Trashing the leather: The hidden cost of Patrick Bailey's elite pitch framing skills

SAN FRANCISCO Patrick Bailey is doing it again.

He is spinning more pitches from borderline straw to strike-zone gold than any catcher in the major leagues.

His pitch framing has saved the equivalent of 23 runs for his San Francisco Giants batterymates, according to Statcast, which not only leads his major-league catching cohort but accounts for 18.8 percent of all positive outcomes created leaguewide.

Advertisement An examination of the metadata reveals the full expression of his talent: Bailey leaves no dust in any border or corner of the zone.

Some catchers, like the Yankees Austin Wells, are adept at presenting low pitches to plate umpires and coaxing more strike calls; Wells has accrued the equivalent of 11 framing runs saved at the bottom of the zone.

But Wells has given back nearly half that value (minus-5) at the top of the zone.

Bailey is the only catcher in the majors who has accrued more than plus-2 framing runs saved at the top (plus-7) and bottom (plus-6) of the zone.

Bailey is peerless at framing strikes on the lateral fringes, too: plus-5 on the left side (inside to a right-handed batter) and plus-4 to the right side.

Toronto Blue Jays backstop Alejandro Kirk is the only other catcher who has generated better than plus-2 framing runs saved on each side of the plate.

At a time when the importance of pitch framing is better understood than ever, when theres never been more attention paid to developing the skill, when there shouldnt be any more low-hanging fruit to be picked, and when, in theory, no team should be left impossibly behind, Bailey is still managing to lap the competition.

And he is an equal-opportunity strike preserver.

He saves strikes for Logan Webb on two-seamers at the knees.

He saves strikes for Robbie Ray on four-seam fastballs at the letters.

Hell welcome front-door cutters to the party and keep back-foot sliders from leaving too early.

Bailey frames all of these pitches with a Rawlings Pro Preferred catchers mitt: a custom-created model PROSCM35-JT39, 35-inch circumference, light tan with black laces and, because he won his first Gold Glove award last season, a glittering Rawlings logo patch adorning the side.

You might assume that Baileys catchers mitt is his most prized possession, that its irreplaceable, that he even sleeps with it under his pillow.

Advertisement Not exactly.

Im on my fifth one this year, Bailey said.

Typically after a month or six weeks, its time for a new one.

Giants catching coach Alex Burg says hes never seen anything like it.

Most catchers will begin a season with two gloves, use the backup for side sessions or catch play, then transition out their gamer at some point in the summer.

Breaking in a new mitt is supposed to be a lengthy process that is unique to each catcher.

The goal is to make the mitt as form-fitting as possible until, after sufficient labor and love, it becomes a natural extension of the catchers hand.

Not for Bailey.

He likes his mitt to be extra stiff and the pocket to be extra well defined.

And that means a catchers most important piece of equipment (or second-most important, depending on their views about family planning) is more or less disposable.

Whenever it starts to get loose, it feels like the pocket deforms, Bailey said.

I like them to be relatively the same.

I dont think its very common to (replace them) like that.

Its just personal preference.

I just like how it feels.

With all the remittance requests Bailey makes to Rawlings, its a good thing he gets his equipment for free.

Its not out of the wrapper and into a game, though.

Right? Uhhh ...

kind of, Burg said last weekend while the Giants were playing a series in St.

Louis.

I mean, the glove hes using now, I think he took it out of the wrapper on Monday, and I did a bunch of stuff to it, tightened it, kind of got it close to where he wanted it.

He probably would have used it in the game Thursday but we had an off day.

We ended up using it on Friday.

Burg, who was drafted by the Giants in the 24th round out of Washington State in 2009 and played eight minor-league seasons in four organizations, is more than the teams catching coach.

Hes Baileys quartermaster.

He knows that the 26-year-old catcher is particular about each piece of his equipment and so he takes pride in its maintaining what Bailey has and strategizing with him about where he might optimize.

Advertisement Even though Bailey led the major leagues with 23 framing runs saved last season, he received a challenge from Buster Posey , the Giants former All-Star catcher and newly elevated president of baseball operations, to improve other areas of his receiving.

Although Posey valued Baileys framing skills, he wasnt a fan of the optics when a framing attempt would result in a passed ball and an advancement on the bases.

So Bailey and Burg did a little comparison shopping and Bailey sized up from the 34-inch circumference model hed been using.

Bailey, who has a glove contract with Rawlings, used an All-Star catchers mitt at North Carolina State.

His current model is a version of a 35-inch All-Star mitt that Rawlings remade for Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino, a Gold Glove winner in 2022 with the Yankees.

Bailey especially likes the Velcro strap across the back of the hand.

When it starts (to) get looser he can crank on that thing and make sure it fits on his hand, Burg said.

And then the pure surface area is important.

These guys are so good that when they catch it in the pocket, it doesnt matter.

But in todays game, the stuff is unreal across the league and across our team.

You look at the amount of variance and shape that these pitchers are throwing and its crazy.

So having an inch more of circumference gives him a little margin for error on some of the misfires.

And the model, actually, is really close to what Buster used without the finger sleeve.

Theres diminishing returns when it comes to mitt size, though.

Burg said Bailey tried sizing up to a 36-inch remake of a Mizuno model that Rawlings created for Los Angeles Angels catcher Travis dArnaud, but it was massive and I just didnt feel like Pattys hands moved the same way that theyve moved in the past.

I feel like it was a little slow, is a little long, just because of the way that they made the glove.

The pocket was so far away from his hand that he kind of lost control of the ball when the ball got towards the web.

Now that Bailey has a model he likes, the only problem has been keeping it in stock.

Part of the reason that Burg hustled Baileys current mitt into circulation was because they had to switch back to last years model to get through most of August.

Advertisement This was an express break-in, Burg said, smiling.

Ill throw a little conditioner on it and then its a full tighten right away.

All the top laces, the toe, all the thumb.

Then Ill throw it in the steamer for 10 to 15 minutes a day and Ill play catch with it, maybe catch some balls off the machine.

Doing everything I could so he could get it in a game as fast as we can.

With the way that he moves, if the glove doesnt move with him, he really doesnt know where the pocket is.

His hands are so fast and so strong that once the glove gets too soft, it will kind of shake on him and it kind of moves the pocket so he doesnt square up as many balls.

Thats why he goes through gloves so fast.

Its so funny because he literally showed up to spring training and I was like, Hey, wheres your glove from last year? You know, in case you need it.

Hes like, Yeah, I didnt bring it.

He rolled into spring without the trusty glove from last year.

Its just kind of crazy, the confidence he has in his hands and what he can do with the glove.

Why do we say that catchers and first basemen wear mitts while every other position player wears a glove? Its because gloves have visible finger stalls.

Mitts usually have finger stalls as well, but they arent visible.

Bailey doesnt use the index finger stall.

Instead, hell put two digits in the ring finger stall and put his index finger where his middle finger is supposed to go.

That way he can use his entire pocket without his index finger pretty much getting blown up.

He also used a Nike catchers batting glove that has additional padding, which he likes because it keeps his mitt from sliding around when his hand gets sweaty.

Theres just one problem with using disposable catchers mitts: they arent disposed of.

My wife is probably tired of me saving them, Bailey said.

Theyre all sitting in the garage at home.

Advertisement Some of them are keepers that will survive a thorough cleanout.

Bailey had MLB authenticators tag the mitt he used to catch Blake Snells no-hitter at Cincinnati last season.

He plans on saving at least one of his gloves from this season because its the first season that they feature the gold patch.

Hes come a long way from borrowing someone elses Mizuno mitt when he was a 9-year-old and nobody else volunteered to catch on his youth team in North Carolina.

Even now, Bailey continues to make strides behind the plate.

Hes made the biggest improvements in blocking where he grades out at plus-4 blocks above average after finishing at minus-1 last year and minus-9 in 2023.

Although Baileys blocking ranks just 16th among major-league catchers this season, its notable that hes managed to make progress without compromising any bit of his framing value.

Hes going to a kickstand (setup) a little bit more with the left leg kind of splayed out, which helps him get lower, Burg said.

It softens him up a little bit.

Youre already very close to the ground, so when the ball gets in the dirt, hes able to just relax and let it hit him.

Especially with Snell last year, he was having a tough time early, and was like, Ive got to get better at this.

He took ownership of it and got way better.

Baileys overall Fielding Run Value of 28 is the best among all major-league players for the second consecutive year.

His caught-stealing rate of 30.4 percent is the best of his career, too.

Theres no rescuing Baileys hitting numbers after an awful first half in which his .565 OPS was the second worst among 226 major league hitters who compiled at least 200 at-bats.

Whether its Triple A catcher Jesus Rodriguez or someone else the Giants acquire this winter, itll be an action item to provide Bailey with a complementary backup who offers a little more run production.

At least Bailey, a switch hitter, is ending on a better note at the plate, too.

Hes batting .345 with three home runs in nine games this month.

Advertisement Everything shows that this kids improving, Burg said.

Its kind of crazy to see that hes arguably the best defender in baseball at any position, and by a lot of public metrics, hes the best in by a wide margin, and hes still relentless.

The framing has gotten better and now the blocking has been tremendous.

This guy wants to be the best to ever play the game defensively.

And it shows in the work that he does.

It shows in how meticulous he is, right down to how he wears his gear.

The smallest details on Baileys mitt mean the most to him.

Embroidered in orange thread are initials BMC and LCB for his wife, Leigha, and daughter, Briella Mae.

And theres an embroidered reminder of Matthew 5:14-16.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.

Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

If a strike on the corner counts as a good deed, then Bailey is better than anyone in the game at shining a light on it.

The value of pitch framing will be impacted when MLB implements some version of an automated strike zone, which is likely to begin next season with a challenge-based system resembling the experiment used in some exhibition games this past spring.

Bailey, who is not in favor of any version of an automated zone, has suggested he could adjust elements of his receiving to take advantage of new rules, perhaps even poorly framing a strike on purpose to fool an opposing batter into challenging it.

No matter how the zone or the rules change, the catching position will continue to reward players with quick minds along with quick hands.

He gets better every year not just at what hes doing but understanding what hes doing, Giants manager Bob Melvin said.

He has experience with the pitchers here.

As a catcher, knowing them better allows you to get in position and know where the movement is going to be.

Advertisement Melvin, who caught in the big leagues for 10 seasons, wouldnt need more than two Mizuno CE-5 catchers mitts to get through the year.

He saw Baileys mitt in the dugout earlier this year and tried it on.

It felt terrible to me, Melvin said.

its too big and its got too much on the left side for me.

But tell you what, it works well for him.

There isnt anyone better as far as framing in the game.

So whatever works for him, Im fine with.

(Top photo: Sean M.

Haffey / Getty Images) Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern.

Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms.

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.