On this edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, Mark Simon ( @MarkASimonSays)asks the question – how can we measure catchers beyond pitch blocking, pitch framing, and caught stealing? Longtime former MLB catcher Bengie Molina (@BengieMolina1) , now a Spanish-language radio broadcaster for the Cardinals, tries to help us out.
Bengie talks about the different factors that come into play for a catcher (0:57) and the different personality types he dealt with from Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn (5:32). He explains how you deal with stubborn pitchers and how he worked with the pitchers he got along with best (7:50). He also relays how things can change for a catcher in the walk back to home plate after a conference at the mound, using Yadier Molina in Game 7 of the NLCS against the Mets as an example (11:45).He offers his take on the difficulties of being a rookie catcher (14:32) and bridging the language gap by encouraging all catchers to be bilingual (16:12).
He talks about why he likes watching Buster Posey, Salvador Perez, and his brother Yadier so much (19:24). He also discusses what he would say to someone who wants to catch like a Molina (22:12), how difficult it is to deal with foul tips off the mask (23:08), and how important it is to factor in umpires when calculating framing metrics (26:13).
Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to rate and review. Stay safe and stay well.
