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When a pitcher and a catcher play together on the same team, the catcher ends up being able to spot pitches much better than he would against a pitcher he was familiar with. (This can be seen in the All Star Game for example, where the catcher looks nowhere near as comfortable as normal receiving the pitch).

If either player traded to another team, and ended up facing each other, would the catcher have an advantage when batting as he would be able to spot the pitches much better than a batter who might only face the pitcher a handful of times over the year?

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A catcher definitely could have an advantage in this situation. A catcher will know what arm slots and pitches that a pitcher will throw. He will know what a pitcher is comfortable throwing in certain counts and to certain players.

The reason I say could is because with the amount of video that is out there these days, players have access to as much as they want to learn about a pitcher. They can look at past at bats of their matchup, matchups against similar type hitters, etc. Players are known to spend hours watching video on pitchers, especially ones that they are not familiar with.

Many broadcasters and players will say that the difference between AAA and the MLB level is being able to study other players and make adjustments. Many young players will have success and then slump or struggle on the mound because the other teams start getting a pool of video and find the weaknesses.

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  • Thank you, this is a very interesting answer, to what I know is not a black or white question. I never really thought about the amount of video that the players watch. I can think of several occasions within recent memory where I have seen a player brought into the pitching rotation from AAA with little prior notice and they have pitched exceptionally well, then never done quite as good again. I guess once the surprise factor is taken out of the equation and they are studied they become much easier to face.
    – razethestray
    Aug 14, 2014 at 21:11
  • @razethestray I think that is part of it. Once these guys can see video and know what pitches to expect in certain counts the young players have to adjust.
    – diggers3
    Aug 14, 2014 at 21:30

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