Knizner, Wilson and the art of framing

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- Rangers backup catcher Andrew Knizner stood by his locker speaking to a few reporters and laughed.

“You hear that, Bobby? I finally got that interview about how I got better, Bobby!” Knizner yelled across the clubhouse to Bobby Wilson, the Rangers' catching coach.

After Knizner signed a one-year deal with Texas on Jan. 11, he was told that Wilson would change his life when it came to catching. And Wilson has more than lived up to the reputation Knizner heard so much about.

In 2023 with the Cardinals, Knizner was tied for 47th out of 63 qualified catchers with -4 framing runs, according to Statcast. This season, he has posted +2 framing runs, tied for 13th out of 62 qualified catchers with Gold Glove Award-winning teammate Jonah Heim and Arizona's Gabriel Moreno.

To no surprise, Knizner credited Wilson for his improvement in receiving and framing this season.

“There's no gimmicks, nothing like that. Just straight hard work and really just trust in the process that you know that he has,” Knizner said. “Everything with the whole setup of my stance, being consistent with my setups, my angles to the plate. And then obviously, just the consistency of my moves through the ball, and really working below it and working up to that baseball. I think that's it. There's no secret. It’s just working every day, doing it the right way, and going out in the game and just taking what you practice into the game.”

So how do you teach receiving and framing? How does a catcher get better at it seven years into his Major League career?

Wilson is one of the best teachers.

“I can give them simple thoughts," Wilson said. "And we present their body, preset their angles to keep them in leverage. [We teach them] to stay in leverage to keep the ball within your body frame, and you have a simple thought of moving the ball straight up or straight down and avoiding lateral moves."

Knizner praised Wilson’s ability to translate that in ways that are easy for his catchers to understand.

“We have all these numbers, so I'm able to go and see, and I can break it down by what pitches I need to work on, what zones I need to work on and everything like that,” Knizner said. “We have a lot of information, and Bobby is really good at translating that into the right drills and practice, and what we need to do with different angles or different ways of going about catching different pitches. We have a pretty good system going right now. Just looking forward to keeping it rolling.”

Wilson believes that framing and receiving -- particularly on one knee, as all the Rangers' catchers do -- has become a vital part of the game.

It’s something that all Rangers' catchers have been good at, too, from former Texas catchers Jose Trevino and Austin Hedges to Heim and Knizner.

“I think we've found analytically that it's a big component of the game,” Wilson said. “Basically, how a catcher's defensive metrics and receiving affect their overall WAR and how it affects the game. Changing counts from 1-0 to 0-1, we know the OPS difference in those counts. So keeping counts in our favor is such a big component of the game. And that's basically what we're trying to do is keep us in leverage counts, because we know what the numbers say.”

Wilson has a reputation for developing elite defensive backstops, most recently with Heim and Trevino -- another All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner who developed with the Rangers before he was traded to the Yankees on April 2, 2022.

Being a backup catcher isn’t the easiest job in the game. Knizner entered camp with the Rangers this spring excited to improve his defensive abilities and his game preparation, as well as build a relationship with the pitching staff.

Although his offensive numbers are down compared to last season, Knizner has provided the defense that the Rangers want from him.

“I saw the numbers and his improvement,” manager Bruce Bochy said of Knizner’s defensive development. “Credit his work and what Bobby Wilson's been doing with him. They work every day, and it seems like they're working on every part of the game. I saw him and they're studying and working. He's committed to getting better, and that's what we're all here for as coaches -- to see what we can do to make them better. Bobby Wilson has done a great job with him.

“Bobby really cares about them. And he wants them to be the best version of themselves. He's gonna stay on them. You saw it with Jonah, he won a Gold Glove last year. You see the metrics. That's because of a lot of hard work and good coaching.”