| The catcher is not expected to catch every low pitch, but the catcher is expected to at least keep the pitch in front of him so the runners do not advance. There are different blocking styles for different types of pitches. The first style is for pitches straight in front of you (generally fastballs):
- Fall to your knees
- Place you glove to the ground (fingers down)
- Throwing hand behind the glove
- Keep your body square to the ball
- Hunch your shoulders forward and over the ball
- Keep your chin down, so that you don’t get hit in the throat
- Deflect all balls back towards home plate where you can see it and still make a play if needed
The second style is for pitches in the dirt either inside or outside of you (Quite often Changeups and Curves):
- Take a quick jab step with foot closest to the ball
- Drive off the opposite leg and stay low while trying to get around the ball
- Try to deflect the ball back towards home plate
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