The Art of Pitch Framing

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The Art of Pitch Framing

“Catching is a thankless job, but it’s widely considered to be one of the most important roles on the field. In 2018, there were 721,191 pitches thrown in the major leagues, and there was a catcher on the receiving end of all of them. Of those pitches, umpires got the ball or strike call wrong nearly 5% of the time.” - Josh Herzenberg


Pitch framing is a skill that many catchers are learning about. Pitch framing is also a hot topic in the baseball coaching community. Many old-school catching coaches get angry when pitch framing gets brought up. What is undeniable about this skill is that if done correctly, pitch framing can change the way a game goes. Below is some offensive data based off of the ball-strike count. Look at the difference in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage between a 1-2 count and a 2-1 count. It is truly mind boggling the difference in numbers there. Having a catcher who can turn those 5% of stri-balls (borderline strikes) into favorable counts for their pitcher and defense is a real game changer.

The Set Up
A traditional catcher squat has a catcher equally distribute energy to either left or right leg in order for the catcher to maintain his weight to the center of his body. When done correctly, this is the strongest position that a catcher can have his body in to maximize his strength. This traditional set up is crucial on the amateur level with a runner or runners on base. This traditional squat is not seen as much in the Major League game. The reason being is because catchers in that level of baseball don't have to necessarily worry about wild pitches or passed balls as often as amateur catchers because these are the elite of the elite baseball players in the world. On the amateur level, mistakes will happen. So with runners on, we want to have our catcher to be at their strongest to block dirt balls, prevent passed balls, and to have a strong throw in order to throw out stealing base-runners. 

With no runners on base, this narrative changes. Catchers can get in a different position with no runners on base, in order to steal the borderline stri-ball to create favorable counts for our pitchers and defense. The above picture of all-time great Yadier Molina is the set up a catcher can have to absorb pitches in order to swing the ball-strike count into a favorable count for the pitcher and defense. With a right handed hitter in the box, the catcher will set up with the left foot down and the right foot up. With a left handed hitter in the box, the catcher will set up with the right foot down and the left foot up. This allows for the catcher to get the borderline stri-balls. 

Pitch Absorption

The next step that a catcher must realize is the steps to properly receive a pitch. It is better to think of pitch framing more as pitch absorption, because a catcher is really just absorbing the pitch rather than framing the pitch. In order to absorb a pitch correctly there is a formula that all great receivers do. The formula is as follows: flash location, glove trigger, beat the ball to the spot, reach to catch the pitch, use the momentum of the ball to bring the pitch back to the center of the body. In addition to this formula, a catcher must understand the mechanical differences between receiving the low pitch and the high pitch. The low pitch will have the catcher's glove elbow higher than the glove. This prevents the catcher from being thumbed. On the high pitch, the glove will be higher than the elbow. These two techniques allows for the catcher to maximize movement with the glove. Below watch these videos of Max Stassi, Mitch Garver, and Austin Barmes. Notice their subtle glove trigger in order to beat the ball to the spot. These glove triggers could be a subtle turn of the glove, moving the glove down and tapping it to dirt, and moving the glove low and then beating the ball to the spot. There are many ways to use a trigger, but find which way works best for your catcher in order to be on time to beat the pitch to the spot. 


The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

The last piece of the puzzle for a catcher to have success with pitch absorption is to understand how all of the movements of a pitcher's pitches move. This means that a catcher should understand all of the pitches that all of the pitchers on a pitching staff has, and how each pitch moves. Here is an example, let's say a pitcher is a right handed pitcher and he has a two-seam fastball. A two-seam fastball will move from the catcher's point of view, right to left. This pitcher also has a slider. The slider will move from left to right from the catcher's point of view. In order to absorb and present these pitches properly, a catcher must move his body a few degrees in the direction from which the pitch is breaking. In other words, the catcher will have to pivot his right toes to face first base. The catcher's heels should be slightly back. This also opens up the torso of the catcher. The catcher's torso will face where a second baseman would traditionally stand while playing defense. On the other hand, with a slide the opposite would be true. The goal for the catcher is to mirror the pitch entry with the body in order to use this movement to receive the pitch and take it to the center of his body. 

With all of this in mind, it is important to understand the method of pitch framing and why it can be a game changer for your pitching staff and defense. In addition to this, pitch framing is a part of the modern game. To take your catchers to the next level, pitch absorption has to be part of their game. As coaches we can fight the data all we want, or we can use this information to improve our team and increase our chance to win and have success. 







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