Hints on plate stance
 

Yesterday in a 15 year old city league game (basically the last kids cut from JV and select travel teams) I took two untouched fastballs to my left forearm (thus demonstrating why the two catchers did not make their JV team). I can't remember EVER being hit like that in a high school or higher select game.
Short of keeping my hands behind my back is there anything in a stance I can develop for this age group to keep from getting whacked like that?

Not much you can do. Sometimes the pitch is delivered, the batter misses it, the catcher misses it and the only thing it hits is US!

Well .....................
 

You could adopt the box stance looking over the catcher's head. This way, the catcher will (should) absorb most of the hits, and you are likely only to get hit in a protected area.

You will also hurt your chances of advancement as this is not the modern, recommended stance taught by clinicians and approved by evaluators.

Just my $.02 (About all it is worth)




Doug

There was something to be said for the balloon, that's for sure. But doing the math quickly, PWL, I think I'll buy a dozen chemical ice packs at $.99 each rather than a $50 balloon.
And give said catchers a VERY wide strike zone when they're at bat!

i would strongly advise against putting your hands behind your back unless you are happy with working this league. chances are you wont move up much higher, and you wont get many more "big" games.

getting hit like that happens here and there at every level. last year in a college game i took an untouched fastball off my bicep after quite a bit of a mixup. 85+ to a locked arm isnt the best feeling ive had in my life.

You're absolutely right, Brian. No way am I going to work with my hands behind my back. Besides being terrible form it would expose my elbows. I'd rather take a shot off my Popeye-like forearms than the bone of my elbow.
Thanks for all the help. I guess this is the hazard of "moonlighting" during Fed season.

You could possibly put your hands behind your knees to protect them. Check out the thread somewhere around here that has the umpire getting hit in the cup. Although hilarious, he's doing the stance i'm describing- which can protect your hands / lower forearm.

this is the video he is talking about: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aefp_Hehzaw&search=umpire

Last year my pinky finger on my left hand was broken in a college game by a fastball that was not touched by the touched by the catcher. He said the pitcher crossed him up, he was expecting a curve ball, and I told him that was no excuse for not even getting a glove on it.

This year, early in the year, I took a high and tight fastball to the face mask that was not touched by the catcher, and an inning later I took an inside fastball directly to the thigh and it was the same catcher both times and he did not get a glove on either.

You can move out of the slot and get behind the catcher more, but aside from that you are going to have sorry catchers at any age level. I changed to the GD stance after my pinky was broken and it keeps my fingers from getting broken and is a very good stance for other reasons also.

I use the GD and my thigh (batter-side) gets hit more than any other place. I dont get a lot of shots off the mask, perhaps because the GD puts you up higher than some other stances. Fortunately, the thigh is a high-fat area that can absorb punishment better than a bony area would.


If you wish to effectively call pitches, you are going to take shots. It's inevitable....some positions are better than others, but NONE assure hit-free games. You have to decide if you are willing to stand in there and get hit from time to time.

If not, quit now.

Actually the getting hit doesn't bother me - it's like I'm catching again!

There is nothing wrong with dropping your arms behind your legs when you lock in. I see many MLB guys doing it, and while you still get hit on the arms, you don't get hit on the wrist and hands.

At higher levels, like Varsity HS and higher, I like the scissors, I lock in, and don't care about getting hit as much, because you don't. Anything lower, I am in the heel-toe slot, and my hands go behind my legs.

Brian, 30 years from now when you are my age, and have absorbed as many injuries from the baseball as I have, you may have a different appreciation for keeping your forearms out of the way.

Steve:

I don't think Brian is saying it's a bad idea to lock-in behind the knees. I've seen many decent umpires use this lock-in mechanism. I think what he's saying is it's poor mechanics to put your hands behind your back without locking in at all. Everytime I watch an umpire do this his head height is extremely inconsistant and they tend to drop lower and lower as the game progresses. Personally, I like to take a small bar stool behind the dish to lock-in with. I would do it more often if the pitchers would quit spilling my beer!


Tim.

You could always use this:

http://store.rawlings.com/product/in...entPage=family

:D

I used one of those on a particularly bad LL Seniors League one time on the advice of my assignor, who lent me his ancient raft protector. I loved the protection it provided, but did not care for running with it. I'll take my chances with an inside model.

To contribute to the Let's Get Steve A New All-Star CPU28 PRO Protector Fund, write to........

tim covered it, but i dont disagree with what you are saying. i dont use that stance, but im not opposed to it. i am opposed to having your arms completely behind your back. we're on the same page

My only criticism of putting your hands behind your knees is that you do NOT really have a rock solid physical lock in. You may notice movement up and down on those who use this approach. With the GD, you have the best lock in mechanism available, with no movement what so ever.

Gerry, during his clinics, is constantly harping on "can you feel your lock in?" You can't feel a lock in if you don't have one.

Bob P.

Is there a decent photo of the GD stance somewhere? I'm trying to visualize it - I don't hear the term much around here.

Check this out.

http://childress.officiating.com/?d=...is+Part+II.pdf

Well that explains it - other than the hands-on-thighs this is the stance our association preaches. They apparently just don't want to give Gerry Davis credit for it!
Thanks for the article!
By the way, does a light-weight mask much difference in neck strain? I have good old fashioned iron Wilson mask (at least that's what feels like).

May I have a cold towel
 

I am not there to look like a waiter. I like the speed skater look. Anything that bounces off and toward the backstop is GOOD. There is absolutely no way that I will take a foul ball directly to my exposed arm.

Take the set position with both hands on the knees and relax. The head shouldn't move. As soon as the pitcher begins his delivery, rasie the left arm and place knuckles in small of back, pause, read and react. This motion adds to an internal sense of timing that helps my concetration pick up the baseball upon release. I have a much better sense of timing and relaxation.

I think most hitters use a rock step to accomplish the same thing. Perhaps some UMP will want to test this hypothesis to see if it helps them. If it does help, then it is GOOD. I also think it pays tenfold, because I take fewer shots to the arm per season.

Lake:

The reason your neck hurts is because you are not dropping your rear. Just as the pitcher prepares to deliver the pitch, drop the seat of your pants a bit, like you are sitting in a chair. This will bring your neck in alignment with your back and prevent neck strain.

The best way to really perfect the GD is to go to one of Gerry's clinics.

Bob p.

Don't laugh. One of my three college assignors uses this in his college games! (I sure hope he isn't reading this forum! :D )

I can see it now. On a windy day you go to call a guy safe, and a big gust of wind picks you up as you go flying across the field, soaring like an eagle a la the season finale last year of Las Vegas, where, wearing a dress with flappy sleeves, Monica got blown off the Montecito's roof then sailed through the air, only to plunge to her not-so-aerodynamic death in the casino salon.

And Jimmy Caan had no compassion at all...............:(

Tim.

It would take one helluva wind to pick my fat a$$ up off the ground!:D

Then you haven't been to the Chicago area this spring, have you? To say we've had many windy days would be an understatement! You'd be amazed by what things have been blown around. :D

It Has Been Done Before!!!
 

My son played in a coach-pitch league several years ago. They used one umpire, and he was around 5'10'' and maybe a biscuit shy of 450 lbs. He had a metal stool he sat on at the screen behind the catcher and made all calls from there.

Now that's just plain sick!:eek:

Let me guess. The kids called him "Jabba-the-Ump?"


Tim.

Or Fat Bast*rd.

I know lots of you bow down to the GD stance, but putting weight on your hands loads your forearms. And that's a recipe for a busted arm.

It's easier, and lot more comfortable I grant you. But if you just take your hands and rotate them in back of your thighs during delivery, you'll protect your hands, and have only "meat" on the forearm esposed, instead of bone. Plus they're not loaded, and flap back if struck.

Or you could do like Cowboy Joe, and squat like a fire hydrant.

Kylejt:

I have used the GD for 5 years and have never got hit in the hands. The forearm, yes, but never the hand.

Bob P.