The new emphasis on pitch framing as a possible valuable skill for catchers has spurred debate among players at that position, as well as the pitchers who throw to them.
Among those who have entered into the conversation is Dodgers standout right-hander Zack Greinke, who is known as a sophisticated analysist, but is not convinced that pitch framing is a skill set that can make or break a catcher.
"I believe that some catchers are better at framing pitches," Greinke told the Orange County Register. "But I'm not a believer that it's as valuable as it's being made out to be. It's part of a catcher's skill set. It's not the most important part. Just because he frames good doesn't mean he's a good catcher."
Teammate and stud southpaw Clayton Kershaw takes a similar view.
"You just want strikes called strikes. ... I gues I'm in the middle," he offered. "I don't roll my eyes at it and I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it either."
Their catcher, A.J. Ellis, also didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it at one time. But he does now. Metrics that showed him lacking as a pitch framer, as well as the wave of the future, forced him to change his outlook.
"I was motivated by the realization that that aspect of catching was becoming highly valued by this new wave of analytical front-office types," said Ellis, who spent time in the offseason working on framing pitches. "And I know that deficiency in the long run could affect my future employment."
Ellis added that "every metric out there tells me that I'm very deficient in that area" and that the Dodgers front office personnel advised him of their awareness of it during spring training.
One must wonder what umpires think about the new pitch framing metric. After all, they believe they're calling a strike based on the zone rather than how a catcher frames the pitch.