Tag: PitchCom

MLB pitchers are wearing PitchCom devices to call their own pitches. Here’s how it’s helping them

MLB pitchers are calling their own games in spring training and it’s providing an advantage. We break down why.

Remember PitchCom, the wearable devices that allowed MLB catchers to input the pitch they wanted to see from hurlers, meant to curb sign stealing?

It’s back in 2023. But there’s a wrinkle that Major League Baseball tried out in spring training: Instead of only catchers getting to relay the pitch and location, pitchers can wear the device and tell the catcher what they’re throwing.

Per the Associated Press, it’s an experiment that if the league approves, could be implemented in the regular season.

But why is it so important? And how is it helping pitchers find an advantage?

First: Couple that with the new pitch clock and now pitchers can dictate the pace of the game. Max Scherzer revealed how that works and it’s brilliant, throwing hitters off their rhythm.

Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes mentioned he’ll be helped with speeding up his delivery with calling his own pitches on PitchCom:

But there’s a benefit to others, says San Francisco Giants pitcher Alex Cobb via NBC Sports Bay Area:

“With some of the younger (catchers), I think it helps them get their mind off of pitch-calling and they really can focus on some other things that are important: Pitch-framing, the running game is going to be hectic this year, we anticipate. They can kind of shift their focus to that,” Cobb said on Thursday’s Giants Talk Podcast. “I always tell them that if they feel adamant about a pitch, shake me off, and they still have the ability to call pitches. Shake me off and go to a pitch and I’ll listen to it and we’ll go that way. But for the most part, let’s just try to let me get into a flow and get the pace going.”

But speed is the key here. From The Athletic, on San Diego Padres pitchers trying it out:

“Maybe one shake (of the head in response to a catcher’s sign) is OK, but you don’t want to shake three or four times,” Nick Martinez said. “One shake, I think, is natural. Multiple shakes, if you can eliminate that, it’ll get the game quicker. So I think the PitchCom, that’s going to be the best for that.”

Martinez on Friday became the first Padres pitcher to test the new PitchCom remotes during live batting practice. He described the initial adjustment as “unorthodox.” At one point, Martinez found himself shaking off his catcher and quickly realizing he had a cutting-edge alternative. “I was like, ‘Just press the thing!’” Martinez said. “I think I’ve got to use it in a few bullpens and intentionally call all my bullpens on there.”

We’ll see if this continues into the regular season if MLB allows it. UPDATE: MLB approved it for pitcher use this season!

Kenta Maeda’s PitchCom inadvertently tipped off Rays batters in a spring training game

PitchCom’s ability to prevent sign stealing has an obvious fatal flaw

PitchCom has seemingly taken over baseball, with more and more teams not only using the electronic signal device to help pitchers and catchers communicate without signs, but allowing pitchers to call their own games on the mound.

The device has proven extraordinarily useful for some. There’s just one potentially huge problem teams are going to have to monitor: the volume level on the corresponding earpiece. Minnesota Twins starter Kenta Maeda learned this the hard way on Thursday in a spring exhibition against the Tampa Bay Rays — though it didn’t impact his performance.

Per the Associated Press:

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the PitchCom device catcher Tony Wolters was using was loud enough for Tampa Bay Rays hitters to hear every pitch that was called. Plate umpire Brennan Miller heard them all through the wireless system used by pitchers and catchers to communicate.

Maeda still threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits. He struck out two and walked one.

“I said, ‘Nicely done. By the way, something to note, they knew every pitch that was coming,”’ Baldelli said.

It’s probably not a great sign for the Rays that they still couldn’t manufacture any runs despite knowing what pitches were coming, but that also speaks to Maeda’s ability to work effectively.

PitchCom audibly tells the pitcher and catcher which pitch is coming next. It was theoretically meant to help cutdown on sign stealing across the game.

Now teams will have to worry about coms sharing instead.

Still, it’s much better to have this problem in March than April and beyond. Maybe it’ll even lead to fans trying to stay as quiet as possible when the home team is batting in order to help them hear better.

Or maybe players will just learn to turn down the volume next time.

The Mets’ Chris Bassitt resorted to mouthing ‘what pitch?’ as PitchCom’s playoff issues continued

MLB should have seen that one coming.

When Major League Baseball introduced technology to the pitcher-catcher communication in an effort to battle sign stealing, it was generally seen as a positive move for the game. But leave it to MLB to not test the system for a postseason-baseball environment.

The system — called PitchCom — allows the catcher to call pitches from his wrist, which then relays the call through an audio feed in the pitcher’s cap. PitchCom was tested in spring training and used throughout the regular season. But clearly, someone didn’t check to see how PitchCom would respond in a significantly louder postseason atmosphere.

Mets pitcher Chris Bassit learned about that the hard way during Sunday’s NL Wild Card Game 3 against the Padres.

With the Citi Field crowd on their feet and making noise, Bassit was seen straight-up asking Tomas Nido what pitch to throw. He simply could not hear the PitchCom feed over a playoff-caliber crowd.

Of course, the Mets — and any home playoff team — could communicate to the crowd that they need relative quiet to hear PitchCom. It should be approached in the same way a home football crowd gets quiet while the home team is on offense. Or, you know, MLB could have an in-ear piece for pitchers instead of an audio system in a cap. Otherwise, the system is just about useless for playoff games and actually slows the pace of play.

It shouldn’t be so difficult.

Understandably, MLB fans were not impressed with how PitchCom has handled playoff baseball.

The technology catchers are going to use to call pitches this MLB season, explained

Say hello to PitchCom.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you watching MLB baseball and seeing catchers touching some weird remote control thing on their wrists and wondered what was up with that? We’ve got you covered.

That’s right, we’ve got ourselves some spiffy new technology that’s making its regular-season debut in Major League Baseball in 2022: It’s something called PitchCom, and the whole idea behind it is to combat sign-stealing, which very much came to a head with the Houston Astros scandal.

So what’s the deal here? Let’s jump in: