Reds Coaches Found Genius Way to Use a Stuffed Animal in Spring Training Drill

Reds catchers used a stuffed hippo to practice their tags at spring training.

Spring training is an opportunity for baseball players to hone their fundamentals in preparation for the daily grind of the regular season. You practice things like baserunning and bunting in February so that they’re second nature in the dog days of August. Those drills have been mostly the same for as long as anyone can remember, but the Cincinnati Reds put an interesting twist on one of the drills they had their catchers run.

The Reds posted a video on social media on Monday of catchers practicing their tags with the help of a stuffed animal. 

No stuffed animals were harmed in the making of this film. pic.twitter.com/9MU30ERqF1

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) February 19, 2024

It’s a smart tactic, when you think about it. Having catchers tag the air or a stationary target wouldn’t be as effective, and using real players comes with a risk of injury. By using the stuffed animal, the catchers have the added challenge of trying to tag a moving target without putting themselves or their teammates in harm’s way. 

The idea to employ the stuffed animal came from Reds third base coach J.R. House, himself a former MLB catcher. The stuffed hippo pool toy was originally House’s daughter’s, and she eventually allowed her dad to bring it to the ballpark. 

“We took it out there and pretty much ruined it,” House told Jim Day in a 2022 interview for Bally Sports Cincinnati. “But we would tie a string to it, and as the ball was coming in, I would pull it and it would be like a runner coming in. So we tried to simulate that. So it was something that wouldn’t hurt our guys and they wouldn’t get banged up or anything, but simulate something fast where they could make a tag.”