How to Block Curve Balls
The receiving position for receiving curveballs is the same as for fastballs. Nothing should look different and tip off the pitch.
Now a little physics lesson on curveballs. Due to the spin on the ball making the pitch curve, strange things happen when the pitch hits the ground. Consider the flight of a curveball from the catcher’s viewpoint with a right handed pitcher. Pitch starts to the catchers left and breaks to his right. However if the ball hits the dirt it will not bounce to the catchers right as it’s initial flight would make some believe. The ball will actually bounce to the left over the catchers left shoulder.
To account for this change in direction and high bounce the catcher cannot stay back on the block as with a fastball. In this scenario the concern is not taking energy out of the pitch but killing the bounce before it has a chance to get up and over the catcher.
To accomplish this, the catcher will be attacking this ball as it heads to the ground. The catcher will not stay back but will drive his knees forward and to the left side of a righties curveball. The catcher wants his glove to hit the ground just behind the impact point to kill the bounce before the ball ever has a chance to get up off the ground. The blocking position is the same as for a fastball except now the catcher is driving forward and to the side.
Blocking a lefties curve is the same but to the right side to kill the bounce that way.
Keep it simple this way…Curve-Ball..Attack………FastBall-Stay back
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