Catcher Interference

As long as the batter maintains a legal position in the box and contact is being made on the forward swing and not the follow through, there is nothing to talk to him about.

The catcher has to give the batter the freedom to attempt, unhindered, at any pitch as long as the batter is leaglly in the box.

In your situation, if I were to speak to anyone, which I doubt, it would be to the catcher.

I guess it true, the umpire is helpless in this case. I suppose in the old days the pitcher would have to handle it. I can't imagine the displeasure somebody like Roger Clemens would have if a player did that to his catcher.

I don't understand your consternation. The batter is doing nothing wrong. The catcher needs to move back. It's really simple.

It doesn't happen often in the majors because the catchers are smarter and know they need to adjust.

Tell your catcher that to find a proper depth behind the hitter is to figure if he can reach up with the hand closest to the batter and touch his back elbow then he's fine. So a RH hitter if the catcher can reach his mitt up and touch the hitter's right elbow he should be good. A LH hitter he can take this throwing hand and touch the left elbow then he should be fine.

If your teams take BP before the game on the field have your catcher watch them take swings. Those who tend to create catcher's interference usually have a severe backside drop which gets the barrell into the catcher's area MUCH more than someone who has a good swing. He can see who does this taking BP and then check the lineup to see when they hit. Once they come up he can set up a little deeper.

A catcher should get as close to the plate as he can but in order to do this he needs to realize the things that will keep him set up deeper.

Guys... The catcher was fine... he's been doing this for awhile. When you have a team that will try to get on base anyway they can they can create catcher interference. The one batter almost fell over backwards to do it, taking a huge step back with his lead foot... like extreme "stepping in the bucket". If you have never seen a batter "create" catchers interference then you have not been watching many travel ball games. Yesterday we played the same team and nobody stepped in the bucket or leaned way back on a swing. All season this is the only team where our catcher gets catcher interference... kind of the one dirty trick school... they were in football too. Of course, if you guys have never seen this done... and a say this in the best of humor... it kind of confirms the observation abilities of umpires ...

I hate to be contrary but speaking as former catcher, if the catcher is "allowing" the batters to create catcher's interference, then he is not setting up properly.

My ol' grandpappy used say, "If you aren't prepared to accept the answer, don't ask the question."

Bottom line, by rule, tradition and common sense, the catcher is the party responsible to make sure a bat doesn't touch his glove. You've heard it from an experienced and successful coach, a veteran catcher, an umpire who is fortunate enough to work some good level of ball and you can read it in the book.

What one thinks "should be" is irrelevant. If your catcher knows his responsibilities, and especially if he knows the team's proclivities, he can avoid catcher's interference.

quote:

Originally posted by Ninthmanout:
catcher interference can be caused by a batter willing to do it.

and if I ever thought for a moment that a batter had deliberately attempted to strike a catcher with a bat to draw a catchers obstruction call, I'd eject him so fast he wouldnt know what hit him....along with any coach who came out to protest it was an accident.....

If this is what amounts to strategy in the world of 15 yr old travel ball heroes then I am sorely disapointed since it definately does not happen in the HS/college ranks....

the dominicans have a saying...you cant bunt yourself off the island....and you cant cheat yourself to the next level......

As a very longtime umpire and the father of a catcher, I can't say I have ever seen a batter step back into a catcher on purpose. None the less, if he is in the box then it is the catcher's fault.
My son got called for a few CIs, even multibles a few occasions. My response is he is doing his job and that means he gets wacked every once in a while. If he gets hit a couple of times he will learn his distance. When he was little I had several well meaning umpires tell me they were afraid he was going to get hit. I told them I taught him to work close and when he got hit he would back up.
I agree with PIAA, I think he is doing it on purpose, it isn't going to end well.

Jimmy, I accept the answer as far as the umpire can't do anything else. I will not accept that the catcher was at fault when it was so obvious what the batters were doing. Sorry... umpires do not see everything.

quote:

Sorry... umpires do not see everything.

You're right - they sometimes have to do the best they can from biased descriptions on a message board. I've been coaching almost 20 years and played a long time - I've never seen a team who tries to hit a catcher on purpose. I have seen teams full of terrible hitters who don't know how to hit. That has led to a few CI but it's still the catcher's fault.

I was a catcher and like MST it just happens on occasion. I coach catchers now and if my guys get hit I blame them. They know they have to adjust where they set up to try and avoid it the best they can.

You said it happened twice in a game and while that seems to be a lot it doesn't seem out of place. What have been the scores of the games against this team?