WHY ARE PICK UP GAMES VANISHING?

Whether or not you share my enthusiasm for unorganized baseball, you have to admit there are some benefits. And if there are legitimate benefits (that don’t cost money) why are all the open fields empty? How come the modern kid doesn’t know the rules for “3 flies up?”

One reason is because most parents have unrealistic goals. Instead of viewing sport as a vehicle for personal growth, they see it as a stepping stone to stardom. By training them and enrolling them in every travel ball team in the universe, they mistakenly think they’re giving the child his best shot. I disagree. I think they might be just creating another robot prone to burn out.

Yes, to be the best in the world (in any field) you have to have participated and practiced more than just about everybody. There’s simply no substitute for the repetitions. So let’s go strictly by the numbers. A kid in the Dominican might go home after a day of pick up ball with 20 at-bats under his belt. While the kid in the States playing Little League goes home with 4. Assuming each kid plays 3 days a week, one kid is finishing a month with 48 AB’s and the other with 320…without the wear and tear of playing under pressure and the risk of burn out. And we’re surprised that the best players in the world are coming from a tiny little island?

I thought another reason might be because kids are inside more – playing computer or video games; however, this statistic made me reconsider…

Time-analysis studies done at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research provide the best picture of the trend: From 1981 to 1997 the amount of time that children aged three to twelve spent playing indoors declined by 16 percent. The amount of time spent watching TV declined by 23 percent. Meanwhile, the amount of time spent studying increased by 20 percent and the amount of time spent doing organized sports increased by 27 percent.

While inside play might still be a factor, now I think this stat tells more of the story. In 1981 the association U.S. Youth Soccer had 811,000 registered players. By 1998 it had nearly three million. Yes, soccer in the States has grown in popularity over the last couple decades, but I think this stat might just speak to organized sports in general. Kids are simply involved in more leagues.

The last factor I can think of for the disappearing pick up game is fear. I hear people say all the time that this is just a different, more dangerous world than we grew up in. As a result, parents rarely let kids venture out alone. Well, I would argue yes and no. While I realize we don’t live in the “go out and come back when the street lights come on world” anymore, I would have to agree with Mike Lanza in his blog Playborhood…

“kids who are driven around to organized activities are at greater risk of death than those who roam close to home. As for the concern about sports-related injuries, kids today are less likely than kids decades ago to break bones and are more likely to develop “overuse” injuries (e.g. torn rotator cuff) due to the shift from pickup sports to organized sports.”

I don’t know about your neighborhood, but the reality in and around mine is that I DO see kids outside playing alone. I see them riding bikes or skateboards or playing in the park. But I rarely, if ever, see them in packs larger than two. I think the chances of getting more than two together at one time with no scheduling is next to impossible. The idea that a whole pack of nine kids might have enough free time to meet in the park and play is out of the question. You’ve got a better shot getting the President to take time out of his busy schedule to come over for dinner at your house.

SO WHAT HAPPENS?

Unfortunately, probably nothing. It’s kind of like eliminating performance enhancing drugs or the hole in the ozone. It’s probably not gonna happen. But all is not lost. As a parent, you can step out of line a little bit, look at the situation honestly, and make some adjustments. I’m not advocating eliminating organized sports, but how about limiting it to just during the baseball season?

How about taking the time and money allocated to off season travel ball and spend it trying to find parents with similar interests? Then make it a priority to keep the kid’s schedules open and make sure they spend the time outside of the house. Like magnets, they’ll come together. And if you’re neighborhood isn’t safe, maybe one parent can be present at the park just to be present (on the outskirts). Making sure not to resolve or judge anything.

Take your kid to the open field and teach him or her the games you used to play in your youth. Encourage them to be creative and change the rules to suit the new surroundings or needs. Maybe some of these games will jar your memory…please write in and share your variations.

PICK UP GAME RULES

Here are some games that I used to play when I was younger. Just about all of them followed the general rules of baseball (3 outs, baselines, pop fly caught is an out, etc.) The ball could be anything, from rolled up socks, to a ball of tape, to a tennis ball or real baseball. The bat could be a real bat or a tennis racket or a stick. Gloves were optional. Rules were important and much of the time was spent figuring them out and making them adapt to the surroundings. Depending on the field, there were certain places you couldn’t hit the ball. Picking teams was an art and feelings got hurt because the worst players aways get picked last, that’s life. Bending the rules for the new kid happened. Arguments happened. Lost balls happened. Broken windows happened. Ghost runners existed. Spitting was perfected, grass stains on the knees…you get the picture.

Pepper  - the batter stands about 15-20 feet away from a fairly straight line of fielders. Batter hits grounders to the fielders, fielders field the ball and pitch it back to the hitter and on and on. Many rule options. Hitter can loose turn if he lines out or fouls off more than a couple balls. Fielder can become the hitter by catching a pop out. Fielder can be eliminated by making an error. You might include a game of “flip” into pepper by making a rule that the fielder must field the grounder cleanly then flip it to another fielder and down the line. This is a great game for bat control, fielding, throwing strikes, etc.

Three flies up – a simple game where either someone pitches to a hitter or the hitter just tosses the ball to himself and hits until someone in the field catches 3 pop flies. That fielder then becomes the hitter. A variation might be to give certain point totals for fielding different balls. For example 10 points for a fly ball, 5 points for a ball on one hop, 2 points for a grounder. First fielder to a certain number wins or gets to hit. This can also get as rough as you want, often turning into a hybrid of rugby and baseball depending on how much contact the fielders allow.

Over the line – a field is set up with an area for the hitter, then a straight line is established about where second base would be, then another where shallow right field would be. The width of the field is determined by how many people are in the field. The hitter either tosses the ball to himself or hits a pitched ball into the confines of the field. If it lands to the left or right of the boundaries he’s out. A ball that makes it passed the first line on the ground is a single. If it lands in between the first and second line in the air it’s a double. If it goes over the deepest fielders head, homer. Outs are made by fielding any grounder in front of the first line or catching a ball in the air. Three outs switch.

Over the line variation – this one comes from Don Weiskopf. Referred to also as Line Ball, this is a favorite playground, school and yard game. With two teams 30 feet apart and perhaps 6 players on a team, the object is for the batter to drive a ground ball through the other team. Each team has a bat. The first player tosses the ball up and tries to bat it across the other team’s goal line. The ball must hit the ground between the two lines. The other team tries to field the ball and then attempts to bat it back across the opponent’s goal line. Each member of each team gets a chance to bat. One point is scored for each ball that crosses the other team’s goal line. Another variation is for the players to throw rather than bat the ball.

First to ten – my son and I play this game all the time. It’s fun and excellent for concentration and control. It’s a simple game of catch. Get a decent distance away from each other. The receiver stands perfectly still and holds the throw from the thrower exactly where he catches it. A ball that would’ve hit him in the head is worth two points, a throw that would’ve hit him in the body area (above the knees though) is worth one. First man to ten wins.

Wall Ball – Here’s another one I used to play a lot of on the outdoor racquet ball courts. Again, I’m going to let Don Weiskopf explain the rules. One or more players stand about 20 to 40 feet from the wall, preferably concrete. The game begins by having each player throw a ball against the wall. The player other than the thrower has to field the ball and the “pitcher” can vary the type, speed and difficulty of throws. Rules can be established as to catching the ball on a fly or a bounce. The players can keep score and the one who has the most points will win. Another game involves a pitcher pitching an imaginary game against the wall. He keeps the count, outs, innings and score. To make this an even more competitive experience, two pitchers can oppose each other, alternating innings and keeping score.

Scrub – Another one from Don…One player is at bat, with a catcher, pitcher, first base and other fielders. All players are numbered: the batter is scrub; catcher, one; pitcher, two; first base, three; fielders, four and up. The batter hits a ball pitched to him, and runs to first base and back. If he is put out by being tagged at first base or home, striking three times, hitting three fouls or having a fly ball caught, he goes to the field and takes the number of the last fielder. Each player moves over one position and number, first base to pitcher, pitcher to catcher, and catcher to batter (scrub). If the batter gets home safely, he will bat again. Each batter is allowed to make three runs before taking to the field, provided he is not put out.

CONCLUSION

So that’s it. I hope you enjoyed this series on Unorganized baseball. Hopefully it didn’t offend anyone but opened some eyes and shifted some perspectives. Hopefully it helped more than it hurt. I look forward to your comments and perspectives. Also please, please write in and share your versions and rules of different pick up games you played or play. I’d love to create a big library. Until then, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball.

Let me lead off with with this quote from Don Weiskopf, author of BaseballPlayAmerica.com. “I have always believed that youngsters learn the game best in an unstructured setting. The fundamentals must be practiced continually, even at the big league level. Many kids have missed out on the simple pleasure of playing catch with a parent or sibling. Since they are not playing enough catch, the throwing skills of young children have diminished. They need to make playing catch fun and challenging. Young players need more skill-based, fun-resulting experiences, as opposed to high-pressurized organized league play.”

Here’s what Johnny Damon has to say about the subject. “I think nowadays kids are getting so worn out playing baseball year-round that by the time they get to the high school level, they’re kind of tired of it and tired of the politics of it, instead of just going out there and playing baseball.”

THE KIDS ARE ORGANIZED

I couldn’t agree more with both of these quotes. The simple fact is that today, if a kid’s playing sports in the States, he’s most probably participating in a game structured and organized by adults. David Brooks writes in his excellent article titled The Organization Kid “Kids of all stripes lead lives that are structured, supervised, and stuffed with enrichment. Time-analysis studies done at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research provide the best picture of the trend: From 1981 to 1997 the amount of time that children aged three to twelve spent playing indoors declined by 16 percent. The amount of time spent watching TV declined by 23 percent. Meanwhile, the amount of time spent studying increased by 20 percent and the amount of time spent doing organized sports increased by 27 percent. Drive around your neighborhood. Remember all those parks that used to have open fields? They have been carved up into neatly trimmed soccer and baseball fields crowded with parents in folding chairs who are watching their kids perform. In 1981 the association U.S. Youth Soccer had 811,000 registered players. By 1998 it had nearly three million.

Today’s elite kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-enhancing activity to the next. By the time they reach college, they take this sort of pace for granted, sometimes at a cost. In 1985 only 18 percent of college freshmen told the annual University of California at Los Angeles freshman norms survey that they felt “overwhelmed.” Now 28 percent of college freshmen say they feel that way.”

TODAY’S SPORTING PRODUCTS

For the social development of kids, I find these stats alarming and so does Peter Gray in his article about Kids and Social Play “How sad it is that children today have less opportunity for true social play, unsupervised by adults, than we did when we were children. Not only does this loss contribute to the epidemics of childhood obesity and depression, but it also, I fear, is making it harder for children to grow up with a full appreciation of democratic values. In play we learn how to negotiate our needs, as equals, and to treat others as equals. In play, no matter what our age, we learn that we are the adults; there is no higher authority to turn to who will solve our problems.”

“Bullies persist, and so do patsies. But social play, more than any other force we know of, helps people overcome their bullying and helps the patsies become more assertive.”

Viewed from a baseball perspective, I have a sneaking suspicion that the current state of youth sports isn’t effective either. Aside from the “burn out” problem that Johnny Damon highlighted, my whole reason for diving into this subject came from watching amateur ball in the Southern California area. The stiffness and lack of improvisation when compared to their Dominican or Puerto Rican counterparts got me thinking. I don’t have any hard stats, but could it be attributed to the fact that kids in Latin American countries are playing less organized and more pick up games?

It’s just my opinion, but I think the best players in the world right now come from Latin countries. Again, this is an unscientific opinion, but I think much of their greatness comes from their improvisational, playful approach to the game. And I think much of this comes from growing up playing improvisational, playful, unorganized games. Maybe I’m wrong, but what if I’m right?

NEXT BLOG POST

In my last installation of this series, I’ll look into why we’ve drifted away from pick up games and explore some possible options. I’ll also include a bunch of rules that kids can use if they’re interested in starting some neighborhood games. Until then, keep your eye on the ball.

There will be no argument if you complete this play correctly.

Here’s another catching tip…

Today, let me explain how a catcher should deal with a batter who gets in the way of his throw to second base. This is actually a very simple play, the receiver just has to do his part and trust the umpire will make the right call.

So, the first thing I’d like to do is ease your mind by pointing out that 99% of the umpires in the world (at every level) recognize batter’s interference and absolutely LOVE to call it. I think it makes them appear like they know more than they do. On top of that, assuming the catcher reacts correctly, this play really puts an ump in the driver’s seat. Kind of like, “bring it on coach…do you really wanna try to argue with me about this one?”

Like I said, it’s an easy play, but its up to the catcher to make it easy. How do you do this? Simple. You’ve got to sell it. If a batter crosses the batter’s box and gets anywhere remotely close to you as you’re trying to peg a stealing runner, you MUST tangle up with him. And you MUST throw the ball.

That being said, in a real game situation, I’m going to tell you what your natural reaction to this play will be. You’ll try to avoid contact with the batter and you’ll hold on to the ball because you don’t want to make a bad throw. DON’T! If you react this way, even if the batter is jumping up and down right in front of you, the umpire can’t make an interference call.

Repeat after me. Get all tangled up with the hitter, throw the ball, scream like a basketball player taking a charge or tripped soccer player, and sell that sucker. If you do this, trust me, the umpire will smile, puff up his chest, and look right at the opposing team’s coach as he calls the batter out and sends the runner back. Then he’ll probably thank you for giving him the opportunity to prove his umpiring worth. It’s a thing of beauty and works every time.

Till next time, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball.

This post will be the first of a series I’m going to do on the subject of pick up baseball. I’ll go into why I think it’s important, why it’s bordering on extinction, maybe sprinkle in some history, and maybe provide some solutions through examples of rules from games we played as kids.

THE GOAL

Let’s begin by stripping it down to the bone and come to an understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish here. What’s the goal? What’s the big picture? Why do we have our kids playing organized sports in the first place?

I may be going against the grain a little bit, but my goal is to have kids who grow up happy, productive, creative, citizens with decent moral compasses. I think this is sort of the American ideal or what we’d call democratic. My goal is not for them to become big leaguers. If it happens, great, but it’s not the goal. I’ve always believed baseball (and it’s hybrids) to be great platforms for learning positive life skills. Skills that might transcend the game and spill over to make one a better student, worker, or citizen.

DOES ORGANIZED BALL MEASURE UP?

Now that you understand at least what my goals are, let’s evaluate whether the organized Little Leagues, Pony leagues, etc. are meeting these ideals. To a certain extent, I think they are. Kids are certainly gonna have to learn how to deal with pressure, how to deal with failure, with success, how to be a good teammate, etc. Approached the right way, organized ball can teach us a lot.

But it can’t teach us everything. There’s a few things I want that are very hit or miss in the organized version of baseball. Again, what I’m trying to produce is a dynamic, creative, problem solver who can work well with people and bring some passion to the table.

I don’t want a robot. I could care less if you can turn the perfect double play at age 12. Give me passion, give me a risk taker, give me creativity, give me someone who can think outside of the box. If we took this to a school setting, I’m talking about creating a kid who questions the teacher, that’s interested in creating a better way, that’s hungry to learn. Not a person that is just concerned with doing well on the tests, conforming to the rules, and scoring through the roof on the SAT.

From a baseball perspective I’m trying to create a player who’s not just surviving, but pushing the game to another level. A player who plays. It’s hard for me to put into words, but you know it when you see it. It’s that kid who knows the game inside and out and plays with passion. I’m not saying organized ball can’t be the platform that produces this kind of animal, I’m just not so sure it does a great job of cultivating these qualities.

WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

So how are kids going to learn, experience, and foster that democratic ideal? How are they going to practice the balancing act between freedom and rules, or individual needs and the recognition that other’s needs are just as important (being a good teammate)?

Common sense would tell you that it needs to be an environment where the kids themselves can make up the rules. An environment where they communicate with each other as equals. Where they’re free to solve problems and challenges amongst themselves. Where they’re free to tweak the rules, push the boundaries, assert themselves, make mistakes, and learn. An environment where, if they don’t figure these things out, the game simply isn’t going to happen.

For me (and I’m sure many of the adults reading this post) these skills were learned during free play. Or for the sake of this article, pick up ball. Certainly you can remember all of the logistics that went into a sandlot game? Where to have it, when to meet up, how to choose teams, the rules of the game, how it ends, how to get the most kids, and on and on.

For that game to happen, you had to have some people skills, some organizational skills, and some creativity. You had to have the ability to think outside of the box and improvise. You had to know and negotiate the rules of the game, you had to be fair. In short, you had to be democratic. We all remember that kid who was the dictator. The kid who had to pitch every inning, who wasn’t fair, who wasn’t fun? What happened? You just bailed and started your own game. It was simple like that.

NEXT BLOG POST

So that’s it for today. Next post I’ll get into why I think these pick up games are bordering on extinction. I’ll also look towards solutions and provide some example guide lines for kids interested in starting their own neighborhood games. Until then, I’ll leave you with this excellent clip from The Fantastic Mr. Fox featuring the made-up game of WhackBat. Enjoy.

The clips are done, now it’s just a matter of figuring out the best method to get them to you. I anticipate this happening (hopefully) by the end of the week. Here’s a question for you…I plan on charging 3-5 bucks per video. Would you be more comfortable buying these “a la carte” or would some kind of annual membership be better (assuming I could produce a couple clips a month)? I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions or comments you might have.

I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t I just post them on YouTube for free. Answer: cause I don’t want to. Next question…why don’t I just make one full length video. Answer: because I want to get this information to you now. My plan is do a couple clips a month. In a year (or two) I should have a big enough library of information to edit them all together to create a full length video. Again though, that’s a couple years out and I want to get you on the right track now.

Let me know what you think…thank you in advance for your help. In the meantime, here’s a little interview I did with HotStove.com a couple days ago. Enjoy.

I honestly have no idea. I never cut them off my cleats like many players did because I just liked the way they looked. As Billy Crystal used to say, “It’s better to look good than to feel good darling.” Other than that, I can’t say they made a difference one way or the other.

Tony Gwynn's "5.5 Hole" cleats.

I do remember a trend back in the 90’s where guys would get their numbers stitched on the tongue of the shoe. Guys like Wade Boggs and Eric Davis. I also vaguely remember some custom Nike’s that Tony Gwynn had that featured the number “5.5 Hole” on them. This was in tribute to the fact that 99% of Tony’s hits went through that hole between short and third. (On a scorecard the shortstop is “5″ and third baseman is “6″…a ball between the two is 5.5 hole.)

That's my boy.

The funniest thing I ever saw on the tongue of a ball players cleats belonged to Jason Giambi. It took me a while to figure out what it meant (I’m not real smart). After he came up to bat for about the fifth time and I had a chance to get a close look, it finally dawned on me. What did it say? “G .” Translation…G spot. Very fitting for Jason in his heyday.

That’s all I know…get back to me with some answers and your free sticker.

To me, it seemed like Akadema was the only company who was making an effort to improve the design of catcher’s gloves. They were definitely the only company doing anything different. Well, they’re doing something different again. This time they’re going backwards and reproducing replicas of famous past gloves.

The tag off the replica glove.

They were kind enough to give me their version of Yogi Berra’s 1952 Reach glove. I need to do some more research into the subject, but it seems with this Reach model, Yogi was one of the first receivers to ever use a hinged catcher’s glove. I was under the impression that the hinge didn’t come along until the late 60’s, but obviously I’m wrong.

Yogi with his well oiled glove.

Anyway, it’s a great glove and a lot of fun to play catch with. It’s a challenging piece of equipment and it blows my mind that someone could use it in a game. Playing catch with this pud really drives home the point that equipment limitations and technique go hand in hand. There’s only so much you could have done with that thing.

As I said, playing with this glove is a blast, but it also reminds me to be grateful for the catchers that came before me (Johnny Bench, Randy Hundley) and the companies (Rawlings) that had an influence in creating the modern day catchers glove. So thank you folks of the past, and thank you to companies like Akadema for looking both forwards and backwards.

By the way, in an unrelated development, there have been a couple nice articles and reviews recently about myself and The Art of Catching. This one is from ex-Dodger GM and writer for MLB.com, Fred Claire. And this one is from Baseball Digest.

Also, check my act out Thursday mornings at 6:35AM PST on Sirius radio channel 210 or XM 175. I’ll be a regular guest for a while. Give it a listen if you get a chance and let me know what you think. Seriously, I’ve got thick skin…I wanna get better so lemme have it. Thanks.

The Bod was the catalyst for this tip.

Here’s another catching tip….

1991 was my rookie season with the Royals, I was 23 and thought I was pretty cool. We’re in the bullpen in Milwaukee and I’m warming up my teammate (and at that point, 11 year veteran) Mike Boddicker for his start. He’s throwing and I’m kind of nonchalantly flipping the ball back to him. Let’s just say not every toss back was on the money.

Well, after about the fifth time he had to bend over to catch my return throw, Mike stepped off and screamed, “Dammit Brent, hit me in the chest!” There may have been a stronger word in there.

He took me by surprise, and my initial thought was, “who’s this old guy telling me what to do?” But then I kept thinking about it and a light went on. Mike was right.

First of all I thought, the poor guy is like 100 years old (he was probably 33, but that seemed ancient) and is going to have to throw about 100 pitches out there. The last thing he needs to do is chase my errant throws around.

Secondly, it dawned on me that if Mike’s standing on the mound and I throw the ball back to him head high at about 75% velocity, and instead of catching it he ducks out of the way, guess where the ball ends up? That’s right, second base.

This was big. I knew I was going to have to throw the ball back to the pitcher about 150 times every game anyway. If I just paid attention to that throw half the time, I was effectively practicing a throw to second base 75 times a game! Now if a Ricky Henderson or a Carl Crawford runs, I don’t have to think about a thing. That’s just where I throw the ball.

It’s a simple thing. But then again, if you want to be a player, you better pay attention to these simple things because baseball is a game of repetition. Whatever you do the most is what you’re going to do when the heat is on. Aside from being a bit selfish, mindlessly flipping the ball around creates bad habits. Police yourself to throw accurately and you’ll be a better teammate and a better player for your efforts. I sure was. Thanks Bod…you old man.

Till next time, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball.

There’s obviously a fine line between fun and sinister in this arena. I’m not rallying for someone to rip through a school yard naked or anything. I’m just calling for a few brave souls to dash across the diamond with only a rally monkey covering their privates.

As a player, I never got annoyed by such an event. Matter of fact, I think I speak for almost all the players and say we loved it. Nothing like a streaker to spice up a long 10 day road trip. Especially one through Cleveland or Milwaukee. Ditto that as a fan. A streaker now and then is a good thing. Once again though, let me reiterate that we need a few more of the female species.

Ouch. As a streaker, you're going to take enormous risk.

For those of you out there thinking of doing it…know the penalty is gonna be stiff. You might get tackled by 5 smelly guys on the grounds crew. Your wallet is definitely gonna be lighter when it’s all over. People are never gonna look at you the same. They’ll probably laugh at you, especially if you’re a guy and you choose to streak in cold weather.

But that being said, stop thinking about yourself so much. Think of all the bored ball players. Think of the police with nothing to do. Think of the young fans who, if not for you, might very well go to their grave without witnessing this rite of passage. Swallow your pride, save up your money, and get on with it.

Here’s my vote for a few more streakers this baseball season.

P.S. If you’re interested, check out this blog I wrote about Morganna “The Kissing Bandit” back in January of last year. I wouldn’t exactly classify her as a streaker, but she’s pretty close.

The dreaded catcher wrist band.

Here’s another catching tip…

Let me get right to the point…coaches, I realize how attached you’ve become to calling pitches. At the risk of ruffling a few feathers, please allow me to explain why allowing your pitchers and catchers to control this facet of the game might be a more effective option.

1.) The pace of a game is disrupted when coaches call pitches. It takes WAY too long to relay the signal to the catcher, have him look at his wristband, and echo the information to the pitcher. Especially if you understand that pitchers are more effective when they work quickly and offensive teams hate to be rushed. Working quickly is a defensive weapon, get out of the way and use it.

2.) In my opinion, the very best pitch a pitcher can throw in any given instance is the pitch he can throw with his heart…with conviction. Regardless if it’s the “right” call or not. There’s only one person who knows what that pitch is…the guy on the mound, not the coach.

3.) How can the coach possibly see and adjust to the minute adjustments a hitter is making in the box? Only the catcher is close enough to use this information.

4.) Isn’t it the role of the coach to educate players? Coaches, your days of playing are over. Let the kids play. Just like every other aspect of the game, teach them the proper way (or at least what you want) and let em go. When they screw up (and they will) you make corrections.

5.) Teaching a kid how to call a decent game isn’t that hard. Use the fastball. Get ahead. Teach them when to give in and when not to give in. Economy of pitches. Work fast. Don’t fall into patterns. How hard is that? Write down a simple game-plan – a general outline of how you’d like to see the game called (i.e., get ahead with fastball, don’t go soft after you’ve blown heat by someone, etc.). Copy it and give it to your catcher as homework. Test him and make sure he gets it.

6.) I’ve been hammering on the catchers about their responsibility in controlling the tempo of the game. This is impossible if coaches interfere.

7.) You know that groove a pitcher and catcher fall into when it appears like they’re reading each others minds? When the catcher puts down a sign and the pitcher is already in his windup because he was thinking the same thing? Although intangible, when pitcher and catcher work in concert, it’s a very powerful weapon. Cultivate this, and again, get out of the way and use it.

8.) Newsflash! No coach or manager in professional baseball calls games. A pro  catcher glancing into the dugout is looking for instructions to control the running game. Period. What service are you doing to your kids if you “graduate” them to the next level without the basic understanding of how to call a game? It’s like a teacher letting a kid go to the next grade without learning to read. I would venture to say that the stakes in pro ball are higher than whatever level you’re coaching, right? And if they’re not calling, why should you?

9.) I can hear you now telling me you’re catcher’s a rock head and can’t get it. Another newsflash! We’re all rock heads. That’s part of the reason we’re back there. I’m not real smart, but I made a lot of house payments because I could call a good game and work well with pitchers. Trust me, you don’t need to be a genius to call a decent game.

10.) Here’s a compromise. When you absolutely, positively need a certain pitch, have a simple signal with the catcher to relay that information. Let your catcher know that you’re always available with your pitch suggestion if he gets confused and looks over. Keep an open line of communication, let him call most of the game, and see what happens.

11.) Let me ease your mind a bit. I’ve sat behind the plate and seen about a billion rockets come off the bat. I’ll can honestly say 95 percent of them had more to do with location than what pitch it was. Allow me to repeat that…it’s almost all about LOCATION. That means you can relax and allow the catcher to call the game knowing that even the “wrong” call in the right location will work. You can’t throw the ball. The guy on the mound is going to have to execute regardless of the call.

I know all of this sounds harsh. Forgive me, it’s a real sore spot. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the coach calling a game has become such a popular trend. Before 1990, it was an anomaly if you saw a coach calling pitches. Now it’s shocking if a Little Leaguer is allowed to call his own game, much less a high school or college player! What happened? Did all the pitchers and catchers in the world get dumb? Or did coaches all the sudden get real smart?

I’m sure I’ll receive a ton of hate mail for saying all this. That’s alright, bring it on. I’ve yet to hear a coach give me a reason that would sway my opinion. Listen coaches, do yourself, the kids, and baseball a favor and give your catcher a chance. A huge part of the catching is being creative and learning how to think clearly under pressure. The good part is, this can be learned and improved upon. They just need a chance to do it and a coach that will support and teach correctly. Just try it. Who knows, the results might not be half bad….maybe even better than you could’ve done?

Till next week, good luck, have fun, and keep your eye on the ball.