Report: MLB to allow electronic pitch-signaling devices to deter sign-stealing
MLB will reportedly allow teams to use electronic pitch-signaling devices this season in their continuing effort to deter sign-stealing and prevent another trash-can-banging scheme like the Houston Astros developed in 2017.
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, players will soon be allowed to use PitchCom, an electronic wrist device described as "a pad with buttons" for catchers paired with a listening device for pitchers. The catcher will use the wrist pad to signal the pitch type and location, which the pitcher will hear through the listening device.
Five players per team will reportedly be able to use PitchCom during a game, with two being the pitcher and catcher and the other three being fielders. Since pitch type and location can affect how the ball will be hit and where it might land, fielders can adjust their positioning based on the pitch called by the catcher.
Olney reported that teams won't be forced to use PitchCom and will still have the option to have catchers physically flash signs from home plate.
Early reviews are in
This technology has already been tested by at least one MLB team during spring training. The New York Yankees used PitchCom in a game last weekend, with catcher Kyle Higashioka and pitcher Luis Severino serving as guinea pigs. Severino had nothing but great things to say about the experience.
"I think it was great," Severino told reporters via ESPN. "I was a little doubtful at the beginning, but when we started using it, it was really good — with a man on second, too. I would definitely like to use it in my first start [of the regular season]. ... You know what pitch you're going to throw right away."
According to Olney, other reviews of PitchCom have been similarly "glowing," with pitchers "raving" about how it helps the flow of the game.
Electronic signaling makes sign-stealing much harder
As long as pitchers have been pitching and batters have been batting, sign-stealing has been part of baseball. A coach or a guy on second base can get a decent look at the signs the catcher is flashing between his legs, and he can communicate that to his teammates. It's been happening in the game for at least a century.
Teams have always been worried about that kind of sign-stealing (while also presumably doing it themselves), but the use of PitchCom was spurred by a much bigger and more elaborate sign-stealing scheme. The 2017 Astros won 101 regular-season games and the World Series, all while using a system to steal signs from a live video feed and communicate the information to batters using audio cues like banging on a trash can lid.
Physical pitch signaling played a big role in that scheme because that's what players in the clubhouse used to let batters know what pitch was coming. With PitchCom, there would be no physical signs for anyone to steal. Of course, there are electronic signs, which could potentially be hacked during a game. No details are yet available on whether that's possible and what MLB will do to prevent it.
