Catching platoon keeps baseball fresh

Ever since everyday starter and one of the best catchers in Waynesburg baseball history, Brendan Scioscia, graduated in 2012, head coach Mike Humiston has opted for a platoon approach for his backstops.
In 2013, then-junior Marc Timmons split time with then-freshman Derrick Zavatsky, and last year, the platoon increased to a three-man position, with Timmons, then-sophomore Tyler Rubasky and then-freshman Josh Hausler all seeing time.
This year, Hausler made the move to the outfield after he and Humiston talked during the fall season about utilizing his speed in a different role.
As the season unfolded, it’s been a two-man gig between Rubasky and sophomore Ben Miller, a transfer from Susquehanna University, along with sophomore Scott Hefty working in the bullpen. According to Humiston, he platoons his catchers to maximize their potential without wearing them out behind the plate.
“Because we’re playing so many games back-to-back-to-back, what we’re trying to do is keep guys fresh,” said Humiston. “That’s part of our philosophy. The other thing is to give our opponents a different look.”
Miller, at 6’0,” 205 pounds and Rubasky at 5’9″ and 145 pounds shows there is an obvious difference in each players’ frame. Humiston said both add a different dimension for the ball club. He called Miller a great
addition to the team because of his arm strength, quick release, throwing accuracy and power at the plate. On the other hand, Rubasky is a spray hitter who is “baseball-minded” in the way that he can control a game because of his familiarity with the pitching staff and blocking ability.
“Both have done very well,” said Humiston. “We’re fortunate to have two guys that we feel comfortable throwing in at any given time.”
After going through a frustrating freshman season, both behind the plate and at the dish for Susquehanna, Miller said he has acclimated to Waynesburg thanks to his teammates accepting him as a friend, not just as another person in a uniform.
He said that he’s been focused on working on his receiving and blocking, since his former school considered him a defensive liability. As of the Bethany series this past weekend, Miller’s thrown out six runners trying to steal a base and hasn’t allowed a ball get past him in three weeks.
“My throwing has always been my strongest ability behind the plate,” said Miller. “I have the tendency to throw a lot of runners out.”
At the plate, Miller has been one of the power hitters for Waynesburg’s offensive attack that is in the upper half of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
As of Wednesday, he owns a .589 slugging percentage, leads the team in home runs with three and has recorded five doubles with 13 RBIs.
Despite splitting time with Rubasky, Miller said he gets along well with his counterpart and appreciates that there is another catcher on the team that he can rely on when he’s not in the game. Though, like Rubasky, Miller is a competitor, but doesn’t see the competition for playing time as adversarial.
“In high school, I caught pretty much every game during my junior and senior years,” said Miller. “So I am used to catching every game. But with college having a 40-game schedule, no catcher is going to be able to be 100 percent. [Rubasky] is a really good catcher, so it’s nice knowing we’re still solid behind the plate.”
After seeing sparing playing time as a freshman and starting a handful of games behind the place as a sophomore, Rubasky has made major strides, specifically at the plate this season. As of Wednesday’s action, Rubasky owns a .477 on-base percentage, while pacing Miller in hits and runs batted in. But it has been attention to minor details this season that he attributes to his improvements – controlling the game, glove work, blocking and getting bigger in the weight room.
“At this point, my mechanics are there at the plate and behind the plate,” said Rubasky. “It’s all just the little things.”
When asked who would get the start behind the plate in a high-pressure situational game, such as a PAC Championship clinching game, Humiston had to take a deep breath and think it over as if it was the million-dollar question on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” before ultimately deciding on starting Rubasky at catcher and Miller at designated hitter. One could tell it was a difficult decision to make.
“Miller can hit the long ball,” said Humiston. “It’s not that I don’t have confidence in Miller, but [Rubasky] has a better grasp of kind of what we’re doing, how we’re doing things and working the pitching staff. He’s been here for three years, so he knows these guys.”
Speaking as if he was drawing up the lineup card for a possible playoff game, Humiston likes the pairing of Rubasky with starting junior pitcher Brian Resnik, but it is subject to change in Humiston’s eyes.
“Just to know that the coaching staff and my teammates have confidence in me makes all the difference, especially from a pitching standpoint,” said Rubasky. “If my center fielder doesn’t have confidence in me behind the plate but my pitcher does, and the coaching staff, that’s all that matters.”
Though Miller feels as if he can contribute better behind the plate than at the designated hitter spot, he’s accepting of the way that Humiston draws up the lineup card in that type of a situation.
“No coach wants a player that is satisfied with not playing,” said Miller. “I’ve always tried my best on the field to perform, so it doesn’t add any extra fuel to the fire, but it just confirms the reason why I need to show what I can do every single day.”
Because of the battle for starting time at the catching position due to each player’s differences in skill sets, one would wonder whether it is seen as a strength or weakness for the Waynesburg University baseball team.
But when asked if the catching position is a strength on the team, Humiston summed it up in one, profound word.
“Absolutely.”