On a typical baseball team the leadoff hitter is frequently the fastest runner. On a typical baseball team the catcher is frequently the slowest runner. Occasionally catchers have batted leadoff, but it would be an understatement to say that that happens very infrequently. Here’s how infrequently it occurs: The Yankees have played in New York since 1903. In 122 seasons they have played more than 19,000 ball games. Never — not even once — has a Yankees manager presented a lineup card that has his catcher batting first. Until today. You can expect to see history made this afternoon. Yankees manager Aaron Boone has stated that he intends to use catcher Austin Wells in the leadoff spot when the Bronx Bombers face a right-handed starting pitcher. Since the Milwaukee Brewers have nominated Freddy Peralta as their opening day hurler, the first pinstripe-clad player in the batter’s box will probably be Wells. Wells is nobody’s idea of a traditional leadoff hitter — a “table-setter” who paves the way for the “meat of the order” that will follow. He is a power hitter. In spring training he blasted six homers in 46 at bats. He did not steal a single base. If he bats first he will probably be followed by Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger — two players who are even better power hitters. They aren’t setting the table for the meat of the order because they are the meat of the order. Boone wants to assure that the Yankees’ most dangerous hitters come to bat in the first inning, so he’s skipping the table setters the first time around. He’s creating a “circular” batting order by placing the table setters at the bottom, allowing them to perform their traditional functions the rest of the game. It’s as simple as that. Well, no it’s not. There is still a catcher in the leadoff spot — a 25-year-old catcher who was a rookie last season. The Yankees are asking an awful lot from one man. Catcher is the most physically demanding everyday position on the ball field. The catcher spends nearly half the game squatting. He wears heavy equipment but even that doesn’t protect him from every foul tip. He exerts himself more than anyone else and he takes a beating while he’s doing it. If he bats leadoff he will come to bat five times in most games. If he gets on base — say — twice a game, that will be two times when he gets little or no break between innings. A young, very athletic guy like Wells can probably handle all that on a chilly day in March. But that doesn’t mean he won’t wear down if he’s asked to do it day after day when the weather turns hot and humid. That’s only the physical strain he will confront. There’s much more. A good catcher is a skilled handler of pitchers. He’s the pitcher’s partner, cheerleader, critic, advocate and sometimes his brains as well. He’s almost a manager on the field. Before he even calls a pitch, he looks around to make sure all the fielders are positioned correctly. All teams conduct clubhouse meetings before every series against a new team and they go over the scouting reports of the team they are about to face. The team is usually divided into two groups. Hitters are in one part of the clubhouse, getting the lowdown on opposing pitchers. Elsewhere the pitchers are being briefed on the other team’s batters. The catchers really need to be in both places, but they have to pick one. They usually sit with the pitchers and focus on rival hitters. Those scouting reports are important, but modern technology allows every player to take a deeper dive into the strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of potential adversaries. There are television pictures available from every game and a diligent player makes use of those pictures. He studies the opposing pitcher’s recent outings — inning by inning and pitch by pitch. He reviews pictures of his own previous plate appearances against that pitcher. The catcher can’t do that. At least he can’t do it as much as everybody else. While the other people in the lineup are studying the opposing pitcher, the catcher is usually sitting with his own starting pitcher and the pitching coach as they review pictures of everybody in the opposing team’s lineup. That’s nine people. Together they work out a strategy and a pitching sequence they plan to use against each hitter. The catcher needs to commit every one of them to memory. Perhaps the catcher can find a few minutes to review pictures of the pitcher he will be batting against, but there is only so much that can be crammed into a human brain. A catcher cannot normally focus on his hitting the way his teammates can, and every manager understands that. Most managers expect plenty of unproductive at bats from the catcher and place him deep in the batting order — some place where they might absorb those unproductive at bats. They don’t bat him leadoff. No successful team can absorb plenty of unproductive at bats from the leadoff hitter. The Yankees are, essentially, asking Wells to be two players. Only a special athlete can do that. Perhaps the Yankees thought he was special back in 2020 they selected him in the first round of the draft. We’re all about to find out how special. A FEW SPRING TRAINING STATISTICS: The most productive hitter this spring has been Brett Baty — a player the Mets are trying to convert into a second baseman. In 18 games Baty’s OPS was 1.186. Eleven of his 18 hits went for extra bases … The Phillies drew 153 walks — 11 more than any other team … Five Angels players successfully executed sacrifice bunts during Cactus League games … Rival teams were 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts against Kumar Rocker of the Rangers … Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners led all batters in RBIs with 20 … The best batting average (.373) belonged to Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays … Corbin Burnes of the Diamondbacks struck out 22 batters while walking only two … Will Warren of the Yankees pitched more innings (23) and posted more victories (four) than any other pitcher. His Grapefruit League ERA, however, was 5.09 … Edmundo Sosa of the Phillies grounded into six double plays … Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor batted only .200 and did not hit a home run … Caleb Durbin of the Brewers stole 10 bases … The Cubs allowed 50 homers in 24 exhibition games. When the games counted, they continued at almost the same pace, giving up three round trippers to the Dodgers in two games in Tokyo. Former Hall of Fame voter Jay Dunn has written baseball for The Trentonian for 57 years. Contact him at jaydunn8@aol.com ...read more read less