Calling all current and/or baseball players

[ThatKidNamedTae]

What's up guys. So I've been playing baseball since about the 4th grade and I've played 2nd base my whole life. Well I'm in the 10th grade now and I made the varsity baseball team for my highschool back in October at fall tryouts. So after that in fall training, I lost out the battle at 2nd to this kid Bryan, which had me assume I would be cut or something. But then the coach told me that he felt he needed my "big bat" (people tell me I can really hit, I feel more eh about it though) and that he would like me to play catcher. Now I'm all for doing what helps the team, but catcher is a different story. The first position I ever played was catcher and that lasted all of 2 games. So I told him that I'm not sure how it work out and that I actually prefer to not be the catcher. He then told me it's either catcher or DH, but he mentioned that college recruiters prefer multi-talented players opposed o those who can only hit. He gave me the winter to think about it and I've been confused. So does anyone here have advice? Played Catcher? Gone through a basically forced position change? All advice is welcome

[YogiGarebear89]

Hey man I'm in 9th grade I've been playing baseball for awhile, and I was really good (I played third and pitched) but my passion was at third but was forced to pitch as well.
It's just one of those things where you have to try new things if you like them or not. When you said you had played catcher before, I'm assuming if you were to go out and try it some more, get a feel for it, you may have a new respect for it.

If you chose DH so be it, better be cranking those home runs though haha jk

[countryboy]

I played baseball from Little League through College. My advice, do what helps the team. I played varsity baseball all 4 years of high school. I pitched and played first base throughout my entire career. In my Senior year, we had a freshman join the varsity baseball team that was a kid that could hit and played first base. While first base had been mine for three seasons, I was asked to move to the outfield because he couldn't play any other positions (picture a high school version of Prince Fielder) While I wasn't a fan of the outfield, I made the move because one it was what was best for the team and two, I knew that playing multi positions plus being a left handed pitcher would potentially open more avenues for me at the next level and beyond.

Anyways, play catcher. You never know. This kid may not work out at 2nd base once the season gets going and you'll move back. But if you have dreams of playing in college and beyond, don't limit your abilities. Play catcher and be the best darn catcher there can be.

Good luck

[8]

I played from 5 yrs old through college. Sounds like you don't have much of a choice. You could DH, but unless you're going to hit a ton of HR's or have a crazy high BA a college probably won't look at you.

Like CB said, maybe the kid doesn't work out at 2B and they'll need you.

The more positions you're capable of playing the more valuable you are to your team. As a kid I played SS and pitched, to get on my first serious travel team at 13 years old I moved to outfield (SS and 2B were sons of the coaches). High School I started in CF and in college I started at 2B and played some OF when needed.

One thing is for sure, you don't want to be 10 years down the road and wonder "what if". Hope that helps and good luck with whatever you decide.

[Watson]

Play catcher. Your first thought should always be of the team. If they need you to play catcher, you play catcher.

I played 3rd base from T-ball to the start of my junior year. I really loved it and honestly wasn't half bad. I was far from the best player on the team, but I like to think I played my position the best. The coach's son was a sophomore and he wanted to play 3rd, so I got moved to splitting time between RF and bullpen, eventually winning a closer spot.

To this day I'm still sour about getting moved from 3rd, because I may have developed enough skill and plate discipline to get a college offer, but that year we made a run deep into the playoffs, so as a whole I guess it worked, and I really enjoyed being the guy who got the ball in the top of the 7th inning.

With that said, 3rd base may be the Hot Corner, but I always thought of catching as the hardest position to learn. Your Sophomore year will be a long learning experience. But if you can nail it down and keep raking, you should be able to find a college who wants you, and more importantly contribute to your team.

[Majingir]

Play a position, even if you're not great defensively, if you're good enough offensively, the defensive struggles might just get passed on abit. Look at MLB, there's many players who make a team just because of how they can hit(even though they're not good defensively) and also guys who make teams cause they're good defensively but can't really hit.

Sure, multitalented players would be preferred over one who is just good at offense or defense, but you never know what some places might look for. Lets say someone rates you 10/10 on offense and 5/10 on defense. Depending what they're looking for,they might even prefer that over someone who is 7/10 on offense and 7/10 on defense.

[ab713]

Take one for the team and catch. Picking C or DH will leave you in pretty much the same situation as far as scouts go, meaning they are going to have reservations either way.

If you play catcher and that is not your primary position, scouts are going to know by watching you. If you DH, they will look at your physical build and gauge which positions your build would be most suited for. If your build is smaller, this could negatively affect you as it could indicate that you are a DH because someone else can play a primary position more affectively.

In either case, if you have aspirations of playing at a higher level, your offense will play a HUGE role.

[redsox4evur]

OK granted I never played HS ball or do I play in college. But in Little League I caught. It wasn't bad, but when I hit the Babe Ruth size diamond, I couldn't make the throw quick enough from behind the plate. Playing catcher ain't all that bad. And I was reading Blake Swihart's player profile, on MLB.com's top 100 prospect page. Some background on him: he is a catcher in the Red Sox system and the top catching prospect in all of baseball. Funny story he didn't start playing catcher until the summer before his senior year of HS.

Some tips for you are go to some baseball camps and learn how to play behind the plate, also get to know the pitchers on your team, and talk with the coach about who should be calling the game (meaning calling the pitches). In HS I would have to guess the coaches are calling them. Also as far as a big bat at the catcher position, that is very uncommon. You look who is the last 25-30 hr catcher, I think it's either Ivan Rodriguez or Mike Piazza. So all in all take one for the team and move behind the plate.