In the fifth inning of last Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Yankees broadcaster Ken Singleton asked aloud, "Does somebody keep track of how many times a catcher blocks a ball in the dirt to keep the runners from advancing?"

Commentator David Cone responded, "I'm sure someone does somewhere. Maybe Fangraphs will have it."

Well, Ken and David, Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) has you covered. A legion of video scouts at BIS track this information as part of their system of tracking Good Fielding Plays and Defensive Misplays.

A Good Fielding Play is NOT necessarily a play on which the player looks good making the play—diving or spinning. It is a play that is made when, had the play not been made, no one would have faulted the fielder for not making it. And an out or a runner advancement is prevented. There are currently 28 different types of Good Fielding Plays.

One of the Good Fielding Play categories is called Catcher Blocks, which the video scouts record when a catcher blocks a ball in the dirt with runners on base. Here are the 2011 Catcher Block leaders, along with the number of Wild Pitches and Passed Balls each catcher has allowed. We also calculate a Catcher Block Percentage by adding dividing Catcher Blocks by the sum of Catcher Blocks, Wild Pitches and Passed Balls.

 

 

 

 

Yadier Molina has blocked a league-leading 420 pitches while, at the same time, allowing a relatively small number of wild pitches and passed balls. His 94% Catcher Block Percentage is second in baseball to Matt Wieters' 95%. Russell Martin currently ranks third at 93%. If Molina can pass Wieters, it will be his third year in a row leading Major League Baseball in Catcher Block Percentage. He had a 95% Catcher Block percentage in 2010 and 94% in 2009.