Catchers Facing Former Teammates?

[bigwords]

Anyone have any idea whether catchers facing off against their former teams have a tendency to hit better? Could it be that catchers know the pitchers' tendencies? Any statistics out there on this?

I ask that after seeing Piazza crush the Mets the other night and noticing that Javy Lopez is about to start a three-game series against the O's.

[Chicago RedSox]

I always thought catchers sould be the best hitters. They watch pitches all day long. Their eyes are programmed to follow the ball into their glove, all they should have to do is follow it to the bat.
Javy should be able to guess what the O's pitchers will throw in certain situations, and know all of their weaknesses. I wonder where players stand ethically about sharing that info with their new teams... Would Detroit pay out the A55 to get the Twins backup catcher...just for the info?

[Deuce]

Yorvit Torrealba ripped the Giants to shreds this past week.

[spacehamster01]

Yorvit Torrealba ripped the Giants to shreds this past week.

Well thing is though, the Giants have new pitchers this year than when he played the Giants. The only pitchers he caught for that were on the Giants when he was there were Schmidt and Lowry.

[Deuce]

Yorvit Torrealba ripped the Giants to shreds this past week.

Well thing is though, the Giants have new pitchers this year than when he played the Giants. The only pitchers he caught for that were on the Giants when he was there were Schmidt and Lowry.

In his case, he wasn't out to get to the pitching. He wanted to beat the team who chose several other catchers while he waited for his turn. He was playing the organization more than his battery mates.

[whoseyourdaddy12]

Yorvit Torrealba ripped the Giants to shreds this past week.

Also, he used to catch Felix Rodríguez, and when he left, Yorvit hit a homer off him.

Well thing is though, the Giants have new pitchers this year than when he played the Giants. The only pitchers he caught for that were on the Giants when he was there were Schmidt and Lowry.

Still, seems like former catchers always get revenge.

[SlightlyStoopid]

The problem with Javy Lopez is that he's made a living with his bat. He's not the smartest catcher behind the plate when it comes to calling games so he's probably got as much chance guessing the wrong pitch as he does guessing the right pitch. Just because he would call a certain kind of game from behind the plate doesn't mean those pitchers would follow the same formula with a different catcher back there.
An easy example of a difference in game plan is if you have a catcher that is real good against blocking balls, pitchers aren't going to fret so much about throwing breaking balls in the dirt. When the pitcher has confidence in the catchers ability behind the plate it makes them a better pitcher. See boston in the last week. I think thier pitchers are lost not being able to pitch to Varitek and don't have a lot of confidence in Lopez.

[bigwords]

Lopez is 6-for-9 with a HR against Glavine, the pitcher he used to catch when he was with the Braves. That's encouraging.

[The Jury]

Yorvit Torrealba ripped the Giants to shreds this past week.

Well thing is though, the Giants have new pitchers this year than when he played the Giants. The only pitchers he caught for that were on the Giants when he was there were Schmidt and Lowry.

In his case, he wasn't out to get to the pitching. He wanted to beat the team who chose several other catchers while he waited for his turn. He was playing the organization more than his battery mates.

A player can't give more than 100%. If you're trying your best every at-bat, then it doesn't matter who you are facing, the result will be what it would be anyways. I don't buy into the philosophy of being able to have a better plate appearance just because you're angry at the opposing team.

[zevon]

The problem with Javy Lopez is that he's made a living with his bat. He's not the smartest catcher behind the plate when it comes to calling games so he's probably got as much chance guessing the wrong pitch as he does guessing the right pitch. Just because he would call a certain kind of game from behind the plate doesn't mean those pitchers would follow the same formula with a different catcher back there.
An easy example of a difference in game plan is if you have a catcher that is real good against blocking balls, pitchers aren't going to fret so much about throwing breaking balls in the dirt. When the pitcher has confidence in the catchers ability behind the plate it makes them a better pitcher. See boston in the last week. I think thier pitchers are lost not being able to pitch to Varitek and don't have a lot of confidence in Lopez.

Well said. Boston's recent skid coming right after The Captain went down is not a coincidence. Varitek's handling of the staff and ability behind the plate is sorely missed.
Here's hoping Javy rakes this weekend and the pitching doesn't suck quite so badly.