Lou Marson & Jason Donald Olympic bronze medalists
double bobble head.
Marson improves during dream journey
Tony Zonca
Success can’t always be measured by distance traveled, but for Phillies catcher
Lou Marson, this season has become his moon shot of a year.
The fifth-year pro has been able to maintain a steady orbit of excellence as he wanders the globe in search of rewards that are golden and treasure that will forever be stashed in his memory bank.
The 22-year-old Arizonan began his journey unaware in Florida in March that he would stand on the edge of such unprecedented success in his brief professional
career.
Today, five dizzying months later, Marson, along with Phillies teammate Jason Donald, finds himself performing on the world’s biggest stage – the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
His incredible journey began at the prestigious Futures Game in fabled Yankee Stadium, followed days later by a trip to New Hampshire for the Eastern League All-Star Game.
Then came the news of a lifetime – he would be one of two catchers to represent his country in what may be baseball’s last go-round at the Games.
And there he was the other day, posing with President Bush after catching the ceremonial first pitch prior to a game against China.
You could say that only Michael Phelps has had a better summer than Lou Marson.
Marson departed the Phillies with a .319 batting average and a league-best .434 on-base percentage. The youngster controls the strike zone and shows both discipline and pitch recognition at the plate, his 69 strikeouts and 65 walks supplying ample evidence of that hypothesis.
But what of his defense? After all, it wasn’t until his junior year in high school that the former quarterback began catching on a regular basis. And didn’t he struggle for a time this season with his throwing accuracy? Have the training wheels come off yet? What should we make of all this?
We sought out Phillies roving catching instructor Mike Compton, a former big leaguer who likely knows as much about the position as any man alive.
“He’s come a long way as an offensive player,” Compton began, “but he’s also come a long way as a defensive player. We got him in the fourth round in oh-four right out of high school. He had a lot of physical ability but not a lot of experience as a catcher. He was a quarterback in football so he was a good athlete. He just had to be taught the fine art of catching, and wow! Has he done a good job!
“He’s big, he’s strong, he’s tough, and he’s not afraid of contact. He’ll stand in there (against onrushing runners) with anybody. He’s also very good at blocking balls in the dirt. I’d say that ability is on the plus side.”
As astute teachers will, Compton got a little analytical when talking about the art of throwing out base stealers. Most assume it’s the feet that dictate the economy of the throw. Compton disagrees.
“What sets up the feet is the hands,” he said. “The hands and the feet work together, just like two gears. For years I played thinking and I first started teaching that the driving gear was the feet. I created some pretty good dancers, but not very good throwers. Then I realized that the driving gear of the two was the hands, and the feet do whatever the hands tell them to do, as far as tempo.
“The tempo is set by the ability to transfer the ball from the glove to the bare hand and get it back to the throwing position. At times Marson has a tendency to flip the ball. When you flip the ball from the glove to the hand, then you get a situation where the ball’s not at your fingertips. That’s what throws you out of sync; you tend to rush, and the arm is not in correct relationship to the center of body, and you run away from your arm. That’s when you throw the ball up and in.”
Even as he develops, Marson thrives, as attests his .363 success rate of throwing out base stealers.
So far we have learned that the 6-1, 205-pound Marson is a fearless blocker of the plate who picks balls out of the dirt as though it’s an Easter egg hunt. And that as his throwing lessons continue, it is all a revelation for this young receiver, like the joy of discovering the second layer of chocolate beneath the first.
So what about the kid’s ability to call a game, Compy?
“I’d say his game-calling is right up to par with his level of development,” Compton said. “Personally I don’t get too excited or upset about game-calling for the younger catchers, because we tell the young pitchers to throw the ball down the middle of the plate. You can’t really start calling games effectively until, well, certain pitchers at high A-ball. And then you can really start calling pitches at this level (Double-A) because they can give you what you ask for.”
Bill Dancy, the Phillies minor league coordinator, managed Darren Daulton in the minor leagues. Daulton went on to become one of the top three or four catchers in the history of the Philadelphia organization.
Dancy has favorably compared Marson to Daulton.
“I really like the kid,” Compton gushed. “He’s big and strong and extremely durable. I really think he’s going to be an impact player in the big leagues.”
