Pitchers and catchers are known to confuse each other with signs on occasion.
That’s especially the case if there’s a runner on second base, and the pitcher and catcher are trying to mix the signs up so that the baserunner isn’t stealing signs (and relaying it back to the hitter). They may not be on the same page and the pitcher throws a fastball when the catcher is expecting an offspeed pitch, or vice versa. This is a more likely occurrence if a reliever comes into the game and didn’t get the memo on how the signs are being handled for a runner on second base.
But we don’t really know what the hell happened on this one, where catcher Andrew Knapp of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (amazing name; Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate) was drilled by a fastball on Wednesday night:
In Norfolk, Lehigh Valley catcher Andrew Knapp is caught off-guard by a fastball. A bizarre @MiLB occurrence. pic.twitter.com/yT2vkBdUPZ
— David Hall (@DavidHallVP) June 23, 2016
Was it the pitcher’s delivery that caught Knapp by surprise? The pitcher didn’t even pause out of the stretch… very weird delivery and perhaps the catcher just figured he had more time to set up behind home plate. Or maybe the catcher was looking offspeed and was totally caught off guard by the fastball? If it was just a cross-up, I don’t remember a catcher looking more crossed up than that. Maybe Knapp was just caught napping (sorry).
Whatever the case, a very bizarre moment. And the chest protector came through for Knapp, as he wasn’t injured on the play:
Worth pointing out: He was fine. Stayed in the game. — David Hall (@DavidHallVP) June 23, 2016
UPDATE: Knapp confirms it was the pitcher’s delivery that surprised him; he wasn’t ready for a quick-pitch.
PSA: know if your pitcher does a quick-pitch and if so, don’t look down. https://t.co/TNS4EH6QyY
— Andrew Knapp (@theknappyboy5) June 23, 2016