PU-Throwing Ball Back to Pitcher-Let the Players Play the Game

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by JPaco54

2. Embarrassement over missing the target - under or over throw.

Forget the other reasons -- this is why I don't throw it to them. I could probably get it to the pitcher most of the time, but it's the times I miss the target that I don't want to deal with. At this point, the game surely isn't going any faster.

In the high school baseball games here, we rely on the on-deck batter to get foul balls that catchers would normally retrieve. I tell the catchers during the 1st inning that they don't get foul balls - they get a ball from me. By the time the ball's to the pitcher, the on-deck batter's shagged the previous ball and either given it back to me, or kept it with him to give to me when he comes up to bat.

At my local park, the fences are only 10 feet behind the plate, so the catcher usually gets it before I can think about getting a new one. Of course, most of the ones fouled back land back in front of the plate anyway.