“We want a catcher, not belly scratcher”

“We want a catcher, not a belly scratcher” is a child’s rhyming baseball chant. “We want a catcher, not a belly-scratcher!” has been cited in print since at least the 1990s.
 
“We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher” is often added to the chant and has been cited since at least 1971.
 
   
Google Groups: alt.roundtable
Rob
Rich G.
11/7/02
(...)
Ayup… which is why baseball is such a hetero sport. They’re always screaming “We need a pitcher not a belly itcher” while if it were a gay sport they’d need catcher’s too… oh wait, they yell “We need a catcher not a booty scratcher!” too don’t they? Dammit! I thought there was a funny joke in there somewhere.
 
Museum Victoria (Australia)
Play and Folklore, September 2003, pg. 8:
Gender differences show up in playground rhymes. Boys prefer gross-outs, ‘gotcha’ and ball field banter – “We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher! We want a catcher, not a belly-scratcher!” ….. Girls go for more complicated cheers, hand slapping chants, dances and jump rope rhymes. (Helms, 1995, p.2)
 
SFist
We Want a Catcher, Not a Belly Scratcher
By Jon in News on Dec 14, 2004 2:07 PM
After last season’s spirit-crushing, totally maddening season, Giants’ fans from around the Bay, like kids sitting on Santa’s lap, have all been screaming the same thing: “We want reliever! We want a shortstop! And we want a big-bopper to hit behind Barry!” Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
 
Google Books
From Abba to Zoom:
A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century
By David Mansour
Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Universal Company
2005
Pg. 264 (KIDDIE CHANTS):
“We need a pitcher, not a belly-itcher / We need a catcher, not a belly-scratcher.”
 
Twitter
Daniel Perez
‏@xBBx
@Gamerandy or the other, hugely popular in the UK “We want a catcher, not a belly scratcher” episode
8:49 PM - 26 Apr 2007
 
BrandonGaille.com
List of 50 Great Softball Team Slogans
Posted on September 6, 2013 by Brandon Gaille
(...)
We want a catcher not a back scratcher.
 
Twitter
GarbageMystic
‏@GarbageMystic
we want a pitcher not a bellyitcher. we want a catcher not a belly scratcher. we want a jeter not a pussy eater
9:08 PM - 30 Dec 2013