Baseball purists believe you have to be strong up the middle to have a good team.

Part of that strength includes the position of catcher, where Lance Burkhart has been the Lancaster Barnstormers' starter since the franchise began play in 2005.

Burkhart was an integral part of the team's Atlantic League championship last season, and in a move to help defend their title, the Barnstormers have re-signed Burkhart for the upcoming season.

"He did a tremendous job with the pitching staff," said Denny Harriger, the Barnstormers ace last season. "It seemed like we were always in sync. When I would get the ball back from him, before I'd even step on the mound, I'd (think) this might be a good time to for a sinker or a curve ball or a good place to throw a change-up. And he's (already) throwing the signal down."

Burkhart, who played through some injuries, hit .222 with 16 home runs and 57 RBIs in 98 games last season, but he is most valuable for his handling of the mound staff and his defense.

"Burky helps make the pitching staff better," said Barnstormers manager Frank Klebe. "You take Burkhart and put him behind the plate with good pitching, you'll get great pitching. If you got Burky behind the plate and you got mediocre pitching, you'll get good pitching."

The Barnstormers were a league-best 75-51 last season and Burkhart was behind the plate for 89 of those games.

He caught all five games of the Barnstormers' undefeated playoff run, during which the staff ERA was 3.56.

"With a couple of our younger pitchers, he took control," Harriger said. "He went out (to the mound) and talked to them at the right time. He said the right things to them in the dugout between innings."

"He was like a coach on the field," Klebe said.

A Missouri native, Burkhart, 31, has 10 years of professional experience. In 1997, he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 15th round.

In addition to Burkhart, the Barnstormers announced that they have also re-signed Steve Van Note, who hit .238 with four homers and 38 RBIs in 83 games as a utility player for the Barnstormers last season.

In 2005, Van Note played 64 games for Lancaster and hit .295.

A University of Delaware grad, Van Note, 26, has played every position for the Barnstormers except pitcher and catcher. But this season, Klebe wants to turn Van Note into the team's everyday third baseman.

"I'm penciling him in and Steve's already working hard," said Klebe, who believes that knowing where he will play every day will help Van Note become a better offensive player.

"This is the first year he's coming to camp knowing what he's going to do, and we project a lot of good things for him," Klebe said. "I've seen him hit balls as far as anybody in this league at times, so I'm just hoping after a couple of years under his belt in this league he's ready to make that jump and go everyday."

Notes: Burkhart is one of three players who have been with the Barnstormers since their inception. The other two are Jutt Hileman, who has not yet signed for 2007, and Jose Ortiz, although Ortiz missed much of the 2005 season with an injury. Travis Hake, now property of the York Revolution, was part of Lancaster's first two seasons. ... Klebe was in Florida scouting a tryout camp. ... Harriger, helping at a baseball camp in Tennessee, said he is "90 percent" sure he's retiring.

E-mail Burt Wilson at bwilson@lnpnews.com.