If a Maverick or a Prospect strays too far from a base, he just might be wrangled in by the strong right arm of a Dawgs catcher.
The Dawgs’ Joel Brophy showed the 4,387 fans at Seaman Stadium on July 23 what he calls his strongest asset when he picked off Edmonton Prospect Nick Spillman who had wandered too far off first base.
“I would say my arm,” Brophy said when asked what his best attribute as a catcher is. “I’ve caught a few guys stealing and back-picked a few guys as well.”
Brophy has started behind the plate for 34 of the Dawgs 47 games this season as of Monday — that’s a lot of wear-and-tear on the University of Niagara marketing major’s body.
“It does get a little tough on your legs — the knees don’t always hold up,” he said. “But it’s only a game a day, so it’s not too bad. I probably play about 80 per cent of the games at Niagara as well.”
It takes him a bit longer than his teammates to get ready for the game. Brophy does some extra stretching, but more importantly he’s working with the starting pitcher and coaches to get ready for the game.
“I’ll talk to the pitchers, talk to the coaches on how we want to pitch to certain hitters — make sure the pitcher and I are on the same page,” Brophy said. “From there on out it is the pitcher’s show. I do whatever he needs to do to get ready.”
He’s been a catcher ever since he began to see live pitching in his hometown Burlington, Ont.
“I started catching when it changed from pitching machine to actual pitcher’s throwing when we were kids,” Brophy said. “I went back there because I had one of the stronger throwing arms on the team… I definitely enjoy it because you control the whole game — the game doesn’t go until you put down the sign. You’re involved in every pitch, it’s never boring.”
He admits to getting frustrated at not contributing more on the offensive side of the dish. Brophy had a hot streak at the end of the season to boost his average by nearly 20 points, finishing at .209.
(Brophy does show a good eye at the plate — he is second on the team with 24 walks).
He has to make sure what happens in the batter’s box doesn’t affect his performance behind the plate.
“If you’re not doing well at the plate, then sometimes you carry that onto the field and that’s what you don’t want to do,” he said. “I talk to my catching coach (Jon Talley). He tells me not to worry about my at bats, contribute to the game every day.
“If I catch well, I don’t have to worry about the at bats.”
Brophy has provided key hits in the season.
He went three for four with a pair of doubles and two RBI in the Dawgs 6-2 victory over Edmonton on July 20 — a game that put Okotoks in first place for the first time since Stephen Harper was prime minister.
He added an exclamation mark by hitting his first home run of his WMBL career in the Dawgs’ West Division clinching 10-0 victory over the Fort Mac Giants Thursday at Seaman Stadium.
Brophy’s got nothing to worry about. He has been stellar behind the plate according to Talley.
The catcher has also worked with Michael Gretler, a hard-hitting infielder who is making the transition to catching.
“He receives the ball very well, he’s got a great arm and very educated as far as catching knowledge goes,” said Talley, who caught in the Toronto Blue Jays system.
“That’s knowing the game, controlling pitches, knowing what to throw, when to throw it, controlling pitchers’ tempos, emotions… He’s doing all the right things.”
