David Ross: Blake Swihart Faces 'Learning Curve' In Jump To Red Sox

Blake Swihart has been a major league catcher for all of two weeks. There will be growing pains.

Just ask David Ross, a 14-year veteran who signed with the Chicago Cubs over the offseason after spending the last two seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

Ross told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford by phone earlier this week he couldn’t imagine being in Swihart’s shoes right now, as the 23-year-old Red Sox backstop has a full plate in his first big league call-up.

“In Blake’s instance, you’re looking at a young player who has a lot of hype surrounding him and rightfully so,” the 38-year-old Ross told Bradford. “But the things I’ve learned over the years of being a catcher are things I’ve learned from making mistakes. I’ve been able to make mistakes as a backup, things that have molded me to the game-caller that I am.

“The best way to learn in baseball is when you make mistakes is to get burned by them and then take a mental note that you’re able to store away about hitters or about a pitcher that can or can’t execute a certain pitch. There’s a lot that goes into game-calling. That’s why spring training is so important. You can figure out what your pitcher likes to throw in certain situations.”

Swihart not only is learning a new pitching staff, though he caught some of Boston’s hurlers in spring training. It’s also a struggling pitching staff working under the guidance of a new pitching coach, Carl Willis, meaning there are even more adjustments than usual to be made.

Oh yeah, and Swihart also is switch-hitter — essentially doubling his offensive workload — who is working in conjunction with a backup catcher, Sandy Leon, who didn’t even join the Red Sox until the tail end of spring training after Christian Vazquez went down with a season-ending injury.

“There’s a learning curve,” Ross told Bradford of Swihart’s transition. “And then there’s the trust factor.

“When you have a young guy back there, it takes a while to build that trust, and to figure out whether or not this guy knows what he’s doing or not doing. It’s a process. It’s not just going to happen in a couple of starts. It takes a little while to learn what the pitcher likes to do and what he likes to shake to.”

Transitioning from Triple-A to the majors isn’t easy for any player, but it’s especially difficult for a young catcher, like Swihart, who has had the deck stacked against him from Day 1.