Catcher's Throwing Routine

To go through the throwing drills in more detail, continue below.

1. Wrist Flicks/4-Seam Exchange

  • Feet slightly outside shoulders
  • Body completely facing throwing partner
  • Hands out in front of chest (throwing hand in closed/soft fist against the back of the glove)
  •  Receive the throw and immediately exchange the ball into the throwing hand
  • MUST get a 4-seam grip
  • This is a drill that works on getting the ball out of the glove and into our hands with a 4-seam grip
  • Best to pair this as our wrist flicks

2. One Knee Drill

  • Once you catch, glove needs to go towards target
  • Don’t let the ball get lower than where you caught it.  The throwing hand goes from the glove to Power L position.
  • Elbows need to be shoulder level or higher (avoid injury and putting spin on the throws)
  • This drill lets you pause at the top of your Power L to check yourself
  • The purpose of this drill is to work on the exchange and getting into the proper throwing position
  • Suggested throwing length: 30’

3. Two Knees

  • Focus on upper body mechanics
  • Weight on inside of the knees
  • Rotate so that the front shoulder is aligned to your partner 
  • Get good, quick arm action

4. Feet Planted Square

  • All 10 toes/both feet pointed to your partner.  Get a good rotation and make a solid throw.
  • On the receiving end, you want to focus on being athletic.  Step with your right foot to the baseball, exchange the ball, and look as if you’re going to throw the ball to 3rd.  

5. Strides and Glides

  • Hips, shoulders, and feet should be pointed at your throwing partner
  • This is an old pitching drill that we can modify to meet catchers’ needs
  • Quick exchange away from the body and the ball goes right from the glove to Power L
  • Load back side up, drive off back side
  • Get good extension on the throw and follow through over front leg (back leg stays planted)
  • Suggested throwing length: 60’

6. Shuffle Shuffle Throw

  • This drill is simple - the catcher takes 2 shuffles and makes the throw
  • This is a throw rarely practiced by the catcher, but it happens in game situations when runners get tied up in between bases
  • On the receiving end, just focus on making the exchange

7. Pop the Feet

  • This is a way to incorporate footwork into throwing
  • Exchange occurs in front of the body just like the other drills
  • Arm action is the same as other drills by getting to Power L position
  • What makes this different is that the catcher is playing catch while popping the feet.  This just means that they’re going through the 1-2 punch with foot action: (1) right foot down under the butt and (2) left foot to target
  • Suggested throwing length: 60-180’