Say hello to Charlie O’Brien, the 36-year-old White Sox catcher who has been around the block a few times. Like most catchers, he isn’t big with the stick–a .222 career batting average–but he knows all there is to know, and more, about the art of catching.
It isn’t quite accurate to say he was born to catch. First, he had to climb out of his crib. He put on the tools of ignorance (a terrible misnomer) at the age of 5 in Tulsa, when he was tagging along with his older brother, Tom.
He wanted to be a catcher because he liked putting on a chest protector and shin guards. And because Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame receiver, was his favorite player. O’Brien broke a finger in the 8th grade but has been injury-free since. In his 16 years as a professional, he has never been on the disabled list, a remarkable achievement considering the hazards of the profession.
The White Sox are his fifth big-league club. He has caught 10 Cy Young Award winners: (in alphabetical order) Steve Bedrosian, Roger Clemens, David Cone, Tom Glavine, Dwight Gooden, Pat Hentgen, Greg Maddux, Bret Saberhagen, John Smoltz and Frank Viola.
Defense is the name of his game, which is unfortunate because there are no significant defensive stats for catchers, so most fans are unable to comprehend their excellence. Only O’Brien’s teammates, especially the pitchers and his managers, are aware of his value.
O’Brien says the three crucial elements for a catcher are calling a good game, throwing out would-be base stealers and blocking pitches in the dirt.
O’Brien is among the best in either league at blocking pitches. No one has an accurate tab on how many pitches are in the dirt. The general belief is that, in an average game, as many as 10 pitches come in one bounce. The general estimate is that most big-league catchers will block at least eight.
“It’s the most underrated play of the game,” O’Brien says. With men on base, any base, the blocked pitch usually goes unnoticed–not by the players but by the fans. If the ball gets by the catcher, the runner or runners advance. In the late innings, with the tying or winning run on third, it often means the difference between victory or defeat.
“That’s what I do best,” O’Brien says. “I’m proud of that.”
The emergence of the split-fingered fastball, which used to be known as the forkball, is the most difficult to handle, just as it is the most difficult to hit. The fastball, sinking or rising, is the easiest because it doesn’t have a big break. However, when it comes in low, the degree of difficulty is enormous because when it bounces it can skid away from the best receivers.
According to O’Brien, the curveball is a comparative piece of cake. There are two reasons for this: It isn’t thrown as hard, and when it’s in the dirt, it usually has an upward bounce.
An outstanding defensive catcher such as O’Brien helps in other more subtle ways. For instance if a pitcher has confidence in his batterymate, he knows that even if he throws the ball in the dirt, his catcher will block it.
This knowledge is important, especially to a knuckleballer or any pitcher who relies principally on his breaking stuff. With a 3-2 count, for example, knuckleballers aren’t going to go to their fastball, which most likely is their most ineffective pitch. So they are comfortable with their knuckler or any other specialty serve.
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O’Brien says the young catchers should constantly be improving their defensive skills. He finds it amusing that the catcher, like any other hitter, gets only four at-bats a game on average. But unlike the hitter, the catcher is involved in as many as 125 pitching decisions.
“We all know it’s more fun to hit,” O’Brien says. “But if you’re a catcher, blocking balls in the dirt an hour a day is lot more important.”
O’Brien says when he was younger his pitch selection wasn’t always the best and this may have cost his club as many five or six losses a season. He still blames himself for at least one loss during each season.
“You have to call for the right pitch in every situation,” he says. “You can’t guess. It’s your responsibility to know.”
His advice to neophyte catchers is simple: “Catch as many games as you can.”