Editing Catcher (section)

==History and evolution of the position==
[[Image:Baseball C.svg|thumb|right|''(C)'' Catcher's position behind home plate]]
In the middle of the nineteenth century, the game of baseball began to evolve from a sport played by [[amateur]]s for recreation into a more serious game played by [[Professional baseball|professionals]].<ref name="Catcher">{{cite book |title=Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero |last=Morris |first=Peter |year=2010 |publisher=Government Institutes |isbn=978-1-56663-870-8 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86P2pteOc40C&q=catcher+peter+morris&pg=PP1 |access-date=11 July 2012}}</ref> One of the most dramatic changes was the transition of the pitcher's delivery from an underhand motion to an overhanded throw.<ref name="Catcher" /> Before the [[American Civil War]], the pitcher's role was to initiate the action by offering an underhanded throw to the batter, in much the same way that a basketball referee offers up a [[jump ball]] to begin play.<ref name="Catcher" /> Since this type of pitching often caused the batter to hit lazy, [[Foul ball|foul pop-ups]], catchers played their position approximately twenty to twenty-five feet behind the batter, and wore no protective equipment.<ref name="Catcher" />

As the game progressed towards professionals and became more serious, pitchers began to attempt to prevent the batter from hitting the ball by throwing faster pitches.<ref name=Catcher/> With the introduction of the called strike in {{Baseball year|1858}}, catchers began inching closer to home plate due to the rules requirement that a [[strikeout]] could only be completed by a catch.<ref name=Catcher/> The rules governing the delivery of pitches proved to be hard to enforce, and pitchers continued to stretch the boundaries of the rules until the 1870s when the release point of pitches had reached the pitcher's waist level.<ref name=Catcher/> Pitchers had begun throwing overhand by {{Baseball year|1884}}, when the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] made a rule change removing all restrictions on the pitcher's delivery.<ref name="The Evolution of Catcher’s Equipment">{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/research/evolution-catchers-equipment |title=The Evolution of Catcher's Equipment |publisher=sabr.org |access-date=May 16, 2018}}</ref>

These developments meant that catchers began to take on a crucial defensive role, as a pitcher's deceptive deliveries could only be effective if the catcher was capable of fielding them.<ref name=Catcher/> The progression of the catcher positioning themselves closer to the plate would lead to changes in pitching deliveries that would revolutionize the sport.<ref name=Catcher/> In the 1870s, pitcher [[Candy Cummings]] was able to introduce the [[curveball]] because his catcher, [[Nat Hicks]], fielded his position in close proximity to home plate and was able to catch the deceptive pitch.<ref name=Catcher/> Other specialized pitches such as the [[spitball]] and the [[knuckleball]] followed, which further emphasized the defensive importance of the catcher's position.<ref name=Catcher/>

At about the same time that catchers began fielding their position closer to home plate, baseball teams began using a less rubbery ball which led to a decline in the number of runs scored.<ref name="Evolution of the Ball">{{cite magazine |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_Ball |title=Evolution of the Ball |author=Rawlings Sporting Goods Company |date=July 1963 |magazine=Baseball Digest |access-date=11 July 2012 }}</ref> In the 1860s it was common for teams to score fifty or sixty [[Run (baseball)|runs]] in a game.<ref name=Catcher/> The combination of the new, harder ball and the continuation of the rise in pitcher's release points helped usher in what became known as the [[Dead-ball era]].<ref name=Catcher/> The decrease in run production placed greater significance on [[stolen bases]] and [[Bunt (baseball)|bunts]], which in turn emphasized the crucial defensive role played by catchers.<ref name=Catcher/> In {{Baseball year|1901}}, the National League introduced a new rule specifying that the catcher must stand within 10 feet of home plate.<ref name="The Evolution of Catcher’s Equipment"/> The [[American League]] adopted the rule the following year.<ref name="The Evolution of Catcher’s Equipment"/>

The rising velocity of pitches in conjunction with catchers gradually moving closer to home plate significantly increased the risk of injuries for catchers, especially face and hand injuries. By the late 1870s, catchers began to use padded, fingerless gloves to protect their hands, and in {{Baseball year|1877}} the first protective catcher's mask was used.<ref name=Catcher/> The first catchers to use protective masks sometimes had their courage called into question, but the effectiveness of the masks in preventing injuries meant that they became widely accepted.<ref name=Catcher/> In the 1880s, the first padded chest protectors came into use, and in {{Baseball year|1888}} specialized catcher's mitts used on the non-throwing hand began to be used.<ref name=Catcher/><ref name="The Evolution of Catcher’s Equipment"/> William S. Schenck of [[Princeton University]] was the first to use chest protectors when he stuffed copies of [[The Daily Princetonian]] under his shirt during a game against [[Harvard University]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Richard D. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Princeton_University/pFAYdxDkz8YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Joseph+McElroy+Mann%22&pg=PA77&printsec=frontcover |title=Princeton University |date=2005 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-3567-8 |language=en}}</ref> A Boston sporting goods company noticed his innovation and began producing the wearable chest pads.

The final pieces of protective gear were [[shin guard]]s which were first worn by catcher [[Roger Bresnahan]] in {{Baseball year|1907}}.<ref name="ASecondLook">Appel, Marty. ''A Second Look at Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan. Memories and Dreams'' (Vol. 33, No. 6; Winter 2011[-2012], p. 39). [[National Baseball Hall of Fame]] official magazine.  "A pair of his shin guards is ... part of the Hall of Fame's collection ...."</ref> Together, the rules changes and the new protective equipment transformed the catcher's defensive role to the way that it is presently played.<ref name="Catcher" />

[[File:Umpire catcher strike zone - Tokyo - 2024 April 21.webm|thumb|A catcher (for the [[Hiroshima Toyo Carp]]) in [[Japan]] catching a strike, 2024]]