Catcher Spotting: Measuring Pitch Precision

What Is Catcher Spotting?

When a baseball commentator says that a pitcher is "missing his spots", this implies that the commentator knew where the pitch was intended to be thrown, but missed that location on the delivery; how the commentator knows is largely from watching the setup of the catcher just before the pitch is thrown. To our knowledge, there is no publicly available data routinely kept on catcher location (at least one private company is trying as well) and so the term "catcher spotting" was coined to describe the process of recording the intended pitch target.

While we cannot read minds, we can read body language and take note of the catcher's body and glove position as the pitch is being delivered, where well-prepared catchers will likely move very little during the delivery. Detecting when a catcher's extra movement is the result of intentional deception, or by wild control, must therefore be a judgement call on behalf of the observer.

This website is a test of catcher spotting ability. We have assembled a collection of videos of single pitches and built applets for recording the intended location. Please go to the applet if you understand, or read the brief introductions that follow.

There are three modes of input that we would like to test:
Mode 1: Click Directly on the Video
1. Click what you believe is
the intended target,
to show the glove icon
2. Click the
the actual destination,
to show the ball icon

Mode 2: Click On A Catcher Image
Note that on this image, the red box is the strike zone for this particular batter; the black lines delineate plausible target zones that the catcher may indicate -- i.e. {high, middle, low}x{inside, over, outside}.
1. Click what you believe is
the intended target,
to show the glove icon
2. Click the
the actual destination,
to show the ball icon
Mode 3: Click On The Catcher Image, Make Notes On the Video:
Same as mode 2, but you can use the video as a telestrator to aid in your placement of the ball and glove on the catcher map.
All clear? Go To The Applet, or talk to the investigator if you have further questions.
Design (c) 2007-2010, Andrew C. Thomas.