Behind the plate with Tucker Barnhart and Joe Girardi
Defense was a pillar of the Cubs’ offseason approach as they added a slew of former Gold Glovers throughout the winter.
That includes Tucker Barnhart, who took home the defensive hardware at the catcher position in both 2017 and 2020 with the Cincinnati Reds.
Joe Girardi, who caught more than 1,200 games in the big leagues over a 15-year career, recently spoke with Barnhart on the importance of receiving and framing pitches and blocking.
In a feature that aired Wednesday night on “Cubs 360” on Marquee Sports Network, the two backstops discussed why Barnhart has changed his framing technique from his rookie season in 2014 to where he’s at now.
Barnhart also takes Girardi through his mindset depending on what type of pitch is coming — a righty vs. lefty, a breaking ball vs. a fastball, etc.
As Barnhart states, with both blocking and pitch framing, the idea is to bring the ball back toward the middle of the plate.
Check out the full feature in the video above.