AN Exclusive: Blogfather Discusses “Wild Pitch Prevention” With Bullpen Catcher Marcus Jensen

I interviewed A’s bullpen catcher Marcus Jensen on Friday, March 21st specifically to ask him about preventing wild pitches, something Shea Langeliers in particular struggled with in 2024. Jensen, who logged 145 games as a catcher from 1996-2002, does the “ball blocking” drills and works with the catchers extensively, and is the “resident expert” in this area...

Nico: So I want to talk about the art of blocking balls in the dirt and the primary catcher is Shea Langeliers. So one of the things that one can observe has been a struggle has been moving laterally and not stabbing at the ball backhand. So first question is, what are some of the things, the ways that you work on that? What are the drills and strategies for trying to improve that?

Jensen: Well, since the catching position has evolved in terms of stances, so has blocking. So as a result, you adjust accordingly to the one knee. There’s been some criticism in terms of the lack of efficiency, being able to block from one knee as opposed to the standard or traditional two knee stance.

I say (the two knee stance) can be just as effective, but sometimes may not be more effective depending on the flexibility of the catcher. Some catchers, that’s how the whole one knee thing has kind of evolved.

One to help receiving, but two to help with catchers who aren’t as flexible in the traditional stance and it helps them to get lower center of gravity from the one knee. So as a result, you know, even though a two knee stance may appear to be more efficient and more effective for some guys who lack that flexibility, one knee actually makes them a more effective blocker. So you know, the first thing is just the pursuit of the ball and the read of the ball is you know and being aggressive.

And then the way I like to teach it is you treat it like you’re an infielder but just using your chest as a glove as opposed to trying to scoop the ball. And so with that you’re pursuing the ball with your nose, you’re pursuing the ball with the glove simultaneously. So if you do that correctly, then your chest will be centered to the ball.

You know, there’s a tendency to want to cover the five hole, which means the glove goes into the middle just so that ball doesn’t go through there. And as a result of that, we may lack pursuit of the ball on extreme balls that are outside of our range. So while we obviously want to cover those balls, we also teach or talk about extending beyond that. And the only way you can extend beyond that is the ability to recognize the pitch, stand underneath the pitch, track it with nose and glove, and then be aggressive.

Nico: Now what stands out about Langeliers as a catcher is that he’s unusually fast, athletic, has some of that agility that many catchers lack. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to translate to the more stationary position of being behind the plate. Is there agility or natural issues from the catching crouch? What is it that makes it difficult for him?

Jensen: I just think it’s learning the finer points of the blocking position and paying attention to detail. While maybe his numbers may not have reflected in terms of last year, that’s not to say that he’s not capable and able and will be certainly a much better blocker. I’ve liked what I’ve seen this year, or at least this spring, in terms of the technique he’s gotten at.

He’s made a conscious effort to be diligent in his work in regards to that. So the things that you had mentioned in terms of agility and speed will help him and I’m looking forward to a marked improvement.

Nico: Now backup catcher is Johnny Pareda and fans aren’t as familiar with him. What have you seen or what can you tell us about him as a defensive catcher?

Jensen: Well I’m still getting familiar with him in terms of what he does. He throws well, he throws from different angles, so that’s a strength for him. He’s been pretty efficient as far as receiving pitches.

And at least as of now, there hasn’t been much challenging balls that are in the dirt that would expose anything that would bring any concerns. So just a solid overall presence back there, which is what we’re looking for. In the meantime, learning the staff and the nuances of pitch selection and sequencing at the big league level. So those are things that we’re looking to continue to monitor and work on.

Nico: I’m wondering if there are certain pitches or types of balls that are inherently thrown, I mean they don’t always have to be in the dirt, that are particularly hard for a catcher that maybe fans don’t realize. I mean there’s the obvious, you know, obviously a pitch two feet wide that you have to dive for is a hard block. But what are some of the more subtle challenges for a catcher?

Jensen: I would say the backed up breaking ball, where like say for instance the right-handed breaking ball where you’re expecting the ball to go to your right and it goes to the left and it’s in the dirt, and where you’re visually anticipating this ball coming in a certain trajectory and it doesn’t and you have to respond accordingly, those become pretty difficult and challenging blocks.

And then the fastball, depending on how hard the guy throws, it gets there quick. And so, you know, you may not always be in the most ideal position to block on a fastball. And so now you’re just kind of relying on your instincts, the sight of the ball, and how quick you’re able to respond.

Nico: Last question is, Tyler Sjoderstrom has actually been doing some catching in games, even though he’s the presumed starting first baseman. What is the thinking there in terms of future planning? Is he in the plans as a third catcher, as a potential backup catcher, or what’s the reason that he’s playing catcher right now?

Jensen: Well, it’s nice to have that option. I think in an ideal situation, a team would like to be able to carry three catchers if they could and so it just opens up more options and opportunities to mix and match and so having him having that you know coming up as a catcher and maybe transitioning into first base but still be able to do that if need be because you never know what happens and you know as far as the depth of the catching position so to have 3 guys on staff that you can you know mix and match with just adds to the depth of your team.

Nico: Coming up through the minor leagues, he was considered to be a work in progress who was making strides. Where do you see him right now compared to what you would say the standard is to be a defensive catcher in the big leagues?

Jensen: He had made some marked improvement the first year when he got called up as a primary catcher. For him it’s a work in progress, it’s been a work in progress. I think not having to carry the load right now of catching every day kind of relieves some stress as far as the demands of that position, the grind, which maybe not everyone recognizes in terms of how much time is put into this position, whether it’s the physical stuff that’s done on the field, whether it’s the preparation off the field, the scouting reports and things like that, it’s all very time consuming.

And you know Sodie is still relatively young, and then he’s worked his way up through the system relatively quick, and so that can be kind of overloading to come through the system that fast, have the expectations and demands of that position and then handle that and still be successful and at the same time still hit what you prided yourself on.

So I think this kind of alleviates the workload on that, frees him up to play first base, but still keeps his skills sharp enough at catching where if we needed him, if something were to happen, that he could make that transition.

So far so good: after 2 games, no wild pitches have eluded Langeliers. Game 3 is at 6:40pm with Osvaldo Bido on the mound for the A’s.