Pitch framing

Pitch framing refers to techniques used by the catcher to ensure a given pitch is called a strike by the home plate umpire. This includes giving a stable target within the strike zone and avoiding undue movement when catching the ball which may either obscure the umpire's view or give him the impression that a pitch was outside the strike zone when it may not have been the case. Sometimes this will also include a catcher subtly moving his glove back into the strike zone after catching a pitch that was on the edge, but if this is done too obviously, it can well have the opposite effect.

Pitch framing has long been known to exist as an ability although it was hard to quantify until the days of advanced data from statcast and PITCHf/x in the 2020s that helped to establish a hierarchy among catchers in grading this ability. This in turn has led some teams to ask their catchers to take a position closer to the batter, in order to minimize the effect of a late break by the pitch that could lead the umpire into calling it a ball. However, such positioning also comes with risks: more calls of catcher's interference, less time to block a pitch in the dirt, and a higher risk of injury.

There is speculation that the importance given to pitch framing is bound to decline with the eventual introduction of so-called robot umpires in the major leagues, as these machines' decisions are by definition impossible to influence through such actions.