Hey folks, I'm new to the game but am starting to see some rhythms to the play. I am starting to get the impression that a good pitch-calling catcher can make up for a pitcher with weak splits and/or control. Am I off base on this one?

I've seen nothing to make me think a high PC positively affects pitchers with low splits or control more and other pitchers. (I'm sure there are other opinions)

Bottom line: Over time, all pitchers will preform better when throwing to a catcher with a higher pitch calling #.

Here is 2 of my teams. Both teams have a starting catcher who has a good PC and a backup catcher who is a hitting catcher. The difference in ERA between the good PC catcher and the bad PC catcher is very minimal.

Team 1-

Good PC Catcher. Don Wilson......In 5063 IP behind the plate he has a 3.60 ERA.........88 PC

Bad PC Catcher. Lawrence McKnight....In 743.2 IP behind the plate he has a 3.85 ERA.....29 PC

Team 2.

Good PC Catcher Vic Rivera.....In 5830.1 IP behind the plate he has a 4.56 ERA.....69 PC

Bad PC Catcher Bill Fossum....918.2 IP behind the plate he has a 4.87 ERA......46 PC

PC catchers modify the pitches. They do nothing to improve splits or control. As goldie said, over time they will have a more positive effect than a lower PC catcher. The question is wether they are worth sacrificing offense for and my answer so far is no. This has been debated often and youll hear both sides. If you have a great pitching staff, then you dont need the PC catcher as much. I'd prefer a catcher with a strong arm and accuracy for the base stealers, but can live without the super high PC if he hits well enough.

I thought it only effected OAV

I just wondered because I got shut down by SP's with 49/50/53 and 75/48/67 Control/L/R stats (which incidentally, were inferior to those of my SP's). Since I expected to have more success against these pitchers, I investigated the results. The first opposite SP has an ERA of about 2.00, and the second has an ERA of about 3.50. My pitching staff, on the other hand, hovers between 3.80-5.50 ERA. The only difference I could figure out was that I have an offensive catcher and these two teams have defensive catchers that are very good and good, respectively.

Since my experience with HBD is very limited, of course, the difference here could just be anecdotal...but I thought I might have figured something out.

Guess not :)

I think you're leaving out a few factors. Is your offense any good? What about the opposition's defense? How big is the park that those games were played in?

The quality of defense behind the pitchers will make a much more significant difference than the catcher's pitch calling rating.

Max, you play in a hitter's park, so you have to consider that when you analyze your pitching numbers

My offense is decent (top 1/3 of the league), but as shobob says, I do play in a hitters' park. My defense is likewise decent (top 1/2 of the league, I think.)

I'm not as surprised by my pitching staff (all of whom I would call 3rd, 4th, or 5th starters--no aces), as I am by the ability of mediocre pitchers to shut down my decent-hitting offense.

Thanks for your input, everybody.

Quote: Originally Posted By boydndahood on 11/22/2009I thought it only effected OA

That's what a DevChat told us... take it for what that's worth.