Blocking and Geometry? What?

Yep, you read that right..

Blocking and geometry.

If by the title you didn't figure out I'm a total nerd, now you know.

Yea, I played baseball for 22 years of my life.

Yes I made all star teams. Yes I was a catcher. Yes I was tough.

Yes I played through tons of injuries.

And yes, I'm a complete nerd.

And most catchers actually are total nerds. How can they not be? There is so much that goes on inside the mind of a catcher, and most of it is just second nature. The mind is such a beautiful thing and the mind of a catcher may be one of the most beautiful minds on the diamond.

A catcher has to know the opposing team. Know the batters. Know their strengths. Know their weaknesses. Catchers have to know their pitchers. Know the game. Know situations. Know what to do before it happens.

There are so many things a catcher needs to know and so many things that run through the mind of a catcher. Much like a parent thinking about what to do for breakfast, taking the kids to school, fighting traffic to work, working all day, knowing who is picking the kids up from school, thinking of what to eat for dinner, what shows to watch each night, what to read the kids before bed. If you are a parent, you can relate to the mind of a catcher. It can be pretty overwhelming at times. Catchers have to be nerds to sift through all the information in their heads and lead their teams.

So, what about blocking involves geometry?

I say all of it does.

First thing the catcher has to do is get into a stance that is conducive to getting to the ground. This is called the secondary stance and this stance is all about creating angles.

The hips and knees need to be bent at about (here comes the geometry) 90 degrees. More geometry, the chest needs to be set at a forward angle (I’m going to just throw a number out there because I don’t have an exact number) around 45-60 degrees. Basically, there needs to be a forward lean from the chest which creates an angle.

Then, when a catcher goes to the ground, we will see angles again.

Maintaining proper angles on the way to the ground is an important part of keeping the ball close to the body. Hips should stay up, chest should maintain almost the exact same angle from the secondary stance.

Best of luck in all your blocking endeavors! If you need help in any way please shoot an email to benjijohnsoncatching@yahoo.com and let us help you with your skills!!!