Baseball Training

Baseball Training for Catchers  

If you are a catcher that is gifted with a strong arm, you definitely want to give this article a read.  Catchers with strong arms can be a heck of an asset to their team as they are able to prevent the other team from stealing too many bases.  Just the mere threat of them being able to throw out a runner in high school will keep some teams from attempting to steal second.  However, this can be a catch 22 as this prevents the catcher from being able to get some relatively easy outs and help his team.  Here, is a baseball training strategy to help your team further when a runner gets on first:   

1.    Drop the ball on purpose 3 to 5 times in an inning after receiving the ball from the pitcher.    You want to drop the ball in front of you so that it is easy for you to pick it up and fire it to second.   You are basically trying to entice the runner into thinking this is a wild pitch and have him take off for second.  

2.    To perform this properly, in practice, every day practice dropping the ball in front of you and firing it to second.    You are trying to build up muscle memory and agility in this picking the ball up and throwing motion.   You want to get to the point where this is routine for you and you can do it easily.  

3.   Practice dropping the ball differently for left handed batters.  Also, practice dropping it in such a way that is ahead of left handed batters.  Assuming you are right handed, you want to drop the ball in front of home plate and a little off to the left.  This is because you do not want a left handed batter to be able to get in the way of your throw.  By dropping it off a little to left, you should be able to avoid the batter altogether. 

This strategy will have two major benefits. The first benefit will be that you are likely to get some additional easy outs in a game by throwing out base runners. This means you will help your pitcher last longer by having to throw less pitches and keep your second and/or shortstop more into the game. 

The second benefit will be that you will be able to keep the opposing team from stealing as many bases on wild pitches.    When your pitcher does throw a wild pitch, the base runner will be unsure whether it is truly a wild pitch or whether you are setting him up.   This uncertainty will cause them to either not steal the base or they will delay their running to second.   This extra delay may give you enough time to still throw them out.    Occasionally, you will find that they are still able to steal a base on you.   Do not let this deter you as the advantages are in your favor and as you are able to throw out base runners, you will be setting the tempo for the rest of the game.    

Good luck with your training.   I believe you will help your team by applying these baseball training for catchers tips. 

*If you are looking for ways on how to train on your own, check out baseball training by yourself.