Jocelyn Erickson Gold Glove Leftie

Left-Handed Catcher Softball: Jocelyn Erickson Proves It’s Possible

ByClaude
Jocelyn Erickson Gold Glove Leftie

She’s proving that left-handed catchers belong behind the plate — and showing every young player that convention is not the same as the rulebook.

The last known left-handed catcher in professional baseball strapped on the gear for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989. His name was Benny Distefano.

Thirty-seven years later, Jocelyn Erickson crouches behind the plate for the Chicago Bandits in the AUSL, throws with her left hand, and catches pitchers like Amber Fiser as if the orthodoxy never existed.

She is not a novelty act, and she will tell you so. Two Rawlings Gold Gloves — softball’s highest defensive honor — both won as a Florida Gator. The 2024 NFCA Player of the Year, the award the National Fastpitch Coaches Association gives to the best player in Division I. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 AUSL College Draft.

She just happens to do all of it left-handed.

“I just like that it shows little girls that they can do what they want,” Erickson said.

Nothing in the rulebook says a left-hander cannot catch. The reason left-handed catchers are almost nonexistent is that conventional wisdom established this flawed logic as a tradition.

The arguments are familiar. A left-handed catcher reaches across her body to tag a runner at the plate. Her throw to third is awkward with a right-handed batter in the box. The natural arm angle on throws to second might cause the ball to fade.

Erickson has heard all of them.

“The only two, I would say, are plays at the plate and picks to third,” she said. “But you just have to get creative and figure out what works best for you.”

Aside from the fact that Jocelyn has perfected her defensive tactics necessary to defend against a runner on third, posit this. Runners are taught to return to third by running inside of the baseline, thus blocking the catchers throw to third, forcing an error, and the enhancing the chance to take home. I’d say with a flick of Jocelyn’s wrist, the glove at the hot corner has less than seconds to prepare her palm for that pop. Lefties working on a Gold Glove? – Watch Jocelyn Erickson’s Feet.

She grew up on a travel ball team with another left-handed catcher. Her coaches never told her she could not do it. That environment, she said, is the whole reason she is here — behind the plate for a professional team in the AUSL’s first season, catching one of the best pitchers in the game.

In her pro debut, Erickson was behind the plate for the Bandits’ first win of the year, an 11-3 run-rule over the Oklahoma City Spark. She started again when the Bandits beat the Carolina Blaze 5-1. Both times she caught Amber Fiser.

“She steals some outside pitches for me,” Fiser said. “She does a great job with that. ‘Jocey’ is so fun to throw to.”

What a catcher can learn from this

If you throw left-handed and love catching, this section is for you.

You can catch. The work is the same as any catcher — footwork, receiving mechanics, blocking technique, throwing game. The lefty-specific adaptations are real. The tag at the plate. The pick to third. Erickson is proof.

Every catcher, at some point, gets told something they cannot do. Too small. Arm not strong enough. Does not call a good game. Those are assessments from someone who saw you at one moment in time. They are not permanent verdicts.

Find coaches who ask “how do we solve this?” instead of “why don’t you try harder.” Grow with people who believe in what’s possible. The gear goes on the same way. The squat is the same. The job is the same. Left hand or right.

Get creative. Figure out your way. Then go win the Gold Glove — the way she did. Twice.

“I just like that it shows little girls that they can do what they want,” Erickson said.

That could be you.

Try this at your next practice

  • Left-vs-right receiving drill. Have a coach or parent roll balls both left and right of your glove while you’re in the catching stance. For left-handed catchers especially, focus on footwork for throws to third and receiving pitches to your glove-arm side — these are the two zones where a lefty works slightly differently. The goal is to build natural movement so your footwork becomes automatic.
  • Tag technique at the plate. In a controlled setting, have a runner come home at half-speed while you practice the swipe tag — applying the glove to the lower half of the body, not reaching across the body. Left-handed catchers need a slightly different approach here, and the only way to find it is reps. Work with your coach to build a technique that’s yours.
  • Pitch framing on the outside corner. Set up a target on the outside edge of the plate (relative to a right-handed batter). Practice receiving pitches on that edge with soft hands and a quiet glove — “stealing” the pitch back into the zone with a subtle turn. This is exactly what Amber Fiser praised about Erickson: “She steals some outside pitches for me.” Any catcher — left-handed or right — can work on this.

Sources: A left-handed catcher? AUSL’s Erickson is proving everyone wrong (MLB.com / Bruce Miles, June 28 2026); Bandits ink Gator Catcher Jocelyn Erickson to rookie contract (AUSL.com); Jocelyn Erickson — Bandits — AUSL (official player page); Erickson and Cahalan Selected in 2026 AUSL College Draft (Florida Gators Athletics).

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