quote:Originally posted by Rob Kremer:quote:PG, it seems to me that you don't see the difference between a catcher who puts it on the bag and the catcher who bounces it in or throws it 3 feet left.
Maybe it's just me, but D.O.D. do you have any idea how condescending that sounds?
Rob, I see what you mean. I will reword it to say "PG, it seems to me that you make no distinction between a catcher who puts it on the bag and the catcher who bounces it in or throws it 3 feet left." I don't want to insult anyone here, just make my point.
From PG's comment, which I quoted, he seemed to me to discount tag time as something that is within the catchers control. I disagree. And I just don't understand the logic that the pop time is enough of a measurement to determine which catcher is better at throwing out runners.
The pop time can give scouts and/or coaches a starting point to work from, but the better pop time doesn't always translate into the best chance to throw a runner out.
No matter how you slice it, pop times do not measure accuracy in any way.
I do agree that if a coach only wants catchers with a 2.0 or better pop time, the system in place now will give him the info he needs. But the catcher that got passed over because of a 2.05 pop time may be much better at throwing out runners than the 1.95 guy that the coach wanted. Why? Because accuracy greatly affects the time it takes to get the ball from the catchers mitt to the bag. And that is the real measurement of importance, not the pop time.
Quote from PGStaff,
Dear old Dad,
What did I say that caused you to see it that way?
PG, you said, "At the very highest level they all get the tag down quickly. The pitchers all get the ball to the catcher fairly quickly. The difference - the pop times! We can't blame the catchers skills for the things he has no control over... Tag times and pitchers time to the catcher.
I say, the catcher does have control over tag times.
The pop time is what it is... The quicker you can accurately get the ball to 2B the better you are! The rest is all up to something other than the catcher's ability!
I say, The pop time only measures how quickly one gets the ball to 2nd base, not how quickly and accurately one can.
It would be interesting to measure the catchers pop times at a PG showcase, then have them throw to 2nd base again but the stopwatch doesn't stop until the fielder touches the bag with his glove. I wonder if the same catchers would still have the best times. It might prove to be an interesting study. PG, you would be the first one measuring the pop to pop to pop time and who knows, it might become the new way of measuring pop times.