I begin this post with a disclaimer. I run a program for catchers. I sleep, drink and eat catching. I look at baseball through the eyes of the catcher. I try to come up with ways that leagues can better help the development of their leagues catchers.
When I use the term Minors level in this article I am refering to ages 8-9, maybe some 10″s
I discovered a number of years ago one of the reasons that it is often hard to get enough kids to want to catch. At the Minors level, why would a kid want to be responsible for 20 runs scoring? Since the pitchers are still learning to hit the glove, and he is struggling to figure out how to catch the ball in the dirt, it is not uncommon for there to be 20 runs scored solely on passed balls. Why would a kid want to get behind the plate when he knows he’s going to “Let” 20 runs score.
Few kids get the opportunity to learn to tag on a fly ball when on third and score from there because the first pitch that goes in the dirt and gets by the catcher he scores. Actually in many games, every kids that gets on scores. And you call this baseball????
A few years ago the youth program in our town made the change that in the Minors there would be no scoring from 3rd on a pass ball. NO Scoring at all!!!! By the 2nd week of the season we were having games 2-1, 3-2, like real baseball, not 21-17 . It took the pressure off the pitcher and catcher to relax and have fun and not be so overly concerned about runs scoring.
The next season we made another observation. Our infielders never had the chance to make force plays. As soon a player got on first they player would “steal” 2nd, then “steal 3rd” and any chance for a force was usually lost. So we implemented the following rule change. No runner can move, even on a pass ball, until there are 2 strikes on the batter. Now there were many opportunities to make the force at 2nd or 3rd. And we even saw a few double plays that first year. We did have some coaches complain about the reduction in running. But then they have a very unrealistic view of base running at the youth level anyway. Here’s there idea of what happens when a runner gets on first.
Pitch crosses plate, runner goes,…sorta…catcher fakes throw, runner goes back to 1st….sorta….runner dances the jig off of first to bait catcher to throw,…catcher runs out from behind the plate very badly faking a throw…..runner goes back to 1st…sorta….catcher tosses ball to pitcher, runner must go back to first..,…yeah that was baseball.
Try that base running at the Babe Ruth Level on the 90ft diamond and the runner will be picked off every time. Why do coaches encourage all this unrealistic base running that in no way teaches anything that will be used once the player gets to the bigger field. Simple, the coach wants to win, and doesn’t care if the tactics he employs are not ones the kids will use at the higher levels.
No wonder our youth catchers have so much trouble making the throw at the big field. It’s bad enough that the throw is 42 feet farther then the small diamond, but as a youth player they have never been able to use the simple premise of..Runner goes..catcher throws. We have allowed our catchers to get caught up in the ridiculous game of cat and mouse coaches play on the base paths instead of just acting like a catcher and making the throw. Teach your catchers if they see the guy break, make the throw, don’t wait for the coverage to get there, make the throw. That’s real baseball. If the infielder doesn’t go to the bag because he’s not paying attention, then he will be the one that needs the instruction. If your centerfielder is paying attention then he will do what his job is and back up the play. That’s baseball!!!
Put in place rules that limit this joke called base running that has no other purpose then to run up scores at the expense of the development of young catchers and pitchers. I’m not opposed to teaching aggressive base running, stretching a single to a double, tagging up from 3rd on the fly to the outfield. But the ridiculous antics of some teams that run the bases in a manner that will only ensure they will be thrown out when they get to the higher levels needs to stop.
Lets hear how your leagues approach the issues in this entry!!
May 8th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Coach Weaver, we play the pass ball LL M1 9-12 in our league. Im going to play devils advocate for a momment. I do understand your point. If there is no runner on all pass balls what incentive does the catcher have to block the ball all the time? In my sons case, yes it does put pressure on him to become a better blocker and he has as the season has progressed, it also gives him the reps of throws to 2nd and 3rd which have led to accurate throws and outs. All of our games in our league this year have been decided under 10 runs per team. I would probably advocate your position if the runs were as extreme as you mentioned, we might however have a good group of catchers here. Best -Craig
May 8th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Craig,
In our league in town 11 and 12′s play majors and at that age level there is no restriction on scoring from 3rd on a ball past the catcher and runners do not have to wait for 2 strikes to advance to 2nd or 3rd.
The rules we put in place were for our Minors Division ages 8-9.
You wrote that your league is ages 9-12 in the same division. What are the ages of the catchers on your 9-12 teams?
May 8th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
It’s a bit odd that there are a few 12′s and 11′s playing down and not in the majors, so it’s 97% 9 and 10′s. 12′s cant pitch in the M1 division. Out of the (8) M1 teams the catchers are made up of 9 and 10′s. I have 1 10 that catches and 2 nines. My best is 9.
May 8th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Hi Coach,
This is the only single subject off all your instructional material that I have a different opinion for. Here in So Cal our 2 most prominent leagues are Little league and Pony league. My son is 10 and plays in Pony league Mustangs. Mustangs are 9-10. Mustangs, runners are allowed to lead off 1st and 2nd but not 3rd. We play dropped 3rd strike and yes we can attempt home on a passed ball. These rules are also played in the all-star tournament at the end of the season and are national rules (leading off 3rd is allowed too), not just local.
I teach our catchers your passed ball drills, as well as the pitchers. The catcher/pitcher passed ball play results in maybe 1 in 7 are thrown out at the plate. I manage a 10U travel team too and we play MLB rules. Yes we play to win, but its primary objective is to be developmental with an entire team of players who can make plays all around the field. Steals are attempted more cautiously because these all-star caliber catchers can make the throw with 60′ bases. We recently played in an 11U tournament with 70′ bases and we got gunned down trying to steal as liberally as we normally do so we backed off. Our more aggressive and fast runners were able to steal successfully.
Some of our travel players come from neighboring little league teams and do not have the same base running skills as the players who come from Pony league do. They hesitate, they don’t trust their capabilities to take a healthy lead, etc., because they don’t play these rules in their recreation league.
Yes they will learn when they play Pony division at age 13, but the transition will be slower than those kids who have already been doing this since they were 9 year old. On the 70′ field and the 60′ field with the travel players, stealing is not an automatic occurrence. The dropped 3rd strike instinct also lacks in our little league players. What a great play this is for catchers to exercise. In Mustangs dropped 3rd strike plays happen at least 3 or 4 times per game. The Catcher either tags him or throws him out at 1st. Maybe 1 in 4 reach 1st safely. Great play-for batters too!
One stop gap Mustang does incorporate to keep the scores even is a 5 run rule per inning until the last 20 minutes of play when the innings are all open so the other team can have a chance to catch up if they are more than 5 runs behind in the last inning.
I would rather the kids steal away all day long and learn these skills for 3 years before they have to exercise caution and the scores reflect that level of play when they turn 13. Holding them back may keep the scores more like MLB, but it does not teach them how to lead off, how to dive back, how to pick off as a pitcher or keep the pitcher and catcher alert because the ball is live at all times and not just on mishandled balls.
Thanks Coach!
RD
May 8th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
RD,
What I see from the 8 and 9 year old recreational teams as I travel around the country and hear from parents all the time is that the quality of pitching from 8 and 9 yr old rec players is usually so weak that this alone makes the passed ball count from wild pitches ridiculous.
Again, this is my opinion as it relates to the day to day play of recreation teams within youth town programs. I do not expect these restrictions to apply when you cross the line into travel or tournament ball.