Langeliers putting the 'athletic' in 'Athletics'

Catcher's sneaky speed has him in elite company league-wide

September 20th, 2023
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OAKLAND -- Catchers are often generalized as being slower and less athletic than every other position player on a baseball field. , however, continues to defy that theory.

In the seventh inning of the A’s 7-2 loss to the Mariners on Tuesday night at the Coliseum, Langeliers tied an Oakland record for most triples by a catcher in a season with his team-leading fourth three-bagger of 2023.

“Shea is pretty quick for a catcher,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “He is athletic. To see him lead our team in triples is pretty impressive for a catcher.”

Drilling an 0-1 fastball from Luis Castillo that fell just a few feet short from being a home run as it smacked off the high wall in right-center, Langeliers noticed the distance between the ball and center fielder Julio Rodríguez that was created from the bounce and turned on the burners. According to Statcast, he completed the trek from home plate to third base in 13.61 seconds.

Entering Tuesday’s contest, Langeliers ranked in the 80th percentile of all qualified Major League players in sprint speed.

“Yeah, I think so,” Langeliers said when asked if he feels like he catches opponents by surprise with his speed. “Obviously, I’m not stealing a bunch of bags. But if I hit a ball in the gap, I think I’m able to take advantage. I wouldn’t say I’m a burner, but I’m quicker than most catchers.”

Langeliers is certainly right in his self-assessment. When it comes to catchers, his sprint speed average of 28.5 feet per second ranks second fastest, only slightly behind Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto’s 28.7 ft/sec. The threshold for “elite” speed is considered to be 30 ft/sec.

Some players are naturally fast athletes. For Langeliers, building up his speed is a process that began around the middle of his college career at Baylor University. Now, Langeliers follows an offseason routine that includes workouts designed to maintain his speed.

“I do quite a bit of sprint training in the offseason just to keep explosiveness and stuff like that,” Langeliers said. “Probably toward the end of my sophomore or junior year of college is when I ran like a 6.56 60-yard dash, which is pretty good. Before that, I was probably just average.”

That supreme athleticism also helps Langeliers behind the plate. His elite pop time of 1.90 seconds ranks 10th out of 79 catchers in the Majors, a skill he attributes to his fast-twitch abilities.

Of course, catching is a demanding position that takes a toll on the body. Over time, Langeliers might see a drop in his overall speed. But for now, the 25-year-old remains one of the faster backstops in the game.

“It depends how the body feels, too,” Langeliers said. “If you catch a bunch of games in a row, you’re going to lose the top speed a little bit. But if you get an off-day, you’re feeling fresh and coming back to the field feeling good.”

The triple added to what has been an encouraging discovery of Langeliers’ power stroke. Over his last 24 games, Langeliers has collected 12 extra-base hits -- including nine of his 20 home runs on the season -- as he continues to display the hitting traits that made him such a touted prospect in previous years.

“Offense is always going to fluctuate,” Langeliers said. “It’s going to go good and it’s going to go bad. Sometimes it can go really bad. The power has always been there. Sometimes, I haven’t been disciplined at the plate, swinging at bad pitches. But when I’m locked in and confident in my approach, that’s when I can string them together. I think that’s going to be the biggest point of emphasis finishing out the season and going into the offseason -- plate discipline.”

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Martín Gallegos covers the A's for MLB.com.