Bill’s Blackboard: Catcher’s Footwork

On MLB Tonight, Bill Ripken explains how a catcher’s best tool when throwing out runners is his footwork, not his arm. LIKE us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @MLBNetwork and check out MLBNetwork.com for more content!

[@benbrown2292]

I like these blackboard segments alot and it is a nice touch that he holds his Pop's fungo bat for the lesson. Cal Sr. was one heck of a good baseball man

[@c.5366]

Keep these up please!!! I love these vids.

[@cactusathletics4562]

Excellent video. Enjoyed watching it. Great illustration on the blackboard with the feet. Definitely going to use this to help catchers.

[@dustinsiegrist1533]

MLB Network, Can we get a playlist of all these? They're great.

[@caparzzo]

this clips are sick.

[@blancosal]

"If you have good feet, you don't have to cheat, 'cause you can compete"

[@deusvult6920]

Man that was neat

[@qambo3882]

He forgot about an outside pitch, throw to third with a righty batter, there's different footwork for that! You go in front of the batter instead of behind. Also pickoff plays to first 😬

[@qambo3882]

If u couldn't already tell I'm a catcher lol

[@theprosandconsof8454]

same i'm a catcher as well, and was about to say that. and arm strength will help throw from knees

[@tylerrandall5119]

Good point my man. I'm a proponent of driving from a knee on pickoffs to first. You can get away with going through your footwork with a righty hitting on a pitch up, but it's always been a lot quicker for me from a knee. You're typically only throwing to first on receivable pitches on your arm side anyway. Unless of course you call the pick, in which case your setup is gonna be slightly altered as well as your pitch selection

[@nickbadry4122]

This is good stuff!

[@itsjustbaseball1986]

I'm 16 years old and this has helped me with my game so much

[@jaunitobeisbol4905]

i have a decently strong arm and i could throw some guys out but once i got my footwork down, my pop time drastically improved

[@bendeutsche]

I’m a high school catcher, I know Ripken knows his stuff, but MLB network has former catcher analysts, why wouldn’t they do this instead of a non catcher.

[@tinazhao2629]

Does anybody know who is the catch at 1:00

[@nolanmonahan5339]

Intro: more cowbell!!!

[@tylerrandall5119]

Paradise is behind home plate

[@petermcginley9737]

has there ever been a left handed catcher in the big leagues? (catches with his right hand)

[@tawtsai]

I was literally thinking about the same thing - the last one who caught in the big leagues was apparently more than 20 years ago! According to this 2009 NYT article, there were no LH catcher in the minors either: www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/sports/baseball/16catcher.html

[@Airmode9000]

As far I know, yes, there were three, but they didn't even play 100 games combined

[@michaelreynolds3592]

Wasn't Bob Eucker lefty?

[@Airmode9000]

No, he was a righty

[@ToddieBender]

Babe Ruth

[@joecoolmccall]

He should do a black board on how a catcher saves his knees....

[@slundgr]

Catcher saves his knees by having strong legs and proper technique behind the plate. There really is no saving a catcher's knees when you figure how many times he gets up and down in a game, including warmups, bullpens, etc. Wear and tear is inevitable.

[@itsjustbaseball1986]

I wish younger viewers would watch this it would help so many ppl

[@robertharvey9047]

rutgers stadium

[@robertharvey9047]

baseball

[@kingchristian9553]

The cathers wear workboots? The footprints look like Timbs...

[@SuperMarlinsfan]

nice to have a non-catcher give lessons about catching

[@stevenkunzer9027]

He had been taking throws from catchers for years, so I can imagine he can see good form vs poor form. All the retired catchers are managing

[@robertharvey9047]

Texas rivalry Tampa bay

[@joerandom756]

You didn't cover 1st. And don't make a kid play a sport he doesn't want to just because it's good for another. I got injured and lost any chance to play higher levels. Sometimes you just don't recover

[@markowalski1]

So much yelling

[@karamazovkid71]

Ripken does not understand catcher's footwork. He is missing the crucial point. What is the catcher's footwork as he catches the ball? The reason these catchers can throw guys out is that either the base-runners do not know how to get a jump, they leave too late, OR the batter fails to protect the runner by swinging.. A good base-runner can steal third base successfully every time he tries. The reasons they do not steal third are because they can score from second any time on a single. They are in Scoring Position already at 2nd base. And if a runner cannot score from 2nd on a single, he is not fast enough to steal a base anyway. Also, with no outs, the offense can move the runner from first to 3rd simply by hitting a ground ball behind the runner. With 1 out the offense has 2 chances to deliver the run from second. The offense has the advantage with a runner on second so there is no need to squander that advantage. With two outs the caveat is "Never make the third out at 3rd base. So they would not steal with 2 outs. The best reason to steal 3rd base is to rattle the pitcher by putting more pressure on him to keep his pitches up and out of the dirt. There is one other reason to steal third with 1 out but I will not discuss it because there is an effective pitching strategy that will neutralize any advantage gained by moving the runner to third. I suppose what Ripken is saying makes sense but it is only a band-aid for those who do not know how to CATCH the BAll.

[@nickhuber9627]

I think he knows more about baseball than you do. What level did you play at?

[@karamazovkid71]

@@nickhuber9627 Straight Leg Infantry 1966.

[@nickhuber9627]

@@karamazovkid71 Like I said, what level did you play at?

[@karamazovkid71]

@@nickhuber9627 At what level did you play, Turd?

[@nickhuber9627]

@@karamazovkid71 A higher level than you did, Turd!