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Francisco Cervelli shares his secret for pitch framing: 'Love the ball'

By Michael Clair

Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, who is one of the best at pitch framing in the Majors, has a deep feeling for every pitch that comes his way: Love. As he told Mark Simon of ESPN about his catching method:
"What I've learned is that you have to love the ball. You don't have to fight the ball. Let it come to you. Love, not fight ... love."
The numbers back up this deeply emotional method, too. According to Baseball Prospectus, Cervelli was the sixth-best catcher in the Majors last year in framing runs added, while ESPN ranks Cervelli first in called strikes above average since the start of 2015. 
For proof, look no further than the video up top. Those are all borderline pitches that Cervelli pulled back over the plate.
Or you could just check out the GIF below. Everything Cervelli does is to influence this cutter from Mark Melancon to be called a strike:

Cervelli already provides between-innings love advice to Pirates fans as a baseball-playing Miss Lonelyhearts, so why not do the same for aspiring catchers?

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