able to reasonably locate pitches yet you are a consistent proponent of giving HS catchers the added responsibility of calling pitches. What does the catcher have to keep track of otherwise? Total awareness of and holding runners, framing fringe pitches, communicate signs to IF's for backpicks, properly anticipate and block balls in the dirt, field bunts and be field general on those he can't get, position cuts and make split second cut/relay decisions early enough, back up IF throws to first situationally, help IF's on pop flies near fence, maintain a stream of communication from the dugout, relay defensive plays, be in tune with P and help keep him in best possible mindset to perform, maintain a favorable working relationship with PU, just to name a few.
Calling pitches brings into account the added tasks of knowing hitter tendencies, identifying holes in swing, seeing hitter's timing on previous pitches, knowing situationally what offense is trying to execute and calling pitches to defend that, awareness of what pitches are working for that P that day, calling pitches and locations that are count and situation appropriate, recalling history of better hitters from past seasons and earlier games, etc., etc.
But I'm sure you are right. We should have all HS catchers call the games. Boy, HS catchers must be WAY smarter, more advanced and more competent than HS pitchers.
The catcher has, by far, the most responsibilities on the field. As others have pointed out, some of the better ones can also call a good game. But even those aren't in the position to take into account everything in a given situation as well as a qualified coach who is specifically tasked to do so. Typically, neither are perfect. Most often, one puts the HS team in a better position to win and the teenage HS P and C in a better position to play and execute to the best of their abilities.
The large majority of better HS and college programs call pitches from the dugout. If only they had someone smarter than them, like you, to help them realize the error in their ways... Don't you have a database of all HC's stored somewhere? Maybe you can send them all a wink, wink.