Catcher Steals Outside Pitches - Adley Rutschman - Best Framing Catchers 

I called it a ball but it was much further outside than I thought it was. Nice vid as well

As a coach, i always tell my guys “hey, thats a strike tonight. Better adjust”

In addition to the limited body movement, beating the ball to the spot will illustrate to the umpire that a catcher is “receiving” a pitch rather than “framing” a pitch. Slowing the game down and showing less effort in receiving will get you more borderline strikes. Being strong and quick back there makes this so much easier!

Brilliant. Screened by the catchers head depending on how he sets up. Love learning these things. Thanks

As a long time player, coach, and umpire I practiced and teach catchers to "stick" the ball if it's close enough that you might get a call. The catcher you used in this done this technique very very well and used his body to kind of shield the umps vision. However as an umpire any time a catcher tried to "frame" a pitch and pull it into the zone with even the slightest movement from where they caught it a ball is called almost immediately. I taught my daughter this and her catching coach did as well and she gets several strike calls on pitches that were balls. She does this very well and like was described if it's a ball she just catches it and doesn't try to make it look like a strike but the closer one's she gets routinely because of her technique and because she is cool with the umpires as they don't get hit but rarely when she is behind the dish. Good attitudes and good mechanics can get you a lot of good calls when you need them.

For the first time ever, had a catcher ask me if my zone was one or two balls off the plate. My reply was, "I've never been asked that before. I'll say this; you'll find out when the game starts." So, when he came out for the 2nd inning, I asked, "Did that answer your question?" He smiled and said it did. That kid is going to be a great catcher.

I called it a ball but it was a lot less close than I thought, I have a new found respect for umps. Edit: thx for the like everyone I hope mjh sees this comment I love his videos

Excellent video especially with tournament time approaching for youth baseball umpires and catchers. Don't oversell the framing catchers - give the ump a chance to track the pitch to the glove. Don't hold the ball there as that will tick off the ump and you'll never get anything close on the outside half the rest of the game. Umpires - one of my mentors said it best - TRACK! TRACK! TRACK! It ain't nothin till you call it.

Strike? That catcher did his homework:)

I would call it a strike

As a former minor league player (JUCO All-American Outfielder), I can tell you this for sure; Orioles' Adley Rutschman is the best pitch "framer" I have ever seen

Slight body shift when receiving a borderline pitch can be huge.

Hey I play for west Michigan clubhouse and I love your videos I also catch

As an umpire I do feel it important to mention that framing can go both ways. My partners and I have discussed that we've been duped by good framing before, but we note that if the catcher frames too much it becomes easier to call it a ball. This is because by framing the pitch the catcher is admitting that he/she thinks it's a ball, so there is a good chance it really is a ball. This tends to happen when a catcher tries to frame every pitch, especially those inside ones you mentioned earlier that we already know are a ball (working the slot). Over doing it tends to work against you, picking your battles tends to favor you. We don't actively think that you're framing pitches if you only do it a few times, you do it every time and we know what's up better than some catchers seem to think, as if we didn't do it ourselves when we played.

Oh man i wish my Little League Coach was alive today. When i played in the late 1960s he had similar instructions to our catchers.

It looks like a strike because the catcher is a very good framer

Ball, looked off the plate to me

I have umpired for over 40 years. The next time I pay any attention to how the catcher receives a pitch will be the first time. The ball is beyond the strike zone when the catcher receives it, and is therefore irrelevant to whether a pitch is a ball or a strike. I made this a point of emphasis when I used to teach new umpires. That framing pitches is still 'a thing' is a great argument for getting rid of humans behind the plate.

This works like a charm, I’m a LHP in high school and we used this our last game and I had 5 strikeouts

ball its close but its outside and the catcher moves his glove slightly closer to the plate indicating it was closer to the outside edge of the plate and thus a ball.

I called it a ball! The manager argued balls and strikes with me and I ejected him!

Greg Maddux made an entire career off that pitch. A few inches off the plate but called a strike.

i have been taught this i exactly same when to frame when i was 11, so i must,ve had a very good coach

Ball, I got it right... but I had a good guess what you'd be showing us. Great video, you got yourself a new subscriber!

In the umpire cam it looked like a perfect strike

ball. as a 13u catcher, i’m trying to adjust to guys throwing in the 70’s. could you Make a video for catchers on to adjust on catching higher velocity pitches?? Also great video, helped me a lot

Ball ive played catcher my whole youth and babe ruth years and as a catcher I give him props on framing it knowing its a ball but if he frames it in the slightest he will get the call

ok. 20+ yrs. ump experience at multiple levels (travel ball through ncaa divII). when i am behind the plate, i tell the catcher (for each team) during warm-ups: if you frame the pitch and freeze your mitt, you will get more calls from me. (i used to call it the "j. geils band" technique--get it, "freeze-frame"?--but nobody knows who they are anymore...) any mitt that moves is a ball, 'cause if you didn't think it was a strike where it was then you are most certainly not getting the call from me. i have said this mantra for YEARS, and it is true: most catchers cost their pitchers more strikes than the pitcher does. as is said in the video, good framing is rare to find below the college level, and it's a damn shame 'cause it's SO SIMPLE to do (where is the coaching these days?). just keep your body still and catch the pitch with confidence IN FRONT OF YOU. if you get the strike call, GREAT. if you don't get the strike call, that's OK. MOVE ON. it is SO MUCH FUN to umpire behind a good, confident catcher. I have told a few catchers over the years that i'd give them half my game fee if i was allowed to. the catcher featured in the video (#36) demonstrates many of these good qualities. it even appears that he realizes the calls he doesn't get he probably didn't deserve, and he doesn't pout about it. throw it back, next pitch a few comments on the video content: thanks for defining "the slot" early on. i'm still amazed at how many high school coaches don't understand why good, experienced umpires set up where we do. and yes, we CAN call the outside corner from the slot. it's called the "greg walls" method. ask him. the man is a GENIUS, and the BEST umpire mentor EVER. (the method also includes how to always get high/low strike zone calls right. as i said, he's a GENIUS...) so mr. weinstein, i disagree totally with you about the outside call. as strange as it may sound, just because you may not have 100% line-of-sight to the outside of the plate, you most certainly have a "point-of-reference" in greg's method; no "guessing" involved. it has worked for me for my entire career, and i can't tell you how many catchers (and batters for that matter) have complimented me on my outside call coverage. (thanks again, greg.) the primary advantage of greg's method is that it forces the umpire to be consistent in his strike zone, and that's all anybody ever asks or needs. the two pitches called strikes in the 2:44 - 3:00 time range. i would really like to have seen those from overhead (like at 2:32). overhead camera angle is always the definitive angle for strike v. off-the-plate. without the overhead angle, we are left to guess... it also appears to me that the pitches called "balls" involved more catcher's mitt movement compared to the "strike" calls. the real-time pitch at 6:30. greg's method had me seeing that pitch CLEARLY crossing the inside line of the left-hander's batter's box. (CHALK!! BALL!!). and thanks for the overhead angle to confirm. as for the batter who swings and strikes out at 9:10. i have NEVER understood the theory that a call on a previous pitch influences what a batter does on a subsequent pitch. (the pitch he swings at for strike three is clearly higher and more outside than the pitch called a strike.) i think that school of thought is making excuses for a lack of discipline at the plate. it sounds good as an announcer, but the good hitters know better. (again, where is the coaching...) all in all, a good video. it's as much a good training video for us umps as for the catchers... and coaches... 8

Wow nice video

That catcher was the first pick in the first round of the MLB Draft - for a good reason...

its looks exactly like a strike since there was a good frame

That strike looks perfect from that angle. I'll give kids that outside pitch if their catcher can do that.

ball. Its just guessing based on perspective, its hard to make those calls and be right as an ump, i know from experience,.

As an umpire, I'm always very aware of who my catchers are, and when they are batting. Some umpires will protect a good catcher who's been protecting him. Close calls on called third strikes can be called a bit different if you got a guy who's been a stud back there all game.

I called it ball, but also I’m an umpire for youth/junior baseball so maybe gives me a bit of an advantage

The 6:33 pitch I called a ball it looked like it missed the plate and was in between the plate and the batters box line (I havent heard the actual result yet btw)

As a catcher I believe one of my strong suits is receiving. I am 13 and have worked on it a lot. And even with that this still helped.

ball his glove looks off the plate p.s I'm a 12u catcher and all this helps

I had a ball, but if I was focusing more on up or down then it wouldn't have been as easy to see. I genuinely couldn't have told you the height of that pitch. Seems like you could track one or the other at a time.

Nice vid I’m playing b-ball right now I’m highschool

called it a ball also when the catcher brings that ball back it is a tip off the catcher thought it was a ball too

ball I thought it was like 3 inches of the plate but it was actually really close. like 1 or 2 off

I honestly thought that looked like a strike. The camera lens was probably a wider angle lens than I assumed. No wonder you can’t find video footage of this in LL. The damn thing is so complicated, it would take a somewhat more mature mind to even just understand it, not to mention lots & lots of practice so the necessary motion comes out without thinking when under pressure in games.

ball edit: sweet I’m right!

I love baseball

The catcher has the best view of the strike zone of anyone on the field. I’ve always thought that if they felt the need to move their glove after receiving the pitch that they thought it was a ball. For those outside pitches, the ball has to catch part of the plate (from the perspective of the umpire) for it to be a strike. Looking across the strike zone from the perspective of the ump set up in the slot, of an outside pitch doesn’t catch the plate, it’s further outside than you would normally think

That catcher went first overall in the draft

Cudos also goes to the catcher for just tossing back the close ones that were balls right away with the umps clear view... this will also play into the ump calling in his favor when he's framing that outside pitched with blocked view as "he's been honest all game with me"

the cbest teacher ever

First was left vs left

I saw ball it was right on the white line but it was a pretty good frame job especially for a high school ump or a shitty ump in general.

Is it weird that i felt like “are you in good hand” should’ve been said right at the end of the video

It was really close but I said ball just because of the location of we’re the ball was recieved by the catcher

At the highest levels I umpire that's a ball, lower levels and age a strike all day. On an outside pitch, I always judge by the amount of daylight between the ball and the outside edge of the plate (on a fast ball), or the outside edge of your zone that day (1 ball width, 2 ball widths, etc.) I like to think that framing, receiving, pulling has no effect on me, but very borderline pitches, perhaps. At 4:21 he rings up the catcher on a 0-2 borderline pitch, perhaps was a strike, but as an ump, I have somewhat of a tighter zone for the catchers, you have to, ya sure I may call a borderline strike on him, but I'm only ringing him up on a no doubt strike, anything borderline will be a ball

He’s in the MLB now 😂

Ball Edit: Holy crap that was really close though at the angle it looked like it crossed the plate

Catcher and umpire: you can set your batter side leg more extended and lean then while recieving the pitch get more balanced without changing glove it is very hard to notice as the umpire is looking at the ball and glove so the glove doesn't move but the pitch looks like it came more over the plate than it did.

Ball because the catcher moves the ball slightly to make it look either strike or ball, but I saw the ball outside by about an inch or two.

I said ball because I'm a catcher and I know this trick. I always tell my pitcher on the first pitch of the game to wait until I'm looking at him to deliver. I look away when he comes set to see if the umpire is in the slot or directly behind me. If he's in the slot, I steal outside pitches all day.

"closing your stance off to the ump" is often a bad technique, as it shows the ump that you're having to "turn" a bit to reach further outside than the strike zone.. a catcher should always work to stay as square as he can, or at least minimize upper body movement/shoulder-turn when receiving the pitch.. very good point made early in the video though about not "sticking" or framing pitches that are obvious balls.. by just catching and throwing back balls, and only sticking strikes, you can sort of "train" the umpire to call strikes when you stick it, which will help as well... Receiving out front as far as possible helps "center" the ball a bit as well.. but don't sacrifice shoulder turn for reaching further out.. it's an art, but an easy one to master if you focus on it and work hard on framing, sticking, and umpire management

This guy is so underrated Btw I got ball

Strike is what I said first then the next angle I just felt stupid because it was clearly a ball 😂

Yeeeeeeeeet!

Yay got it right it was a ball I am a catcher my self though

Strike because Adley Rutchman is a great catcher

Got it

I always wonder how they can see that pitch on the corner when they're in the "slot."

I bet this kid will be good one day. Maybe 2023 Silver Slugger and All-MLB Team🤷‍♂️

I said ball, and I'm typing before watching the rest of the video. It looks off the plate, but if you think about how far the catcher moved his glove to frame it into the strike zone, it has to be off the plate.

I said strike..it looked like it caught part of the front of the plate. Soooo Tom Glavin had the best catchers lolol

I called ball, but I didn’t honestly think it was almost over the line in the opposite box.

It’s a strike because if you refer the the edge of the plate, you are basically painting the black. As a catcher that is painting the black.

i was at both of these games and it was so sad at the end of the game

I called ball but it was way further outside than I saw it from the ump cam

Ball outside?

It was a ball. However the strike was called because the catcher framed the pitch (moved the ball back into the strike zone).

it looks like a ball edit: I KNEW IT!!!

Ball?

striiiiiiiiiike!

I got it right, ball

outside, ball. framed well.

ball for sure

I'd say a ball based on where it is when it gets to the front edge of the plate

Mannnn ohhh mannn I cant wait for the Orioles to take him number 1 this year his defense is top notch but his bat is insane

From that view

Strike is what I thought of

I called it a ball because non of the catchers glove got the plate, but I can see how it could be called a strike because of the angle the umpire has

it looked like a clear ball to me, but i wasn’t under the same pressure so...

As an Umpire, there is a very simple solution to this. If I cannot see the pitch because the catcher is blocking my view I am calling it a ball. Want me to call a strike? Show me the pitch.

ARKANSAS MY BOYS

I called it ball but the angle could be deceiving

As an umpire, when I see a catcher move the glove back over the plate you know it's an obvious ball!

Strike all day long coming from a pitchers umpire

Ball

Ball looked barely outside. Yay I got it!

it looks like a ball because you can see his glove move into the strike zone clearly

I think it’s a ball but the catcher is a good framer

This just makes me sad as an Arkansas fan because I have to remember the loss.

I was correct with ball but that’s a tough call

Strike