Fastpitch Catcher
The fastpitch catcher is the team's field general. The catcher is the only player who can see the entire field and the fielding situations that develop. Because of her unique position on the field, the catcher oversees the team's defensive activities.
The catcher's specific field area of responsibility is shown in yellow on this graphic. Since she starts each play from a crouching postion with about 15 pounds of hot, protective gear wrapped around her legs, chest and head, the catcher must be quick to react to cover the bunts, steals, and foul tips that are in her area of responsibility.
Specifically the catcher must:
- call out the plays
- communicate pitches with the pitcher (The catcher must not only know the signals for all pitches, she must also understand which pitch is best for each situation and each batter.)
- dig out even the worst pitch from the dirt
- recover from a dropped 3rd strike to catch the runner at first
- rise quickly to catch foul ball tips
- be able to throw accurately to any base to catch runners off base or in the process of stealing a base
- back up throws from the outfield to 1st and 3rd.
- be continually on the alert for instructions from the coaches
It's not a very long list of responsibilities, but ask any catcher and she'll tell you it's a lot of hot and hard work. Because of the length of time it takes to put on the catcher's equipment, it is customary to allow the catcher to have a subsitute runner when they make it to base on offense. When this subsititution is allowed varies from league to league (ie. from anytime the catcher is on base to only-after-the-second out)
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