why arent catchers better hitters?

Question

so i've always wondered..why aren't catchers better hitters? i mean, they are catching 100+ pitches a game with sometimes a lot of movement. shouldn't they be a lot better than what they really are? i know they don't know whats coming when they bat, but i just feel seeing the ball come in for 2 hours should help your hitting game somewhat.

Answer 1

They don't practice hitting as much because they don't need to hit. They just need them to catch he is like a pitcher but pitchers never practice there hitting. That's why catchers that can hit are the most valuable players in baseball.

Answer 2

There are a couple of reasons...

1. Simply catchers don't need to hit much. Hitting from a catcher always has been considered a bonus

2. Wear and tear...all those squats, foul tips, collisions at the plate take a toll on the legs knees and hands....

3. Most importantly though is....all growing up, great hitters are moved away from catcher. Catchers in little league are the worst athletes on the team, by far....usually high school too. The great hitters are moved to 1st, SS, OF...
Even in the Big leagues, many good to great hitting catchers were moved off the position...Torre, Victor Martinez, Biggio, Gil Hodges, Brian Downing...come quickly to mind. No sense risking a great hitters season, or career on a foul tip...or a home plate run-in...

4. Concentration...hitting well in the big leagues takes concentration and focus...the hitters spend the pre-game meeting thinking about how to hit off a guy..the catcher thinks about how to get the other guys out...during the game, the hitters are thinking about their last AB, and the next one..the catchers thinking about calling a game..

Add 'em up...there's your answer.

Answer 3

yah for all of those who say that mauer or soto or russell martin are better than yadier molina dont know what all goes into being a catcher. And I would like them to watch the game between the cards and the fish last night and then tell me that he isnt the best catcher in the league, RIGHT NOW. Not only did he burn two guys on the basepaths, one that was crucial in the 9th inning to keep the cardinals on top, he also hit a clutch two run homer. The pitch he threw the runner out on in the ninth was a terrible pitch and the runner was over halfway to the bag before yadi let go of the ball, and he threw an absolute dart to get him. everyone was in disbelief at what he did. He consistently keeps runners glued to first base for fear that they will get picked off, and until yesterday, I havent seen a team run on him in weeks. He is that feared. And it used to be that anything he did on offense was a bonus, but now he has been batting over .300 for a few months now, and since he went under alberts wing he is hitting the ball with authority, to all fields, and has been a doubles machine as of late. He is definitely a top 3 all around catcher in the league, with the sky being the limit, but there is no doubt that he is the best defensive catcher in the league. Russell Martin won a gold glove and then he lead the league in errors.....all b/c he had good offensive stats the year before.

Answer 4

Well, I would disagree with you. History AND current rosters are full of great hitting catchers. When one seems to be not so productive, the primary reason is that after having foul balls ricochet off his hands all season, catching in a squat all season and so not being able to outrun grounders, and spending so much time on catching fundamentals, just holding the bat is hard. Lugging that equipment around all year wears on a guy too. Despite that, look at the careers of Yogi Berra, Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, and a host of others and you'll see that catchers can hit, man!

Answer 5

Because if you really think about it when a team is on defense the catcher and the pitcher are ones woking their butt of!The bending for numerous pitches and throwing...Like others said coaches tell them to focus on catching not hitting, thats why you see most of them a liitle overwight or bigger in size! Current great catchers....Victor Martinez 30 plus homers, plus 100 RBI'S best last season Indians...Jorge Posada great las t season.......Ivan Rodriguez.Detroit Tigers....Paul Lo Duca...Mets and the HJOhn McCann for the BRaves great hitter and Bengie Molina from the Giants...there you great hitters and exceptional catchers!!

Answer 6

Catchers aarent that bad hitters. Look at pug rodriguez, and so many other catchers that are good in the batting spot. They dont run fast at all thats for sure but they can do some hitting.

Answer 7

because catching is a hard job so manages coaches look for catchers to be good catchers worry less about hitting also yrs of up and down crouching messes up knees which makes it harder to beat out grounders

That said some catchers are awesome hitters johnny bench comes to mind jorge posada there are others

Answer 8

Who said there could be some good hitting catchers, but really in baseball the thing that you need in baseball is speed. Even through baseball is not a fast paced sport, but if you want to get on base, you have to be fast, you can't take your time, and the same for the people on the field. Somebody will end up messing up on thier job, and you hope that it is not you, and the other person. But speed is the name of the game in baseball. So you have to be fast.

Answer 9

the catcher position is THE most important position on the field. those guys take an absolute beating behind the plate for several years before they even make it to the big leagues. if a team has a guy in their system that they peg as a good bat and a mediocre catcher they switch him to another position in order to elongate his career. true catchers are a rare breed and you can probably count the really good ones in the majors on one hand. they arent there to put runs on the board, they are there to keep runs off it.

Answer 10

Hitting is hand/eye cooridination. There are 2 primary reasons. Most of a catchers time is spent away from a batting cage. That plus the fact that their knees are shot after a few years leads to poor averages..