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Blake Swihart's catching comeback encounters an unexpected glitch

A lot of eyes are on Blake Swihart this spring. The Boston Red Sox catcher is trying to get back in the groove at his natural position after a move to the outfield derailed his 2016 season.

Unfortunately, his early spring training workouts are not providing much optimism thanks to an unexpected glitch.

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Swihart, whose season ended on June 4 after he crashed into a wall in foul territory while trying to catch a fly ball at Fenway Park, has encountered some issues with his accuracy on some throws back to the pitcher.

That’s actually putting it mildly. According to Mass Live’s Christopher Smith, what Swihart has is a good old fashioned case of the yips, and so far it’s been one of the biggest stories at Red Sox camp.

Neither manager John Farrell nor Swihart has expressed public concern over the issue, but it’s been impossible for others to ignore.

Swihart has been spotted throwing some balls over the pitcher’s head, as seen in the video above. He’s also thrown some wide, which is a bit dangerous given the close quarters where some of these sessions are taking place. Perhaps most concerning, he’s double-clutched on a few, which indicates it’s in his head at least a little bit.

Not that he’s going to admit it.

“I’m not concerned,” Swihart told Mass Live on Friday. “I’m going back to catch. When you’re in the outfield you have a longer arm swing and a longer arm limit. And I’m just trying to shorten it back up. I’m misfiring here and there.”

Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart is struggling to return the ball to the pitcher. (AP)
Boston Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart is struggling to return the ball to the pitcher. (AP)

Swihart’s move to the outfield was considered smooth by most people’s standards. The way it ended though naturally led to some second guessing. Now that this throwing issue has popped up, perhaps there’s room for some third and fourth guesses too.

Those won’t come from the skipper though. He sees this as a temporary problem, despite its troubling nature.

“This is something that has just kind of popped up a little bit. He has always been a good athlete. A good, athletic catcher. Accurate thrower. So there’s some technique that he’s working through right now. And this isn’t even throwing the ball to second base. It’s just a matter of his transfer and get the ball back to the pitcher in good shape. So we’re working on it right now.”

As Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown writes, Swihart’s issues speak to the fragility of a young career in baseball. How or why these lapses occur is impossible to explain. It’s just a mental block that some survive, either through recovery or reinvention, such as Rick Ankiel’s move to the outfield. For others, like Chuck Knoblauch, it proved to be the beginning of the end.

As for Swihart, he sees himself as a survivor, and that might be half the battle.

“I feel fine. I’m not worried. You guys shouldn’t be worried either,” Swihart concluded. “I’m working on my craft. And I promise the ball’s going to get there.”

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!