BellaOnline Forums Sports Softball Poll: Should Catchers call their own game?

What do you think?

Should catchers call the pitches in a game? single choice
	No. Pitches should be called by the coach in the dugout.
	Yes. Catchers should call the pitches in a game.
	Depends on how game-savvy the catcher is.
	Mmmmm...Pecan Pie!!
Votes accepted starting: 08/08/09 02:53 PM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

I'm an old-school catcher, so I think catchers should call their own game. One, it helps them learn the game better and two, with practice they can have a better feel for the flow of the game than I can from the dugout.

I do make the occasional suggestion from the bench, but 99% of the pitches are called by the catcher.

I think catchers should call their own game if they can.

My daughter was a pitcher at a Division 1 school and her coach was a control freak who never trusted the catchers to call the game. The trouble was, my daughter knew the game and knew sometimes the coach was calling the wrong pitch. If the catcher had been calling the game, they could have worked on this between them and probably done a better job.

The coach made the pitchers and catchers into little robots, playing the game the way she wanted it played but it should be the player's game, not the coach's, at least by the time they get to the college level.

My husband was a pitching coach and called our daughter's games in high school. After a while, he let the catcher do it. However, the catcher never liked to call a drop ball cuz she couldn't catch it very well and it was a necessary pitch in some circumstances.

Good point, joanj. If you have a catcher that refuses to call a pitch, then it's definitely time to step in.

I usually have the opposite problem. My young catchers love to call the "fancy" pitch even though a fastball will work fine. I keep reminding them to stick with pitches that work, even if its a boring fastball. I like boring when my team's on defense!

I guess it is easy for me, as a rec league coach, to say catchers should call the game since my paycheck isn't on the line. However, like you said, a Div 1 catcher (and pitcher) certainly understand the game well enough to call it and since they're actually *in* the game, they probably have a better feel for what pitch to call than the coach. I would think the confidence you show in your players would pay dividends throughout your program and certainly make it worth it.

Can I have vanilla ice cream with that pecan pie???

Only if you pronounce it "pee-can" and not "pee-cahn".

What does a Californian know about "Pee-cahn" pie anyways?

Ah...see, your mistake is in your assumption. I'm American by birth, Virginian by the grace of God. My RL job took me out to California. If your job is going to stick you somewhere, there are worse places than SoCal!

I can understand the confusion, though. I am ruggedly handsome, like a Hollywood movie star...

;-)

LOL - I should have thought of that! I have several friends that have all made the coast to coast move.

You did leave out one option on your poll - "depends on the level (age) of the players".

My niece (13) is starting the 8th grade but has been playing fast-pitch for the past 4(?) years. She started teeball when she was 4 yrs old and my brother has always been her coach. Their team got to go to PC for the girls' World Series this past summer. Our high school really wanted to play her on the Varsity team, but she can only play Varsity for 4 years, so they are putting her on JV for this year.

But it has been very interesting watching when the girls have become capable of calling their own pitches. Some teams that have been together (travel teams especially) have no problem calling their own pitches, yet a brand new JV high school team that has never worked together before can't.

BTW - I am really glad to see this topic hopping on here now!

Sounds like your niece has a real future in the sport. Maybe in a few years she'll be going to the World Series, but as a participant!