The obsession with pitch framing – strike-stealing, or strike-preserving, depending on one’s perspective – isn’t going away, at least in the absence of a fully automated strike zone.
A small patch of dirt between batter and catcher has turned into a battle zone.
For catchers, it’s meant creeping ever closer to the batter, largely aiming to stop the ball’s flight before it dips below the strike zone. No matter the danger.
Tucker Barnhart, an 11-year veteran, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword: If you don’t do it, you don’t play and you don’t get paid.
“And if you don’t do either of those, you’re not going to be in the game very long.”
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