TEMPE, Ariz. — For the past few years, the Angels’ Max Stassi had rejected the evolution of his position.
Stassi was one of the only catchers in the majors who always used the traditional stance, with two feet on the ground instead of one foot and one knee.
“Ego,” Stassi said. “Pride. I was one of the better receivers in baseball for a few years, so why would I need to (change)?”
He has finally given in.
This spring, Stassi has reworked just about everything about the way he’s played the position, getting on board with the one-knee stance.
After he played three innings Sunday with his new technique, he said was eager to see how the change makes him better at framing and blocking, and even better at hitting if his legs are fresher.
“I think it’s really going to help this season,” Stassi said. “We’ll see. The numbers will tell. I’m excited about it. In this game, you’ve got to adapt. Any way I can make myself better, I’m all for it. We’ll see what the numbers are, but I’m confident it will be better.”
For most of baseball history, catchers typically squatted with both feet on the ground. Being on their feet allowed for the most mobility, in theory. There were occasional outliers, like Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Tony Peña back in the 1980s. He would get down on a knee, but even then it was only with the bases empty.
Over the past five or six years, it became standard for catchers to get on one knee with the bases empty. It’s only been within the past year or two that more and more catchers have gone to the one-knee stance even with runners on base.
Angels catching coach Drew Butera, who caught in the majors from 2010 to 2021, lived through the changing philosophy.
“I think the mindset when it first started was, this is great for receiving, but when somebody’s on base, go back to the traditional stance so the ball doesn’t get by you or you’re in a better stance to throw,” Butera said. “The more guys tried…
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