“Good fielding and pitching, without hitting, or vice versa, is like Ben Franklin’s half a pair of scissors — ineffectual. Twenty-game winners or .400 hitters do not ensure victory.” ...

It’s a familiar sight this time of year. A pitcher and catcher converge at the midway point between the mound and home plate to review an inaugural bullpen session. Feedback is exchanged ...

Now, those pitchers can simply relay their choice to the catcher rather than shaking him off and waiting for a specific sign on the occasions where the two differ.

But in order to crack the Opening Day roster, he’ll have to shake off some rust and hit. The strong-armed catcher was trending up and had a .239 batting average before his surgery in 2021.

Heim, an experienced catcher, knew his pitcher needed a minute. Heim, with the ball in his glove, called timeout and walked out to the pitcher’s mound. As he did, he tossed the ball back to Leiter.