As an industry, we have focused on changing the way we approach arm care for pitchers at all levels. Arm care routines, new tech, video breakdown, etc. have been utilized to assist in decreasing arm pain, recovery time, and overall performance. While this has been an excellent step in the right direction, one big position seems to be overlooked: the catching position.

While the intent of each throw in game isn’t as high, catchers have the highest volume of throws out of everyone on the field. When it matters most, their high intensity throws down to bases are needed to be right on the money. With the importance of the high intensity throws, plus the overall volume of throws made, how can we collect data on the throws other than just using a stopwatch and radar gun? Enter pitchLogic.

By using pitchLogic with our catchers, we can see how the ball is coming out of their hand. We are able to look at spin efficiency, overall spin, velocity, movement, etc. that all have a direct impact on the ball flight. Our goal with our catchers, much like our pitchers, is to have a high spin efficiency on each throw to ensure that we are working toward the bag without cutting the ball or having any movement away from the bag. Essentially, to use pitching terms, we are trying to have our catchers throw 4-seam fastballs with minimal horizontal break on each throw. 

The data we can collect from pitchLogic shows us how the ball is moving, yet we want to know why it happens. When we pair the data with video, we are able to look at movement patterns to see if we are “on time” to throw, overall direction, and how we are holding the baseball. Our goal is to have our catchers close to 90 degrees with their arm at front foot plant. If we are deep inside of this, or too far out, we will apply excess force to our elbow area, while also not being able to work “behind” the baseball as well, leading to a low spin efficiency.

By pairing video and the data using pitchLogic, we are able to show our catchers how the ball is being thrown and how their movement pattern to throw impacts the movement profile on the ball. This allows us to have a better idea of overall development needed in order to keep our catching staff healthy, while improving our chances of throwing runners out with pinpoint accuracy.