Catcher - Injury

Injury

The catcher is the most physically demanding position in baseball, more so than the pitcher. Despite being heavily padded, catchers routinely suffer some of the worst physical abuse in baseball. The catcher has the physically risky job of blocking the plate to prevent base runners from reaching home and scoring runs. Catchers also constantly get bruised and battered by pitches, foul balls, and occasionally the bat in an undisciplined follow-through of the batter's swing.

Catchers also are prone to knee ailments stemming from the awkward crouching stance they assume. Because of this, catchers have a reputation of being slow baserunners; even if they have speed at the beginning of their careers, the eventual toll taken on their knees slows them down, although there are some exceptions, such as Manny Sanguillén. Some players who begin their career as catchers are moved to other positions in order to preserve their running speed, increase their availability for games, and take advantage of their prowess with the bat. Prominent examples of catchers switching position in mid-career include Craig Biggio, B.J. Surhoff, and Dale Murphy (although Murphy was also known as a poor thrower to the pitcher and to second base, nearly hitting pitchers in the process).

Catchers often have shorter careers than players at other positions; consequently, few catchers hold batting records that require many seasons of play to compile. Mike Piazza is the only catcher in history with more than four hundred career home runs, and no catcher has amassed three thousand career hits. (Although 3000-hit-club member Craig Biggio played his first three full seasons as a catcher, he played his remaining sixteen seasons at second base and in the outfield.)

The larger or heavier the catcher, the greater the health risks associated with repeatedly assuming a crouching or squatting position; knees and backs are especially vulnerable to "wear-and-tear" injuries. Catchers also have an increased risk of circulatory abnormalities in the catching hand. A study of minor-league ballplayers showed that, of 36 players in various positions, all nine of the catchers had hand pain during a game, and several had chronic pain in the catching hand. Catching high-speed pitches can, in some cases, cause the index finger on the gloved hand to swell to twice the size of the other fingers. Ultrasound and blood-pressure tests showed altered blood flow in the gloved hand of five of the catchers, a far higher incidence than in the hands of players at other baseball positions.