At what age (or Vel) did you stop catching your son?

I never stopped. Son peaked in the mid 90 in HS but I continued to "catch" him (technically I didn't). I simply set up behind a net and continued to give him a target and signs. He had a 5 gal bucket of balls and the pitched balls would fall harmlessly to the floor/ground and when he ran out of balls we would pick up and start over. I had a net inside and outside. I never was a good catcher but I was a pretty good judge of what was dangerous.
Fungo

The last time I caught him was right after Summer ball following his sophomore season. He was low-80's at the time. When one ball went right past my mitt--I didn't even touch it--I told him then and there that was it. He has movement to his fastball and I didn't want to visit the orthodontist.

Still catching my college freshman son - but only with full gear...

More than one bruise led to the shin guards - and the one that ticked off my glove and then off my hair led to the mask... the cup was a natural step in the progression

It's funny that Fungo mentioned the net thing. That's exactly what I did with my son a few times.

I did buy a mask but I didn't like to use it all the time.

Had many close calls and I was literally afraid a few times that I caught him and wasn't wearing the mask.

Thanks fungo - that is the beauty of this site. Did not even think of it. We have a net that is put up at second for BP that I am going to drag over behind the plate and give it a go next time.

Love the fact that I can still "have a catch" with my son, but I'm with Fungo on this one. I quit CATCHING him when he was around 15. Being a lefty I didn't have and couldn't borrow a lefty catchers mitt and my glove doesn't have much padding. After many bone bruises we went to the net.

I also put up a heavy duty painting tarp with pulleys in the garage where he could throw to his hearts content by himself. Also worked great for soft toss, T work and even hitting golf balls.

I was honored that mine ask me to play catch with him the other day as part of his rehab routine.

"Are you up to full speed yet?"

Naw.

"Is it more than I want to handle?"

Yeah, probably.

I regrettably declined.

quote:

the ball seems like its getting on me a lot quicker

I once witnessed a dad catching his son's pitching lesson in full gear. The kid was probably throwing about 80, but at 50 feet. The dad would stick his mitt up in front of his facemask, turn his head, and just get absolutely drilled every single pitch. It was both hilarious and sad.

With all this talk about hiding behind a screen, I had to make sure I wasn't in the ladies forum. You know all the pink stuff.
It isn't the 90 mph pitch that will get you it is the CB.
I wouldn't catch anyone without full gear. We don't even let the players catch pitchers without full gear. I have seen guys get hit in the throat by a ball that hit the plate and bounced up under the gear and almost killed the guy.

It stopped being fun when it not only started to hurt really bad when it hit the mitt and I started trying to catch everything in the web , but it seemed to get on me so quick I had a hard time catching it in the webbing.

So when it stopped being fun I quick doing it. Now he has other guys he throws with or throws into a net. Sorry son but Im not going to be punished for being a nice guy any longer!

I caught him Thursday, but in bad light I won't do it..his late movement has bruised many parts of this old carcus..but I can't take the ribbing for not being able to keep up...what I really hate and he knows it, is his sinker..man the bruises on the hand..even in full light Thursday that late movement just coming into shade from light is nuts.
I quit catching him indoors 2 years ago when I took one off of the patella and laid on the ground a minute..he sits at 90 and a college freshman.

I started using a net after I let one hit me in the leg fracturing my tibia. It was during warmups and I didn't have the protective gear on yet. That made me realize my reaction time and vision has diminished to the point that I can no longer watch his mechanics and catch at the same time. If all I am doing is stopping the ball why not just let a net do that so I can continue to look for things to improve his pitching?

BTW he is a 2011 and throws mid 80's with good movement. The above happened this summer after his Freshman year.

My son and I got crossed up this past summer. He threw a 2 seamer, I was expecting a 4. Darn thing dropped right under my glove and caught me in the shin (I know--new defination of catching!!) 6 mos later, and I still have a large bump on my leg. He trhows about 88-90, so you can imagine the anguished howls, and lets face it, its just no fun to have your kid laughing at you while you wonder if youll ever walk again!! Now i do like fungo--Im not too smart, but I do recognize just plain dangerous when I see it!!

15 year old son throws right at 80 now. I catch him but it's getting harder to get out of the way of the ones in the dirt. I do have full gear but rarely use it.

When he was about 9, I was letting him pitch to me on the side of the field while we were at my older son's game. The ball hit a clump of grass right in front of the plate, bounced up into my mouth and knocked out 5 teeth. At 9, he was throwing low 50's. That's when I went out and bought the full catcher's gear at the direction of the wife. Still haven't used more than the shin guards.

I stopped 'catching' him last year (15U) as he began hitting low 80's. The ball just got on me too quick. Now, we just have a catch. He still takes great joy in throwing me his curve ball once and a while and watching me flail trying to catch it.

I agree with BobbleheadDoll on this one. My son bounced a CB into my shin in August and my shin still has knot on it. That ball hit my shin and in a matter of a few seconds it looked like I had a baseball under my skin. It swelled up so big and in such a hurry. It looked bad. So I went home and got some ice and put on it and came back for some more. He is 16 and a LHP and only throws FB about 83 but the ball moves alot. I have come close to missing some of those FB but I still have all of my teeth for now. I need some gear but I don't want to look like a sissy. Actually I feel worse about the long toss because I need a cutoff man to get the ball back to him.

This thread is too funny! I was just thinking that I may need to get myself shin guards for Christmas! After reading these posts I think I certainly will! My son is a 13yr old lefty who is only hitting 68 with the fast ball. While I can still track it and catch it it is the 59' pitch that kills me! Took one in the shin in October and could barely stand on that leg..needless to say that was it for the day! Like most of you my eye sight has declined in the last few years (as I glance at my reading glasses on my desk) so god only knows if I'll be able to track the ball once he is in the 80's or learns to really throw a curve ball. Seeing I caught as a kid often I guess the transition to full gear won't be that bad, or I just need to find a friend of his who catches to do my dirty work!!

quote:

Originally posted by The Beast Actually I feel worse about the long toss because I need a cutoff man to get the ball back to him.

Hello Beast

I solved the above problem with 2 buckets. We fill one with 20 baseballs. He takes it down field and he long tosses to me. I drop them in a bucket beside me. After all 20, we either change sides or he can sprint down and exchange the buckets. He gets his work in and my arm doesnt feel like a sack of dead meat ! With my buckets, I can "long toss" all day!

broken toes on both feet,shins that looked like cottage cheese. i'm a construction worker,(with the IQ as well)so i wouldn't think of putting on gear.mostly because i'm as big as a house. plus you really look foolish in front of other kids wearing gear a few sizes to small. the eye's aren't so good either.

he throws in the 90's. when the sizzle started to scare me,i stopped catching him..........but i miss it.

My dad always pays one of my friends 20 bucks when I go get pitching lessons. There also are kids at the instruction place that I go to that may catch all day on a weekend or after school, its really a pretty good deal for them.

Broken toes, broken legs, bruises, bumps, contusions..... lost teeth all for the love of our kids and the game.....but what I fear the most is:

quote:

Originally posted by 20dad:

..........but i miss it.

I can relate to many of the comments in this thread. My son is a 15 yr. old freshman and throws in the low to mid 80's. I caught him last month and that will probably be the last time I do a full speed bullpin season with him. The fastballs were not much of a problem. It was the sinkers and cutters that didn't break until about 4 feet in front of the plate. I could see the ball leave his hand and then lost it in a blur half way. I didn't pick the ball back up again until just before the pitch broke. One pitch hit me on the inside of my foot just under the shoe gaurd and man did it hurt. Full gear is a necessity but not enough to prevent pain and suffering. The worst is catching on a hard surface or turf where the ball bounces up with full force.

This weekend we played catch in the drive way. Towards the end of the session he started throwing hard SS to 1B type of throws. These were even starting to get difficult to catch. I have to wear a catchers mitt just to protect my hand.

Man I hate getting old but I'll be darned if I decline the next time he asks me to throw with him.

quote:

Originally posted by The Beast:
... Actually I feel worse about the long toss because I need a cutoff man to get the ball back to him.

Aint that the truth brother. I recently made the mistake of trying to match long toss distances with my son and killed my shoulder. We play in the street so I now roll the ball back to him. he just laughs and hopes the neighbors are not watching.

My pride has taken a big hit this past year. My son has realized he is more athletic than I am. Give him another year and he will be stronger and bigger. I tell him that I may be over the hill but I fight meaner and nastier than him and that I don't mind going back to prison. Once he figures that for the BS that it is, I'll have to think of something else.

I still catch my son - 14 year old, 82-83 - but I am getting close to stopping. I refuse to wear any gear.

Still catching with no gear for freshman son (14) throwing fb at 75 along with a good cutter. I'm thinking about keeping a mask and cup in the gear bag though. I'll also miss it when I'm not able to do it any more, but that's ok since it means he'll be tougher to hit too. Actually, I'm more scared of throwing bp without the screen.

quote:

Originally posted by The Beast:
I need some gear but I don't want to look like a sissy.

I had no problem gearing up when catching infidel_son when he was 11 or so. I figured it made him look faster and more dangerous. (He was.)

quote:

Actually I feel worse about the long toss because I need a cutoff man to get the ball back to him.

Ha! Now I need two cut-off men.

Cutterman:

Just remember - the time to start wearing a cup and mask is the time before you need them

As far as the long toss goes, my son calls me Bernie Williams. After being belittled a bit too much, what I do now is to hit absoulute jacks into deep CF, then he throws it back in--kills 2 birds with one stone I think.

This will be the first winter I won't be catching my Son's lessons. He is in college now and works out with the team. I will miss the time we spent together over the years riding to and from practice. We had alot of good laughs. I started wearing a mask a few years ago when he hit mid 80s. Now that He can hit 90 I wear full gear and cup. It made my son feel better. He didn't want to hurt the oldman.

I quit catching him in HS when he went over 80...and I went to bifocals.....

I quit throwing BP when he was in college when I had to move the L screen in to about 40 feet to get enough velocity on the ball....

I'll still play catch with him, but I stopped squatting when he started college and hitting 90. I guess I wouldn't mind too much putting on the gear again, but I also haven't hesitated spending 20 to have one of his buds do the dirty work. Catchers need work too. Lately he has found that he can call his old coach- he has HS kids who are eager to catch a pen for him. Fortunately, my son still likes to have a catch with his pops.

quote:

Originally posted by Cutter Dad:
Actually, I'm more scared of throwing bp without the screen.

Are you nuts? BP without a L screen....you are Da Man.....actually you can get seriously hurt at this age.

I have a scar on my eyebrow from BP at 11ish. From then on it was L screen only.

I love all of these stories. Got to get me a cut off man. We do the bread crumb LT, while he is warming up I go out to around 225' and start spinkling balls in the OF.

When my eyes began to go bad. It's tough to catch in a pair of bi-focals.

I still catch him (15YO); however, I make him throw from 65 ft and at about 80-90%. This old body has taken to many hits at much slower speeds.

Great post! My dad caught me right up through pro ball in the off-seasons. I can still picture him squatting down there, slowly but surely inching his way back from the plate. (Some days, by the time we were done he'd be clear back at 65-70 feet.)

But without fail, he'd pull that jock strap and cup right up outside his shorts and it was game time :-)

This thread has been awesome! Not only do I no longer feel alone, I almost feel "manly" again!

27 turned 15 last week. 6'4", 175 lb. lefty who cruises in the mid to upper 70s and tops out around 82. (Coach's radar guns...I don't own one.)

Got the gear this past summer. (Wife's attempt to keep hubby alive long enough to see varsity play ) The FB wasn't too bad. Although, as has been stated, they arrive a lot sooner than they used to. It's the curves, cutters and sliders that beat me up. Cup goes on when winter practice starts and we're throwing inside. Otherwise it's "duck and cover"!

Still, it's nice to know I'm not alone.

This thread has been great! Made me have to think back to when I quit catching my lefty. Not sure if it was the the 2-seamer that produced the really sweet looking stitch pattern on my forehead (saw everything in black and white for a couple days after that one) or the 59ft curve that found that spot that the cup just didn't quite cover if you know what I mean... Yep, I think that was the one, freshman year in High School I believe. Ah.. Good Times, Good Times

I may not ever be mistaken for Clint Eastwood or anything but my Momma sure didn't raise no dummy neither!

Today. took a fastball off the shin. 14 year old throws in the 70's I guess. He said 4 seamer and it moved like a 2 seamer. I used Fungo's net and bucket technique to finish the bull pen.

On a related subject, whats the best way to make a knot with seams on it go away?

I have a sure fire fix for that knot. Lots of ice, couple of asprin and a large bottle of gandpa's horse linament. In 5-7 months it will be fine and only the memory will remain. Works every time!