Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-07-22
By John ("Chief") Meyers.

ernOon when I'm there behind the
plate all weighted down with an
iron mask and a big protector and a
four pound mitt and shin guards and
the boys come sliding in, spikes first,
regardless think that being a base
ball catcher is no business
The boys don't care much for you
when they're headed from third to
, home. And they've got the right Of
way you know. You've got to stand
there and duck the spikes and the COL
ilsion, and put the ball on them first
outpoint the fast ones, loaded down as
you are
And you've got to stand behind the
swinging bats (and get one once in a
Whiie) and pick up foul tips on the end
OF your bare fingers, and you've got to
DO more work than anybody on the
club, considering that you're on the
Job every day, and the only harder
working fellow, the pitcher goes in only
every four or five days.
But l wouldn't trade nv lob az a
catcher for any other ! know of. at that.
10 my mind, it's the most interesting.
most exciting Of all. You see more.
know more, learn more about the game
behind the bat than in any other no.
sltion. And the game is still the big
thing TO me.
am going to try to tell here Just
what the job Of catcher is. from the
inside viewpoint. the catchers-iust
now he works, what he has to do, how
many things he has to watch.
Work Starts in Morning.
Wen start, then, in the MORNING.
That's the beginning of the catcher's
day. Say we're at home and are to
play the first game of series with a
visiting club that afternoon. Before
doing anything else, l get with the
pitchers and we talk over these fell
lows we've got to deal with, beginning
with the top of their lineup and going
all the way down.
What can they hit? Or, rather. what
can't they hit? That's our problem.
| What are we going to serve them? We
talk over each of the eight men down
to the pitcher. We don't usually bother
| about him, for pitchers are VIGOROUSLY
poor hitters. although I'll bet many a
National league battery in the morning
discusses Old Doctor Crandall, of our
club, who's the Larry Lajoie of twirl-
ers. However. that's incidental.
How do we know what these visitors
can or can't lay their bats on? We
have to study every man. That's a
catcher's job all his catching life. When
broke into the big league the old
catchers and pitchers on the New York
club taught me all they knew about the
other chaps. Once in a while l have
got tips on batters' weaknesses from
friendly mask men of other clubs but
not often. Nearly always it is matter
of close study.
When there is a new man in the OPP
posing lineup whose weakness hasn't
yet been got at of course. we're up
against it. There's nothing to do but
try him out. Perhaps for few times
we'll serve him something which is just
what he wants. He whales it and
laughs al us. That's why, because of
the undiscovered weak point, many a
youngster splurges 400 in the big show
for a time and then drops back to 200.
We get him.
Like General Laying Plans,
You see, then. the theoretical part Of
the game comes first It's like a gen
era laying his plans before the battle
How these plans are going to work out
is the big question that only the game
itself can settle.
Before the bell rings in the after
noon the man who is going to pitch has
talked over with me the first three or
four or five Of our opponents again. AS
the first man walks out swinging a
couple of bats we know just what we're
going to offer him. And he knows that
we know that.
Play BALI"
Now, this fellow, say, is low ball
hitter That means he can land on a
ball served between his waist and his
knees and lift it far and fast His
weakness, then is high ball There
fore. the first one coming to him is one
high up around his neck-in the hope
that he may take a swing at it, If he
lays his bat on that one at all, it will be
a weak blow. Well-he doesn't. Ball
one.
The next one, then, comes trihe
lower-enough lower, maybe, TO fool
the batter into making a try for it. or
to fool the umpire into calling it a
strike. The clever fellow knows this,
and let's that one go. He's getting us
in hole. 1.-TWO and nothing"
Now one must be handed to him
within his hitting range-say. a ball
about his waist-but with a curve that
breaks toward him or away from him.
We must see whether or not he can be
fooled that way.
Bang!
There it goes! A pretty single to
right and he's safe on first
Now my job gets exciting. In my
opinion, the toughest situation for a
catcher is zone en- and none down
Especially if the runner is a clever,
brainy fellow He's going to try to
worry me. And SO is the next man UP