A Baseball Catcher's Equipment

Function

• The catcher is allowed to use a specially padded mitt, primarily to enable them to catch pitches thrown at high speeds. The pounding a catcher would take on their hands would be too much with a regular fielder's glove, so the catcher's mitt is designed to absorb the impact of the baseball. They have evolved over the years from a bulky round mitt with extra padding and no individual fingers into a version that is hinged and flexible with a webbing designed to snag pitches and throws. It is also used to block pitches in the dirt so that runners cannot advance a base.

Significance

• The chest protector of a catcher is full of foam or a gel to absorb the shock of the ball, but it allows the catcher to be able to move about freely. Chest protectors are hinged and the foam is designed so that the ball will not rebound long distances from the catcher when it hits the protector. The modern versions are a far cry from the cumbersome ones worn long ago. They are form-fitting and cover the upper body and abdomen. They also are made so that they are lightweight and come with shoulder guards, a feature that was missing in the old gear. The many foul tips that come off of bats would severely injure a catcher without this piece of equipment.

Features

• The catcher's mask is a crucial piece of equipment. At one time, the mask was made up of leather and metal that was held on with fabric straps, with the catcher peering through metal bars at the pitcher. Modern catcher's masks are almost the same as a hockey goalie's, composed of fiberglass that surrounds the entire head and with bars that a ball cannot penetrate. The extra protection in the back of the head is appreciated if a batter swings and hits the catcher by accident in the head with the backswing. Some catcher's masks come with a flap that hangs down and protects the throat from foul tips. With all the safety improvements made to catcher's masks, some still opt to wear the older version.

Considerations

• The catcher also wears shin guards made of hard materials to keep the catcher safe from wild pitches that bounce off the legs, foul tips, and collisions with baserunners trying to score. The shin guards actually extend from the bottom of the thighs, over the knees and down the shin to the foot. These guards will come with special knee-saving pads to give the catcher some comfort when they are squatting and kneeling. In addition to this protection, the catcher will wear an athletic cup to protect the groin area from the bounces of the baseball.

Expert Insight

• Even with all this equipment, a catcher will receive numerous injuries over the course of the season. Foul tips inevitably find the catcher's free hand, which they will try to keep out of the line of fire as they receive a pitch. Balls off the bat straight back will hit the catcher square in the mask and "rattle their cage," with some finding whatever spot isn't covered with equipment. Violent home plate collisions are not uncommon, with catchers often exposed as they try to come up with a throw to tag out the runner. The injuries a catcher is subject to led the catcher's equipment to be labeled the "tools of ignorance."