Cardinal Mooney catcher proud of work behind the plate

Take a look at Cardinal Mooney baseball’s romp through the beginning of the season, and a trend emerges.

The Cougars are stingy.

The team has given up more than two runs in a game just once in 2017 thus far, zero times if you eliminate a 5-4 loss to Lemon Bay in the Preseason Classic. Run prevention is a big reason the program stands at 7-2 as of March 14. The Cougar pitching staff has been excellent, but as with any high school baseball team, Cardinal Mooney uses a lot of pitchers. There’s another element in play that ties all those pitchers together and helps them gel, and that element often gets lost when praise of a great staff is disseminated: The catcher.

For Cardinal Mooney, the man behind the mask is senior Parker Shanahan.

Shanahan was first promoted to the varsity squad as an eighth-grader. In the five years since, he’s learned not to be afraid to get loud when necessary, to give the team an extra spark of motivation. Of course, it helps that Shanahan is a naturally booming presence, by his own admission.

The biggest key to playing catcher defensively, Shanahan said, is learning each pitcher’s idiosyncrasies. Some, like junior Dalton Plattner, throw sidearm. Others, like 6-foot-6 senior John Schroyer, throw completely over the top of their shoulder. The varying release points give the ball a different spin, and learning to anticipate the spin off of each pitcher’s throws can be challenging at first.

Eventually, though, after enough bullpen sessions, catchers will have that down pat.

That just leaves, oh, signaling in pitch calls, preventing passed balls and wild pitches, throwing out base runners and playing the ball off bunts to worry about, and also still getting in some work in the batting cages when possible.

Thankfully, Shanahan not only is good defensively, he revels in being good at it.

“Most catchers actually take pride in catching,” Shanahan said. “Usually we are bigger guys, so that’s our forte, I guess you could say.”

Shanahan is even getting some experience in not just calling in the pitch signals, but calling the actual pitches. While Cardinal Mooney assistant coach Troy Graybill normally makes pitch selections, Shanahan said, there are certain games where he hands the reins to his catcher. It’s a sign of how much the Cougars trust Shanahan behind the plate.

“It’s vital,” Shanahan said of the opportunity to call games. “It’s part of the learning experience. Coaches guide you with what pitches you’re supposed to call in what situation. Some games they have to let you go on your own, because that’s how you grow.”

Senior pitcher and third baseman Alex Rodman called the relationship between batterymates “the closest bond you can get.” Shanahan and his teammates hang out off-the-field nearly every weekend, talking sports and just being guys.

Shanahan referred to the catching position as “the field general,” and it shows in his play not just defensively, but at the dish as well. He hits leadoff for the Cougars, and acts as a kickstart for their lineup. On his off days from catching, Shanahan will act as the team’s designated hitter to keep his bat in the lineup. He went 3-3 with an RBI and a walk March 7 in a 10-0 win over Gateway Charter, and went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI on Feb. 22 in a 6-1 win over Booker. Overall, Shanahan is hitting .375 on the young season, a great number for such an important defensive position.

Next year, Shanahan will continue his career at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga. He’ll mentor behind current Berry junior catcher Jacob Delk for a year, he said, before hopefully taking his rightful place behind the plate. He’ll also have to learn all about his new staff’s repertoire and get to know them inside and out.

If it sounds like a challenge, it is, and Shanahan could not be more prepared.