All that is keeping Jarrod Saltalamacchia from being a major leaguer again is a few seemingly simple throws. Hitting has not been a problem. Catching 145kph fastballs has not either. Nor has throwing runners out at the plate. But the routine task of throwing the ball 60 feet back to the pitcher has been enough to keep the catcher known as "Salty" from returning to the Texas Rangers this season. His problem with what is the easiest part of a catcher's job seems to have arisen after surgery on his right shoulder last season and now he has trouble releasing the ball.
Saltalamacchia appears to be making strides in tackling the problem, though. He has developed a new routine to follow after he catches a pitch, and it did the trick in his first time testing it. Instead of his throws sailing wildly into the outfield, each one made it back to the mound during his start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday. He made more than 100 accurate throws, and the only one that could be considered off-target was still fielded cleanly by Michael Kirkman, the pitcher, on one bounce.
"I'm patting myself on the back - a great game, but it's a long road," Saltalamacchia said. "It's not like I'm healed and fixed, not that there was anything major wrong. But it's something I've got to work on and continue to work on, just like behind the plate and hitting. It's just part of my routine." If not for the throwing problem, Ron Washington, the Rangers manager, says Saltalamacchia would "probably" be back in the majors. Saltalamacchia, who has a .251 career average in the majors, is hitting .329 with Oklahoma City this season, but had a dozen wild throws intended for the pitcher in a single game last week.
"That's what's holding him back," said Bobby Jones, the Oklahoma manager. "He's blocking balls, he's throwing runners out. He's just having some trouble throwing back to the pitcher. But today was an outstanding job, so we'll see what happens next time out. Hopefully he is ready to go." Saltalamacchia went his own way to get back on track. He changed his grip on the baseball ? moving his index and middle fingers closer together instead of splitting them apart ? and now taps the ball twice against his glove before tossing it back to the pitcher.
"I'm just trying to get in a rhythm and feel my hands separate instead of everything going back at once and then going forward," said Saltalamacchia, who was hitting .284 before being traded from Atlanta to the Rangers midway through his rookie year in 2007. The game on Monday was the first time Saltalamacchia tried out the tap-tap-throw system, after working on it for a few days. Washington said Fran Pirozzolo, a sports psychologist, has also been working with Saltalamacchia.
"He's talking to Salty every day," Washington said. "He's getting help. But you can get all the help in the world. It's something you have to do." The problem is not unique to Saltalamacchia. Mackey Sasser once developed the same issue while playing for the New York Mets, and Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblauch, both second basemen, had similar struggles with routine throws to first. Even Rick Ankiel suddenly went wild off the mound and eventually had to be moved from pitcher to the outfield.
"We've had some guys occasionally who've had it," said Mike Scioscia, the Los Angeles Angels manager. "It's obviously a feel, a release-point issue that he doesn't feel good about throwing short distances. I won't say it's very common, but it happens to some players. "I've seen it, seen guys really battle with it. As a former catcher and catching instructor, there are things you can try to get a guy to do, some concepts to try to relax that part, and sometimes it takes some time."
Saltalamacchia traces the problems back to the surgery on his shoulder and the loss of his release point because he did not have feeling in his arm. "I allowed it to go too far, and now I'm fighting back," he said. Now, his coaches are trying to get him to use a higher arm angle instead of the lower release point he used before. He has not set a timetable for when he expects to have his delivery fully resolved ? and presumably be back in the majors, where the Rangers' catchers have not been batting well, with an average of .194 for the season. "I've always felt good behind the plate. It's just doing these new things, it takes some time," Saltalamacchia said. "Hopefully this is step one." * AP