Otto: How Cubs catching trio comes together truly remarkable
Between the old man (David Ross), the youngster (Willson Contreras) and the veteran (Miguel Montero), I haven't seen three catchers in a season handle a pitching staff quite like this trio has done.
The Chicago Cubs' pitching staff was at the top or close to the league lead in many categories this season. While it's difficult to measure how much of the pitching success can be attributed to this trio, it's also very difficult to keep three catchers in sync with an entire pitching staff over a full season.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, however, has been able to juggle his selfless catching trio because they all care about only one thing, and that's winning.
An early back injury and the emergence of Contreras never afforded Miggy the chance to get into any kind of rhythm swinging the bat, and that might be a reason for Montero's struggles throwing out basestealers.
The most at-bats Montero had in a month was 52 in June. For the season, he only threw out five of 63 runners on stolen-base attempts.
But, as we saw Saturday night, there's some gas left in Miggy's tank. With two outs in the eighth inning against the Dodgers, he ran into a hanging slider with the bases loaded and turned the Cubs' Game 1 fortunes around with a grand slam.
The only way Montero could pull off something like that is by keeping himself in the game mentally, and working his tail off between these sporadic appearances. What has impressed me most about him, though, is how he controls the pace of the game when he handles pitchers such as Jake Arrieta.
Nothing starts until the catcher puts his fingers down for the sign, and sometimes catchers want their pitcher to work fast when in a good rhythm, while other times they want him to slow things down.
Like Montero, Ross has a knack for reading hitters. He's constantly looking down at the hitter's feet to see if the hitter has moved in the batter's box, searching for clues about what a hitter might be looking for on the next pitch.
Ross, who is on the top step of the dugout every game he doesn't start, is constantly watching hitters. Ross, thanks to his years of experience, could catch Jon Lester in his sleep. He knows exactly where to move behind the plate, giving Lester a real good target and occasionally expanding the strike zone.
While Ross and Montero provide that veteran presence and experience, Contreras brings a ton of raw talent. He shuts down the running game by possessing a cannon for an arm, and he is lightning quick behind the plate on blocking balls in the dirt.
Aroldis Chapman might be the most difficult pitcher to catch on the planet. A catcher has to be very athletic to catch a 103-mph fastball, especially when it is a foot outside.
In the heat of October, players are sometimes put in spots they haven't been accustomed to playing during the regular season, all in the interest of winning THAT game.
Closers are called on to get six outs. A regular starter might sit out the first half of a game and get called to pinch hit later. And a starting pitcher might work in relief, etc.
Maddon will have some difficult decisions to make regarding who starts behind the plate, and who finishes these critical playoff games.
Each Cubs catcher, however, brings certain strengths for Maddon to consider. Good things tend to happen, though, when a team has a group that believes winning is the only goal that matters.
• Dave Otto, a standout athlete at Elk Grove High School, pitched from 1987-1994 for four MLB teams, including the Cubs. A former baseball analyst for WGN Radio, FoxSportsNet and Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Otto also is a member of the University of Missouri Hall of Fame.