The catcher is not a leaning post

[IRISHMAFIA]

I've seen this a few times and it really ticks me off. I really don't care if it is a male/female, adult/youth thing as it isn't close to what those who raise those issue claim. Those who I have seen were often without a chest protector and were using the catcher as a shield.

There should be zero intentional contact between them regardless. About 6-8 years ago I visited a tournament that was being used to evaluate newer and potential umpires for NCAA groups. One of the instructions that I found disturbing was that they kept pushing umpires up on the catcher and telling them to get closer, not more than a fist between them.

Well. I had two problems with that. One was that the positioning was based on the catcher, not the slot. The second was that it is going to be nearly impossible to avoid contact anytime the catcher needs to move for the ball in any direction other than forward. To me, it was a very precarious position into which place the umpire.