This article was originally published as part of Verducci’s View, a new weekly baseball newsletter from Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci. Every Monday, Tom empties out his notebook over email and covers MLB’s hottest topics, provides in-depth analysis through both text and video breakdowns, looks forward to what’s worth watching during the week and more.
The job requirements for a catcher keep getting harder. The flood of information added more game-planning preparation to pregame work. The increase in pitchers used added more homework in learning a staff. The pitch clock reduced recovery time within and between innings. The limits on pickoff throws increased the importance of defending the running game. And now the catcher must be a strategic wizard and strike zone Zen master with the introduction of the ABS challenge system. Medieval kings on feast days had less on their plate.
