Telegraph photo by TOM KING Merrimack's Ben Flanders takes his catching ability very seriously, as one can tell by his focused approach.

NASHUA – Ben Flanders rolled up his left sleeve the other day at Harvey Woods Field, showing a huge bruise on his arm.

“They’re all over the place, the bruises,” Flanders said. “It’s awesome, though. I love it.”

Ahhh, the life of a catcher. Lots of risk, but if you’re up for it, great reward.

“It beats you up, too,” said the prospective starting backstop of the Merrimack entry in the NHCBL. “But I’m behind the plate every day,” said, “and I love it.”

“Catchers,” Merrimack NHCBL coach Mike Henzley said. “You’ve got to take care of them.”

Flanders’ father Brett, a Maine native who had a potential collegiate career at Ohio University derailed by injuries, talked his son into becoming a catcher. “I’ve been learning it all my life,” Flanders said. “And I’m trying to put together this season. This summer is probably one of the most important seasons as far (college) recruiting goes because we didn’t have a high school season. This is probably the most important.”

Flanders likely would have spent the spring of his junior season at Merrimack High School as the top catcher. The Merrimack team, mainly composed of players who would have played Senior Legion this summer, has been working out the last week or so at the closed Daniel Webster College field that Rivier University is maintaining. That was good news for Flanders, as now he has that shot to strut his stuff on a regular basis.

And he says that the best way to be noticed as a catcher is, well, not to be noticed.

“You don’t notice a good catcher,” Flanders said. “You notice a bad catcher. And my goal is to be not noticeable, and be good. Be sound behind the plate. A lot of people notice a bad catcher, but I like to keep the game in control and talk to my pitchers and make sure everything’s all good.”

How serious is he about his craft? Flanders worked out basically every day during the pandemic shutdown in his basement, or going out to a field. “It wasn’t that tedious, if you’ve got time,” he said. “And we’ve all got time. I used it well and I worked hard.”

“He’s working on his arm strength,” Henzley said. “He’s improved his (throwing to second) time. He’s always been a reliable hitter. He’s working on those aspects of his game.”

The control factor is, again, what Flanders likes most about the catching position. He’s developed a pretty good way to work with his pitchers, too.

“It depends,” he said of his methods. “There’s the hot-headed pitcher and there’s the nice pitcher. If he’s having a great day, he’s having fun, I’ll go out there (to the mound), tell him a joke, and ask him what he’s having for dinner.

“Or if it’s the hot-headed pitcher, he’s also doing good, but he needs a little more amping up, and he just keeps on going. It just depends on what kind of pitcher it is.”

Those words are music to Henzley’s ears.

“I’m excited for him to take a leadership role,” he said. “When he was an incoming freshman, the rumor was we weren’t going to have enough kids to play. He tried out for (Legion) coming out of eighth grade, but he was too young.

“We had a long talk. I told him ‘You’re coming in, I know you’re going to be a leader.'”

Flanders, Henzley said, took that conversation to start and convinced enough kids to play so Merrimack could have a high school freshman team.

“That’s the kind of kid he is,” Henzley said. “Last year was a big step for him.”

Flanders has become a pretty reliable hitter. He was in the cleanup spot last summer, and during a tournament laid down a bunt. He feels he can hit for power, but also shorten up and go the other way. “I can do pretty much anything,” he said.

Flanders got a taste of Senior Legion a couple of years ago and continued an upward trend last summer with Post 98, getting a little more regular time behind the plate. He has one more year at MHS and is willing to let the process of finding a college home take as long as necessary.

“I know some people who commit in May (of their senior year),” he said. “It’s a process and I’m willing to go through that.”

He’s also considering maybe going to a post-grad year at a prep school if necessary as he’s still 16.

“But I think I’m still ready for that (college) level,” he said, adding he wants to study chemistry, engineering, . “That’s my main goal. I’ve spoken to a lot of colleges, I feel pretty good about it.”

“He’s a high academic student and a hard worker,” Henzley said. “Just a great kid overall. One of those guys, ‘Whatever you need coach, I’ll do it for you.'”

Not many teams have a cerebral catcher like that.

“I’ve been playing the game since T-ball,” Flanders said. “Even when the ball wasn’t (being pitched), I was still behind the plate. It’s been a lot of fun. Baseball’s pretty much what my life revolves around.”

And the more bruises, the better.