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- Jan 13, 2001
Bo55 - i think in many ways you just made MY point even more. For one thing though, not all teams call the game from the dugout - if we're talking aboutthe best catchers (although it's a lost art and these guys are rare nowadays), most of those catchers are very much in charge of the game, defensively. Andwhether they're hitting 250 or not, they're still hitting at a major league level AND being major league catchers.. two incredibly difficult,completely different things - it's rare that a guy can master one of those things, these guys have to have both.
A catcher is always throwing to an undefended target without the threat that his throw might be intercepted and could potentially cost his team points. Most often, a catcher is called upon to throw a runner out at second and there are not many guys in baseball who are going to score on an overthrow to second. Typically, they advance to third and the score does not change.
Here you speak as though it's just a cake walk throwing the ball from home to 2nd on a rope and getting a runner out... thats it's somesort of easy throw. Trust, throwing a ball from home to second, maybe even from your knees sometimes, is a much tougher throw than 95 percent of the passes quarterback will make during the average game.
BUT - this is only a part of the reason catchers even matter - their more important use is in keeping balls from getting past them.. you know how tough it isto block and control a major league pitchers throw? It's an artform and takes years of practice to master.
Additionally, whereas the QB has to remember dozens of plays, each receiver's and back's alignment and pattern, a catcher need only remember the types of pitches his current pitcher is able to throw. Most starting pitchers have about 3 good pitches: A fastball, an off-speed pitch, and a pitch with movement (curve, splitter, slider). Some have a couple more, but the catcher has nowhere near the number of things to remember that a QB does.
Simply having to know more doesn't mean it's tougher to play that position. Intelligence shouldn't be the key attribute here whentalking about athletics, especially considering there's only about 4 quarterbacks in the world right now that are even capable of making it through theirprogressions on a regular basis - most offenses are so dumbed down because there's a complete lack of intelligent QB's these days. Even pro bowlerslike Big Ben rarely make it to their third option before breaking the play down and scrambling out of the pocket.
I'm not saying playing QB is easy, but the things asked of you physically are not nearly as difficult as a catcher, imo.