There is no more physically, psychologically, and intellectually demanding position in Major League Baseball than catcher.
A catcher needs to know the entire scouting report for the opposition at the plate and on the basepaths. The catcher needs to balance a hitter’s strengths and weaknesses against his battery mate in calling a game. If a pitcher doesn’t have a pitch working, he has to create a new strategy on the fly. When a pitch is thrown, he has to do all he can to make sure the pitch is called a strike. Throughout the game, he has to keep the pitcher’s head in the game. It’s especially tough when the pitcher is getting squeezed.
When his team is up to bat, he needs to talk to the pitcher about the batters coming up the next inning. He needs to talk with the manager and pitching coach not only about that, but also how the pitcher is throwing and what he has left. By the way, at some point, he has to bat 4-5 times in a game and help his offense put some runs on the board for his pitcher.
The catcher faces pitches in the dirt he has to eat up with any part of his body. He will get nicked with a foul tip or an errant swing. Runners try to take him out with a slide, or in very rare instances, he can get run over at home plate. The catcher is bound to have some bumps and bruises or trips to the DL. Even after a tough game, the catcher heads to the trainer’s room, then comes back and does it all over again tomorrow.
Even though all of this is just the tip of the iceberg of a catcher’s responsibilities, there’s also the all important effectiveness in throwing out potential base stealers.
It was the topic of John Harper’s Daily News article that centered on Travis d’Arnaud‘s troubles throwing out baserunners in the postseason. Actually, to call it a difficulty is an understatement. Despite being better than league average in throwing out baserunners during the regular season, Travis struggled mightily in the postseason. Would-be base-stealers were a perfect 11 for 11 against him and the Mets pitching staff.
“I wasn’t able to slow the game down,” d’Arnaud said at his locker after the Mets’ workout on Tuesday. “The game sped up on me. I didn’t do what I did all year. Instead of just making a good throw, I was trying to do more than I should.’’
It was an important enough issue for Terry Collins that he made it a point to take a part in the first throwing drills of Spring Training to try and boost his catcher’s confidence.
“For a young guy back there, it can be embarrassing,” Collins said. “Our pitchers didn’t give him enough help, and we have to get better at that, but Travis takes a lot of pride in what he does. So it bothered him.”
One thing that was overlooked I thought, was that of the 11 people who stole a base against the Mets in the postseason, only one scored a run. A big reason for that d’Arnaud was all the other areas d’Arnaud excels at as a big-league catcher.
Since he became the Mets starting catcher, d’Arnaud has been an excellent pitch framer. Last year, he led the majors in highest percentage of balls being called strikes. When there is such a premium being placed on pitch counts and innings pitched for this young staff, every strike d’Arnaud can steal is crucial. Furthermore, getting strikes called puts a pitcher in an advantageous position. This usually leads to shorter at-bats and more outs.
Additionally, there is the subjective element of catching. The pitchers like throwing to him. They feel comfortable when he’s behind the plate. He instills confidence in his staff.
By the way, he’s also a terrific hitter. He was the second best offensive catcher in baseball last year. In the NLCS, he hit one off of the Home Run Apple so hard, the Apple needed a bandaid.
So overall, d’Arnaud does everything you could ever want your catcher to do. He has the confidence of his pitching staff. He gets the pitches called for strikes. He is a good hitter. Basically, d’Arnaud comes to beat you in multiple ways each and every day. If he struggles for a stretch with throwing out baserunners, there are other parts of his game that overshadow it, that help to prevent that run from scoring.
Travis d’Arnaud may struggle throwing out people again this season or maybe not. But that’s fine. As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, he will still be a terrific all-around catcher and among the best overall in the league. He will certainly help the Mets return to the postseason in 2016 and this time they’ll win the World Series.
