Arangure: Carlos Ruiz - The making of an All-Star catcher

This is a long ESPN The Magazine article about Ruiz’s unlikely road to stardom. From dropping out of college and switching from 2B to C at age 19, to having to adapt to a foreign country (the Dominican), to having to adapt to the U.S., to being anointed backup catcher at Reading at age 25, to beating out hot prospect Russ Jacobson for a job, and so on, all at 5’9”. With essential assistance from luminaries like Allan Lewis, Mick Billmeyer, Mike Compton, and John Russell.

Includes interesting details about the importance of coaching, catching techniques, and the whole hidden infrastructure of the minor leagues.

Although Billmeyer’s instruction was based in fundamentals, Compton provided the perfect theoretical complement. He taught Ruiz about the three basic catcher stances: the small stance, which is the relaxed crouch when catchers handle bullpens or situations with nobody on base; the action stance, in which catchers with men on base must be ready to block balls in the dirt; and perhaps most important, the natural stance, the position where catchers have to position themselves optimally to get the benefit of the doubt from umpires on strike calls.