How much discretion does the catcher have in calling pitches?
AG: Not discretion — responsibility. John Hickey, Mariners beat writer for the P-I, says: “In the cases of the Mariners (and in the case of almost all big league clubs), the catcher has total discretion to call pitches. A general game plan is drawn up before the game with the catchers, pitchers and pitching and bullpen coaches. Once the game starts, the catcher calls the pitch. “On occasion, the bench will call a pitchout. And with a rookie catcher, sometimes the bench will call a decent percentage of pitches. But the idea is to have the catcher know his pitchers and the opponents, and make decisions based on the flow of the game. “All that being said, no pitcher ever has to throw a pitch he doesn’t want to throw. He can shake off the catcher until he gets the pitch he wants.
