How Stallings became an elite pitch-framer

The Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs on this Thursday night at PNC Park, winning 9-5.

But before the series got underway, Jacob Stallings had some catching practice to do.

The routine goes like this: Stallings and bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena head to the bullpen, or sometimes a batting cage, with a sack of different sized baseballs. Stallings crouches like normal, and Comadena flips him a ball, underhand. Stallings catches it, trying to keep his hand as still as possible.

The two continue this until Comadena breaks out the weighted balls. They are roughly the same size as a normal baseball but are heavier and a little squishier. Comadena mixes in three different weights: 16,…