catcher talking

Question
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Followup To
Question -
1. I play ASA and often times get catchers that will talk while the pitch is in the air.  They will entice the hitter to swing by saying "that's a good one".  Can the catcher do this?  It's very distracting to the hitter.

2. ASA again.  How close can the catcher be to home plate with their glove?  We have catchers that can almost touch home plate with their glove.  It also distracts our hitters because they end up modifying their swing so they don't hit the catcher.
Answer -
Hi Jay,

Most of catcher "chatter" is part of the game.  We won't allow them to call you by number or name.  We also won't allow them to scream, yelp, talk about your mother etc.  If they get too carried away usually a warning will take care of it but mostly it's part of the game.

Yes they can do that to give the pitcher a target but they have to stay out of the way. It's the catcher's responsibility not to cause catcher's obstruction but the obstruction has to happen not be able to happen.  I don't want anyone hurt but I wouldn't worry to much about altering my swing.  Catchers almost always stay out of the way, they don't want to get hit more than you don't want to hit them.  Very, very seldom have I had to call catcher's obstruction and rarely have I seen a catcher hit with a bat.

Mark

Catcher "chatter" makes sense, but what about when he doesn't start his chatter until after the pitch, i.e. when it's halfway to home plate?  I would think that this would be a way to distract hitters and give an unfair advantage, correct?

Answer
Hi Jay,
thanks for writing me back

I really don't think so if it's the "normal" stuff I hear.  I really don't think most batters listen to it anyways.  If I think it's across the line distracting the batter I'll put an end to what I think crosses the line.  99% of it, even while the pitch is in the air I believe is just part of the game.
Mark