A new view of home plate

The score was tied at four apiece in the seventh inning. Freshman pitcher Chris Hynes squinted into the late afternoon sun for the sign from senior Kevin O'Brien. Hynes wound up and threw a pitch in the dirt, and O'Brien slid to block with ease.\nWhile this event might seem routine, Hynes and O'Brien know a little something about both pitching and catching. Hynes was recruited as a catcher and started the season behind the plate. But because of injuries, he made the switch and has become one of coach Bob Morgan's top relievers. O'Brien spent his first two years at IU catching but made the transition to the mound for his junior and senior years and has shown consistency out of the bullpen in the late innings.\nO'Brien chuckled when he realized the comedy of the situation.\n"If we needed a few more innings if the game went extra innings, we'd have to switch off," O'Brien said of that April 12 contest.\nEasing both of their transitions has been Hoosier pitching coach Jeff Calcaterra. Calcaterra, in his seventh year as a full-time assistant, lettered at IU from 1989 to 1992 and was drafted by the New York Yankees as a catcher. \nCalcaterra played for the Gulf Coast Yankees and after his first year in the minors, made the transition that Hynes and O'Brien would make two decades later: a 60-foot, six-inch move from behind the plate to the pitching rubber.\nCalcaterra speaks for the three of them in saying the transition physically wasn't that difficult.\n"All three of us are pretty decent athletes," Calcaterra said, "and the one tool that I possessed as a ball player was my throwing arm. Both O'Brien and Hynes have very good arms. So making the transition physically from a catching throwing arm to a pitching arm was pretty easy."\nThe ease of the transition can be illustrated through both Hynes and O'Brien's excellent numbers. Hynes sports a 1-0 record with a 2.25 earned run average in 24 innings pitched, and O'Brien countering with a 2-0 record and a 3.93 ERA through 18.1 frames. \nMorgan counts on both hurlers to get his ball club out of tough jams. On April 5 against Iowa, junior starting pitcher Adam Pegg gave up two runs in five innings and was removed with the game tied. Hynes came on and delivered, pitching five innings of shut out ball, and IU won in the 10th inning.\nHynes said the development of his change up has been key.\n"I really didn't have a change up in high school," Hynes said. "They haven't been touching my change up while they've been killing my fastball. My change up has been the key to my success this year."\nWhile Hynes mainly works in long relief, O'Brien is a late inning reliever usually setting up for senior closer Ryan Smith. O'Brien, always pitching with his trade mark hat cocked to the side, is tied for third on the club with 17 strikeouts in as many innings. \nO'Brien's stocky frame of 6 feet and 225 pounds allows the Patterson, N.Y., native to bring good heat to the plate. O'Brien said the pressure of coming out of the bullpen is the same as starting except with little room for mistakes.\n"It is pressure because you can't control the game," O'Brien said. "But if you just do your job, you're trying to get the hitter out anyway. It's the same thing. There's just not as much margin for error."\nBoth converted catchers have benefited from the advantages of their former position. From pitch selection to knowing the defensive plays, Hynes and O'Brien know the ropes.\n"I've seen a lot of hitters in the Big Ten," O'Brien said. "Guys that were good their freshman year when I was a catcher and are still around. I've seen the way they hit and what pitches they like."\nCalcaterra has seen a lot of pitchers come through IU in his three years as a volunteer and seven as the pitching coach. And Calcaterra has helped both pitchers go back and forth mechanics-wise when spot catching duty arises.\nCalcaterra said the younger Hynes' maturity is catching up to the veteran O'Brien's, but if both of them keep throwing strikes, Hoosier hopes will be high.\n"Kevin has been pitching a couple of years now so he's a little more mature than Chris," Calcaterra said. "But Chris has showed some maturity on the mound. He's been able to throw strikes, and that's the most important thing for both of them"