How the Cubs Changed the Catching Position
Via Chicago Tribune
Damon Berryhill, Mark Parent, Rick Wilkins, Joe Girardi… The list goes on and on and on. The Chicago Cubs have had their fair share of catchers over the years, but there aren’t too many that stand out as great. When the Chicago Tribune ran a poll last summer on the best catchers in Cubs history the entrants were; Michael Barrett, Geovany Soto, Jody Davis, Randy Hundley, and Gabby Hartnett. Of the five, only Davis, Hartnett, and Soto were brought up through the Cubs system, and only Hartnett and Hundley played 10 or more seasons with in Chicago. Of the group, only Gabby is considered an all-time great player (Hall of Fame in 1955).
The Cubs haven’t been a mecca of great catchers. There have been some that we remember fondly, but do not get the same recognition around the league. Most of them we remember because Cubs’ fans tendency of rattling off bad Cubs players of the past when drunk. You know you do it.
Bad catching is nearing an end. With the regime change, bad catching is a thing of the past.
Theo Regime
The Theo Epstein plan has always been to find players that play good defense and extend at bats. We have seen the organization dedicate themselves to shortstops, as well as outfielders already. These guys have one thing in common – strong defense, and ability to extend at bats. The one area that has gone unnoticed has been catchers. Think back through the Boston Red Sox years. Theo had guys like Jason Varitek and Sandy Martinez behind the dish. Fast-forward to Chicago and the Cubs have had Wellington Castillo, Dioner Navarro, Miguel Montero, and folk hero – David Ross.
Outside of a couple of, well, unremarkable seasons in Chicago, each has brought success to Theo and the gang.
There has always been the old adage of, “strong up the middle.” The catcher is the first lego in that design. Being strong at shortstop, second base and centerfield is incredibly important, but the catcher sets the tone for a defensive club. We have seen the Cubs embrace this philosophy. And it started with catchers.
Currently the Cubs have two of the best catchers they have ever had in Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras, not to mention Miguel Montero. Kyle, offensively, is every bit as good as anyone in baseball. Willson on the other hand has all the tools defensively as well as offensively that one could ask for.
The Cubs also have another dude waiting in the wings of Tennessee, Victor Caratini. Victor has impressed in the two seasons he has been part of the Cubs organization (acquired from Atlanta). In fact some believe he will play his way onto the big league roster in 2017.
Scouting and Player Development
I wanted to know what is responsible for this change. Do the Cubs have a completely new philosophy in regards to catching? Is this a training/coaching change? Or are the Cubs just drafting better in regards to backstops?
So I went to the source for some answers. I reached out to the Director of Amateur scouting for the Chicago Cubs, Matt Dorey. As one may assume, the answer lies in the entire organization working as one. “Like anything else in our organization, any and all success is a bi product of a truly team effort with great input from both scouting and player development,” Dorey explained.
As for the influx of quality catching talent, Dorey credited that to dedicated the organization to the position. “I would say it has been a point of emphasis both on the amateur and international side of scouting.”
The scouting side isn’t acting alone. Matt gives huge credit to the player development side, and especially their catching coordinator.
“We have such great instructors on the development side led by Tim Cossins our catching coordinator, that it has given us great confidence in sending catching prospects into our system knowing they will get better immediately.” Matt continued, “Tim is the best and has helped tremendously by communicating to my staff the things that he looks for in young catchers and sharing both the physical and mental attributes he feels are the most important for future success.”
Not only does Tim communicate what they would like, Matt’s team takes it to heart when out on the trail. But like any great teammate, Matt gives the credit to Tim and his staff.
“He has spoken to our group on a number of occasions and has given us a great framework to take with us out on the scouting trail,” Matt commented. “I give a lot of if not most of the credit to Tim and his staff for what he has done with the catching group we have in place now in the system.”
It isn’t just the player development side, Matt’s team has owned the catcher position. Their success hasn’t just been from scouting pure catchers either.
“From a pure scouting perspective we pride ourselves on looking at catching through a wider lens, taking in consideration with  specific body types, athletic attributes, baseball IQ, leadership qualities, and as always with any position player their ability to manage their at bats in addition ability to drive the baseball.” Matt continued, “We have had some success with converting some college infielders behind the plate as well and I give our area scouts a lot of credit with having the ability to scout outside the box.”
“They [area scouts] get to know the player on a personal level and really determine if they have passion for the position as this often time becomes the separator for long term success behind the plate,” Matt explained. “The catching position is not for the faint of heart and you have to be completely bought in, unselfish, and committed to the grind both physically and mentally to be able to progress through the minor leagues and impact a big league roster.”
When you spend time around good catchers, this is apparent. The mindset is different. The way they see the game is different. I have played with, and spoken to people with the largest of baseball IQ’s. They truly view the game differently, and it is apparent in every sense of the game.
Reading Matt’s comments it is certain some of their approach is used across the board. Mentally however, there is a specific attribute they look for. When Theo joined David Axelrod on the Axe-Files podcast, he mentioned how while with the Red Sox they built a tool to better understand players mentality. Assuming this tool is in place in Chicago, its a safe bet that the organization is more able to find the best catchers than any other team in baseball.
With the likes of Montero, Contreras, Schwarber, and Caratini – it is safe to say the Cubs are one of the strongest catching teams in the big leagues. It is that way because of a true team effort throughout the entire organization.
