Bullpen catchers are the men in a baseball game who have the responsibility of warming up the relief pitchers in the bullpen. Most of these catchers are anonymous to baseball fans and the sports media, never getting a baseball card with them (even when the mascot sometimes does!), yet they do impact the overall experience at a baseball game. in ways most people don’t recognize. While their primary duty is to warm up relief pitchers during a game, there are many other things bullpen catchers do while serving in what some consider a “gifty” role for the team. Here are some things they do to contribute:
- Many teams carry only two catchers, with another fielder being the “emergency” catcher. Ideally, the team manager wants to have all of their backup catchers ready to be used in the event of a pinch hit, pinch run (although there are VERY few catchers that are used as pinch runners!), injury, or simply assisting the pitching coach. evaluate the performance of a pitcher. The bullpen catcher frees up the manager to keep all of his catchers available for use during a game by replacing the need for one of the backup catchers to be in the bullpen.
- Occasionally, the bullpen catcher will be called to duty before a game to catch the opening pitch by the person honored. He is often called in to escort and warm up that person to make sure he makes a decent attempt to throw in front of the crowd.
- During pregame batting practice, the bullpen catcher will share the load with the other catchers from the pitchers’ warmups who need to pitch on their respective “days off.” Each pitching coach gives their pitchers a specific pitching program and routine. It is in these practice sessions that pitchers work on their mechanics and fine-tune their pitches. Other drills include the “Towel Drills”, “Flat Throws”, “Long Throws” and other specific drills for pitchers.
- After working with the pitchers, many bullpen catchers are asked to pitch the remainder of batting practice or work with the hitters on “Flip Toss” or other hitting drills.
- A bullpen catcher, if he’s caught for many years, can also be a de facto “psychologist” in the bullpen. Relief pitchers are stereotyped as crazy, mentally unbalanced, etc. While this isn’t necessarily a true stereotype, though I’ve met my share of some wild men in the bullpen (!), a pitcher’s ability to trust his bullpen catcher’s feedback is an important part of a pitcher’s success. be ready to enter a game. Barry Zito and Houston Street, in an August 2006 article by an MLB.com writer, mention that they rely on their bullpen catcher’s experience to help them prepare (http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/ news/article.jsp?ymd=20060817&content_id=1615561&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak)
- Between innings, if the bullpen is located along the foul lines of the field, it will often warm up one of the outfielders. The outfielders carry two balls between innings, with one being shared between two of the outfielders to keep loose. The other is thrown between the left fielder (or right fielder depending on which side the bullpen is located) and the bullpen catcher to help the outfielder stay loose.
- If a bullpen is located along the foul lines, and one of the other catchers is catching a particular pitcher, the bullpen catcher will stand behind the pitcher to protect him in case a hard line hit into the bullpen. .
A bullpen receiver can also fill multiple roles off the field:
- Provide post-game lessons for the kids when the other players are in the clubhouse.
- Appearing in uniform for various local charity events or events with an emphasis on children.
- Help the team with their marketing efforts, especially at the lower levels of the minor leagues.
- Work with the pitching coach to determine ways to help pitchers improve.
- Help set up the costumes before opening day. Yes, this really happens!
- Assist the General Manager with promotions on and off the field
In all, the bullpen catcher does a lot of unrecognized work. Plus, he sometimes ends up catching (and returning) more pitches and warm-up shots (between pregame practice and in the bullpen) than the starting catcher. If you want to brighten a player’s day, find out who their team’s bullpen catcher is, send them an autograph request, and chances are you’ll get one faster than any other request. And if you meet your team’s bullpen catcher in July, August or September, remember that it may take a few seconds longer for him to raise his arm to shake your hand. All those pitches take their toll!
