Tools of Ignorance

My vote for first Kansas City Royal to go downhill is catcher Sal Perez.  The man is a magnet for foul balls.  If Perez changed professions to become an NHL goalie, he’d face less contact and have more padding.  In game one of the World Series, a foul ball caught Perez in his throwing hand (why he had it resting against his right thigh is a question for another day).  You could actually see the hand swell up.  How Perez stayed in the game is beyond me.

That catchers can hit at all is a miracle.  Between the foul tips and the crouching and plays at the plate, they’re lucky to be able to walk to the plate, let alone swing at the ball.  The two best all-around catchers I’ve seen are Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina.  If Rodriguez, with his rocket throws and considerable pop, didn’t do steroids, he belongs in the Hall of Fame.  Molina is another good candidate for Cooperstown.  Yes, I’d take either of them in their prime to Carleton Fisk (average arm at best) and Johnny Bench (super arm, mediocre pitch-calling).

In college, I tried catching one day when I worked at a summer camp; it was not a pretty sight.  My, those little tykes swung the bat awfully close to my head.  I kept watching for the bat, which led to a lot of passed balls.  Thank God nobody thought to steal.

Clare always wanted to catch, until she did.  She put gear on one day when she was in Pony ball, and I threw to her; she didn’t like how some of my shorter pitches bounced up and hit her in the thighs.  That was it until college, when she filled in at practice now and then to help warm up pitchers; either Coach trusted in her athletic abilities or didn’t much care if the team’s all-time homerun hitter broke a finger in February.  Now, Clare warms up pitchers all the time at Valpo.  If nothing else, it helps pay the freight.  At least there aren’t any batters or foul balls or base stealers or knuckle balls or sliders in the dirt to worry about.