Greiner, Rosenberg to split time behind the plate in 2012
Freshman Grayson Greiner looks odd behind the plate.
The 6-5 catcher has always looked out of place; pitcher Colby Holmes described him as a “freak” because he’s such a large target behind the plate.
“I’ve talked to some guys who have said I might be too tall to be a catcher, but as long as I can do it, I’m going to keep doing it,” Greiner said.
South Carolina coach Ray Tanner isn’t one of the people telling Greiner that he’s too tall to be a catcher. Tanner admits that Greiner, who grew up in northeast Columbia, has been better than he expected.
“Many times you bring in a new catcher and the pitchers are the first to critique your new catcher,” Tanner said. “Regardless of what he does, if they’re not comfortable with him, that becomes an issue. He was outstanding in the fall, and I know that I try to be somewhat conservative at times, but Grayson Greiner is a really good player. He had an outstanding fall; he can catch, he can throw, he’s going to be good offensively. His ability to receive has been the key for him. If he’s comfortable, he’s very, very comfortable of becoming a freshman All-American. Is that too much for him right now? I don’t know, but he’s a good one and hopefully he’ll play that way.”
Tanner said pitchers want to have Greiner as a catcher because they feel comfortable with him. Greiner, who’s been catching since seventh grade said that it’s become second nature for him to work with pitchers and manage them.
“As a true freshmen coming in, they don’t really know you or how you catch or how you manage them,” Greiner said. “The first thing you want to do is build a relationship with every pitcher in bullpen and in practice. I’m just trying to make them as comfortable as possible because we’ve got great arms in Michael (Roth) and Matt (Price), so you just want to make them as comfortable as possible so they can do their thing and not worry about the catcher.”
And though Tanner has lauded Greiner’s poise behind the plate, he still recalls feeling uneasy at first, living so close to Columbia and having family ties to the baseball team.
“In the first day of practice, I’m catching in Michael Roth’s bullpen,” Greiner said. “It’s kind of weird watching them on TV with all the success they’ve had, but after the first couple of days, you’re just one of the guys and one of the teammates.”
He said that as being a young player and a new addition to the team, it was a matter of “being one of the guys.” In contrast to Greiner is junior Dante Rosenberg, who missed last season with a back injury. Tanner said both will play at catcher, as well as Erik Payne, who will occasionally serve in that role.
“He’s a big strong kid,” Rosenberg said of Greiner. “He’s very mature for his age. He’s a real good player. A real good defensive catcher, and he can hit a little bit. He’s got a promising future. I’m the same way. I’m defensive, I’m gonna hit for average, get the little things on the field, vocal leader, and I’ll bring a lot of energy to the team.”
Though Rosenberg was on the national championship squad last season, sitting out for the whole 2011 season is motivating him going into this season.
“I’m happy, and I was a part of it, but it was difficult to sit back and watch,” Rosenberg said.
Tanner said that he never feels comfortable starting freshmen at key positions, but catcher is one role that he hasn’t been as concerned about because of how comfortable the pitchers have been with both Greiner and Rosenberg. For Holmes, his favorite part about having Greiner catching is the fact that he is such a large target. With so much hype going into this season Greiner and Rosenberg have a large target on their backs in replacing the senior duo of Robert Beary and Brady Thomas.
“Last Fall, Dante caught me a lot,” Holmes said. “Having him and Greiner there and knowing that I’ve got somebody who can back me up, it’s a really good feeling going into this year.”