The Catcher Pickoff Move

[Bombers]

So during last nights game, Madly picked someone off 2nd base. It was an awesome throw. (Skip to about 1:10 in the video)

http://m.mlb.com/mil/video/topic/8878756/v35673811/milsd-lohse-holds-padres-to-one-run-over-six-in-win/?c_id=mil

 

So I got to thinking, how often has someone been picked off of 2nd base by a catcher? It just can't be that often as that is ~ 130 foot throw. A runner would have to be REALLY falling asleep to screw that up. According to this article it has happened just over 1,000 times from 1956 to 2007. So an average of 20 times per year (which still seems high to me) ... either way - Maldy rocks.

http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/stolen_bases.htm

 

Here is a leaders list of most catcher pickoffs per season: http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/pickoff-leaders.htm

[MadScientist]

Think about how far away a runner stealing second is when the catcher throws the ball, and that runner is going full tilt towards second. On the other side, if the guy takes a big secondary lead (especially if there is something like a failed sacrifice) and is leaning the other way, he'd only need to be about half as far away as the guy stealing to be in range of the catcher.

 

The other key is the fielder has to be in position to cover the bag. That probably limits this from happening a lot more often.