Today’s Daily Video Rundown takes a deeper look at one video in particular that the Pirates uploaded last night. The video below is four minutes of Austin Hedges mic’d up and working with fellow catchers Henry Davis and Kevin Plawecki.
We need Austin Hedges mic'd up at all times. pic.twitter.com/2O8WDeKRwr
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 27, 2023
In the video, Hedges is talking with the catchers, particularly Davis, on their maneuverability catching with one knee down in the dirt.
The video gives a really good look at how veteran experience plays out. Hedges has spent a lot of time thinking about the intricacies of catching, down to the point of knowing how the dirt slides below his shin guard.
“Now that I’m conscious of it, I can definitely tell what you’re talking about,” Davis says to Hedges at the 2:25 mark in the video.
Davis is very early in his catching career, and that exchange shows how a veteran can know the fine details of a subject which a younger player doesn’t even know exists.
Later in the video, Hedges and Kevin Plawecki are working on a drill catching oversized balls, which Hedges notes is difficult with a normal catching glove. The two discuss Plawecki’s improved wrist-roll as he’s receiving the pitches.
While Hedges was likely offering some advice while the cameras were rolling, it’s good to know the other catchers have access to a veteran who is so willing to share his knowledge.
The value here isn’t Hedges telling Davis and Plawecki how to catch. The value is Hedges potentially opening their minds to new ways to think about catching. Davis doesn’t necessarily need to take the advice from Hedges in the video. The fact that he’s introduced to a new microbe of the position to think about makes it more likely that Davis will eventually come up with his own method.
Bonus video: I loved seeing Rodolfo Castro starting off with a home run this weekend, after finishing the 2022 season on a strong note.
Rodolfo Castro ate and left no crumbs. pic.twitter.com/srAKTsfe6P
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 25, 2023
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Love to see catchers talking shop. Hoping to see a lot more of Castro trotting around the bases, with runners in front of him.
Saw that yesterday. Great stuff until the shared water bottle part, lol.