There may not be a harder worker on Georgia’s baseball team than sophomore catcher Michael Curry, whose goal of perfection – both at the plate and behind it – is part of his daily grind.
So far, his effort has been rewarded
As a freshman, Curry enjoyed a banner year, earning All-Freshman SEC honors after batting .260 with 11 and 34 RBI, while earning props for his work handling the Bulldog pitching staff.
But there is one part of his game – albeit minor – that has caused a bit of frustration for the Gainesville native: throwing the ball back to the pitcher.
Although getting the ball to second has not been an issue, the seemingly mundane task of tossing the ball back to the mound has been a bit tricky for Curry, who's working to overcome what's best described as a double-clutch with his throw.
“I’m continuing to work on it. It’s a day-by-day process, but it will take care of itself,” Curry said. “I just need to worry about my pitching staff … that will come. That will be fine.”
Bulldog skipper Scott Stricklin acknowledges the hiccup, but like Curry, is not concerned.
“It’s tough to explain because people who have never really played really understand it. But it’s just one of those things that’s part of who he is right now--he’s trying to overcome it,” Stricklin said. “It doesn’t affect the game that much except it looks a little different.”
That’s exactly the message Stricklin wants Curry to understand when they’ve discussed overcoming the throwing tick.
“I don’t care how he gets [the ball] back to the pitchers. The pitchers don’t have an issue with it--it just looks a little different,” Stricklin said. “There was only one time last year when somebody tried to take advantage of it, but they never scored a run that inning when it happened, so it doesn’t really affect the game. That’s what we’re trying to let Michael know – that it’s not that big a deal. But he works on it every day. If he’s not our hardest worker, he’s right there at the top.”
It’s also not an uncommon issue to see happen.
“I’ve had guys and seen guys with it before,” Stricklin said. “Steve Sax, Chuck Knoblauch … I’ve seen golfers, volleyball serving, fouls shots in basketball – it shows up in every position in every sport,” Stricklin said. “He’s not the only guy.”
Curry’s glad he’s got a head coach – himself a former catcher - who understands.
“Coach Strickin is an amazing coach, and an amazing teacher,” Curry said. “The things he’s taught me has been really great. To have that relationship with your head coach is pretty special. He’s a really outstanding catching coach. I appreciate everything he does.”
That includes attempting different methods to get Curry to overcome the problem, apparently even using a sports psychologist to lend a hand.
“We’ve tried everything,” Stricklin said. “We’ve had lots of suggestions – some we’ve taken and we’ve not taken some But, at the end of the day, Michael’s a leader for us and he’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
