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10 replies

Knee wear and tear

DC D.B. Cooper10+ posts
The thread about catching in the heat got me thinking. My concern is about wear and tear on the knees. Everyone talks about pitcher arms and pitch counts, but should there be equal concern with catcher knees and the number of innings caught?

My son is a 13-year-old catcher who plays travel ball and is a year away from high school. Do high school and college catchers really catch double-headers? Is this regularly expected of catchers? How many innings are too many in a weekend tournament for a 13-15 year old? Can conditioning reduce knee wear and tear?

This board seems full of experienced and knowledgeable people. I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.
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Rob KremerRob Kremer1,000+ posts
I can tell you my son's experience, two years ahead of your son.

In youth ball, after Little League, he would catch probably 50 games in a season, give or take 10. Once or twice he did catch two games same day.

High school hasn't been a lot different. Between school ball and summer ball, about the same number of games. Doubleheaders are confined to tournaments, and yes, occasionally he would catch both ends.

My son has never had knee problems; he has a pretty sturdy build. I've heard lots of other catchers get sore.
K KayMart4100+ posts
I'm gonna be a high school senior next year..for high school i catch every game, my coach and i would have it no other way. for summer i usually catch every other game. but for the two national tourny's i caught 11 games in 13 days. i had two days off in between the two tourny's. My legs and knees are pretty well conditioned and im used to it. I dont really work out like squats and lifts that would put even more stress on the knees. for me, if its a big game i wanna catch it even if i caught the two before it. my adrenaline keeps me goin and i can make it through. thats never happened but i know i could do it. This coming from the kid that caught 7 innings with a broken nose..but it was the championship game, so i had to. lol
GshewGshew10+ posts
Im 51 and have been catching since I was 7 or 8...I catch anywhere between 18-27 innings a week and more in tourneys...conditioning is key. The more innings you catch the more pressure to "pull apart" the knee joint...and over time you will start to see slower run speeds, reduced bat speeds...Craig Biggio is a perfect example..the Astros wanted to extend his career and brought him out from behind the dish...he has had a wonderful career. The issue here is protecting your player..from himself, his coach and maybe from parental pride. Most pro catchers do 3 games and a day off...it is rare to see a pro do a double. I would suggest this to you...1st get some KneeSavers...mount them low to squat on them...replace them every year. 2nd..baseball is a game of sprints...have your player sprint 90 to 180 feet for wind...long distance running will eventually hurt the knees. 3rd..see a doctor regularly and consider under his advisement condroitin to keep the joints well lubed. 4th and most important...no one is invincible and no one is so important the team cannot do without them for a game or two...if your team absolutely depends on you to catch...and the unthinkable happens...who is worse off? You or the team...last time I looked it was a TEAM sport...do you have an ACE pitcher? Do you throw him every game? Nope...and being a catcher is no different...do you and your team a favor...teach the next guy or younger player everything you know...if you are good enough...the scouts will see your ability and your willingness to be a TEAM player. Maybe you too can be 51 and still catch a few games.
F futurecatcher271,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Gshew:
Im 51 and have been catching since I was 7 or 8...I catch anywhere between 18-27 innings a week and more in tourneys...conditioning is key. The more innings you catch the more pressure to "pull apart" the knee joint...and over time you will start to see slower run speeds, reduced bat speeds...Craig Biggio is a perfect example..the Astros wanted to extend his career and brought him out from behind the dish...he has had a wonderful career. The issue here is protecting your player..from himself, his coach and maybe from parental pride. Most pro catchers do 3 games and a day off...it is rare to see a pro do a double. I would suggest this to you...1st get some KneeSavers...mount them low to squat on them...replace them every year. 2nd..baseball is a game of sprints...have your player sprint 90 to 180 feet for wind...long distance running will eventually hurt the knees. 3rd..see a doctor regularly and consider under his advisement condroitin to keep the joints well lubed. 4th and most important...no one is invincible and no one is so important the team cannot do without them for a game or two...if your team absolutely depends on you to catch...and the unthinkable happens...who is worse off? You or the team...last time I looked it was a TEAM sport...do you have an ACE pitcher? Do you throw him every game? Nope...and being a catcher is no different...do you and your team a favor...teach the next guy or younger player everything you know...if you are good enough...the scouts will see your ability and your willingness to be a TEAM player. Maybe you too can be 51 and still catch a few games.

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Very well said
CA Coach A100+ posts
I think that at the age of 13-15, the amount of innings a kid should catch depends on his ability to maintain good mechanics. Conditioning would play a huge part in that. The stronger a kid is in the lower half and in the core, the better position he can stay behind the plate and the less pressure on the ligaments and tendons in the knee joint. As a player gets tired, he tends to let his knees slide inside of his feet with puts a lot more pressure on the medial and anterior ligaments. If your son is in good shape, he sould be able to handle a good load of the innings for his team, however a good coach/team will have a second catcher they can throw back there for a game or two a week and save your son's energy. Catching back to back games in a DH are not uncommon and shouldn't be frowned upon too often unless it is happening every DH you have. Putting the pitch count of pitchers in the same category of catching is maybe a bit too critical, but I think you bring a good point up about the importance of being in good shape so that you can handle an extra handful of innings if called upon. Good thread.
GshewGshew10+ posts
Not going to disagree with much said here..but one point...there is no means of "conditioning" the knees...they are a joint...have ligaments and socket that hold them together...muscles are attached as the good Lord designed them to facilitate running, walking and movement...you cannot "condition" the knees...yes workouts will enhance the muscle structure but you cannot strenghten ligaments and joints....I would be concerned about any "young" player being placed in a series of DH or games where "We" coaches feel the winning or losing of any game is more important than the long term well being of a young mans body...my opinion....I dont want to meet a 45 yo man I coached and allowed to use his gift to such an extent that we talked about our "walkers" when we meet. I doubt any coach at this level is looking to make it to the bigs....we need to think about the young mans future...not ours.

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