Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Catcher fields chance to call shots
BASEBALL: Jason Green is responsible for stopping 90mph
fastballs, avoiding collisions at the plate and reading the
minds
of batters … not to mention calling all the pitches
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
Five out of six teams in the Six-Pac have their coaches call the
pitches. Guess which is the one team that trusts their catchers
with the duty of pitch calling? If you said UCLA, you’re
correct.
The Bruin coaches believe that allowing junior Jason Green,
UCLA’s starting catcher, to call the pitches helps him and the
pitchers learn how to play baseball.
Green has to take into account a large number of factors,
starting with the pitcher’s strength. Then he also has to consider
the hitter’s weakness. He also has to keep track of the umpire’s
strike zone for that day – not to mention the fact Green must keep
an amiable relationship with the umpire in order to get better
calls. Then he must watch how the team is playing the batter
defensively. And finally he must check if the wind is blowing in a
particular direction.
"(With so many things to deal with) that’s where you need a guy
like Jason that can think," UCLA assistant coach Brian Criss said.
"You just can’t give him hard and fast rules and say, ‘These are
the only rules you’re going to use when calling a game.’"
UCLA actually has three other catchers that can think in Green:
senior Casey Cloud and two freshmen in Forrest Johnson III and Adam
Berry. But Green and Cloud were the two catchers truly contesting
for the job in the beginning of the season.
And now with Green batting .343 and Cloud batting .193, the UCLA
coaching staff made a decision to go with Green not because he can
call a better game behind the plate but because of his attributes
while at the plate.
"It was a hitting thing," UCLA head coach Gary Adams said. "I
like both of them as catchers. Casey actually has more experience
at calling the game and pitches, but Jason is gaining ground day by
day in that area."
During the platoon stage of the season when the catching
position was still up for grabs, Green came to the field ready to
play every day. Then, suddenly Green’s name started popping up more
often in the lineup card and before he knew it the job was his to
lose.
There was no Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan situation. Jeff
Gilhooly wasn’t hired to strike Cloud on the knee. But while there
is no animosity between the two, a competitive spirit remains.
"Casey and I are friends," Green said. "We both wanted to go out
and play, and we’re both capable of doing it … But it wasn’t it
like we weren’t friendly toward each other."
Green still learns a lot every time he catches, because he had
no experience whatsoever as a catcher when he came to UCLA.
In high school he played outfield and third base, plus he did a
little pitching. While being recruited to UCLA, Adams slightly
hinted at the possibility that Green might become a catcher.
Believe it or not, Green actually looked forward to the
possibility of catching 90 mph fastballs and 80 mph sliders.
Green jokes that his lack of speed suits him as a catcher, but
the ability to have a deep impact in every part of the game is what
attracted him to the position.
"I was happy because I always wanted to catch, but in high
school I used to pitch more, so they would never have me catch,"
Green said. "It’s great. You’re in every play. I couldn’t ask for a
better position. I think it suits me perfectly, and I was glad he
made the decision to put me there."
About the only complaint Green has about catching is that it’s
the most demanding position in baseball. There is a lot of
squatting and blocking going on. Balls fly off the arms and hit the
bones.
Collisions at the plate are also in the job description. Against
Portland State this weekend, Green jumped for a high Eric Byrnes
throw from right field, and a Viking player hit Green’s feet and
dropped him to the ground.
"Every time I look I have a bruise on my leg or on my arms,"
Green said. "It goes weekend by weekend. Sometimes you have a good
weekend without getting too many bumps and bruises, and then
sometimes it seems every little thing hits you where it hurst the
most."
Catching is also mentally draining because of the need to
balance hitting and pitching.
Green has meetings with Criss, the coach in charge of catchers,
and UCLA pitching coach Tim Leary before every game. They talk
about how to attack each batter and what pitches to call in certain
situations.
At the same time, Green has to concentrate on his hitting.
"The main factor is not taking the last at-bat out on the field
with you," Green said. "You have to be constantly in the game. You
can’t relax and think about your last at-bat because you could make
a bad pitch call or a bad defensive play … That’s one thing I’ve
noticed about catching."
Criss notes that Green has a natural feel for the game.
"He’s got as good instincts behind the plate as any catcher I’ve
ever been around. He calls good pitches most of the time, and he’s
right a majority of the time when guessing what the other team is
going to do."
Prime examples of this guessing include a pitchout he called
against Arizona that led to the runner being caught stealing and a
throw he made Friday to catch a runner from Portland State who
drifted a little too far from first.
Green has also learned how to get into a rhythm with his
pitchers. Although pitchers are allowed to shake him off, Green’s
pitch calls are usually the final word.
"I think Jason has improved as much from this point last year to
where he is now as good as anybody I’ve seen in my time as a
college coach," Criss said.
"I’m talking specifically defensively. He’s done some things
back there that we really weren’t sure about in the beginning of
the year."
With only four games left, all the doubts the coaching staff had
at the beginning of the year are gone.
Green, UCLA’s thinking man, has more than fulfilled all of their
expectations.
UCLA Sports Information
Junior Jason Green calls the pitches as starting catcher for the
Bruins.