SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The NFL has had in-headgear communication systems for nearly three decades.
Now, just days before the start of the 2022 season, MLB is following suit with the intention of decreasing sign-stealing and speeding up the pace of play.
MLB gave PitchCom devices the green light for regular season use on Tuesday after testing them in the Low-A California League last season and with big leaguers during spring training. And while the technology is optional, some Oakland A’s appear intent on experimenting with it during the regular season.
“The guys seem to like it, so if they’re comfortable with it, I can see us utilizing it going forward,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I do think there’s a value to it.”
The A’s have had several pitchers try out the technology throughout the spring, and a handful of pitchers who appeared in Tuesday’s final spring game used the technology.
“The consensus is that everyone kind of likes it,” A’s reliever A.J. Puk said after using it for the first time on Tuesday. “I think overall, for the pitcher, it’s pretty good.”
A’s starter Daulton Jefferies, who’s now used it in three spring starts after Tuesday, said, “I think it’s really beneficial.”
For the system, the catcher will have a wristband on his forearm that has a device similar to a remote control featuring nine buttons used to call pitch and location and an additional few buttons for volume control.
A’s catcher Sean Murphy said he already enjoys using the system.
“It’s not too complicated, once you get the hang of it,” Murphy said. “It’s sort of like typing, where once you get the feel of where the buttons are, you can do it without even looking.”
Teams can have up to five listening devices for players, which get tucked into the brim of the player’s hat on one side of their head — or, in the catcher’s case, in their helmet. In addition to the pitcher and catcher, MLB’s release stated that teams typically give the other three to the middle infielders and the center fielder.
Sign-stealing has been a rampant problem in MLB in the past few years, most famously with the Houston Astros’ trash can-banging scheme. The paranoia over whether signs are being stolen or not should decrease with these devices — though after saying, “You can’t steal those signs,’ Puk quipped, “maybe someone will be able to hack it.”
“After the year where everything came out, teams were getting real afraid of stealing signs,” Puk added. “Now, if they’re stealing your signs, it’s on the pitcher. If he’s doing something with his glove or he’s tipping his pitches, that’s the only way they can get them now. You’ve still got to be conscious of that.”
Murphy added, “If it’s as safe as it says and you can’t be picked, then obviously not getting your sign picked is a good thing.”
But perhaps an even larger part of the value is how it could speed the pace of the game up, too — something Kotsay feels he’s already seeing during the spring.
“They literally catch the ball, throw it back, can call the pitch look up, and [the pitcher] can shake the pitch even before he’s on the mound and now he just calls another pitch,” Kotsay said. “And then the pitcher has time to process, even before he’s on the rubber. He’s not looking for a sign, shaking and now they’re going through multiple sequences, especially with a runner on second.”
The A’s put that on display several times during Tuesday’s final spring game at Scottsdale Stadium. Murphy was inputting pitch decisions within seconds of the previous pitch, with whoever on the mound responding quickly with an affirmative nod or by shaking their head no.
“It kept the pace going real well,” Puk said. “I was getting the call before the hitter was even in the box.”
Jefferies added, “It gets you to be a little bit more convicted in that pitch, knowing that you’re on the same page before you even step on the rubber.”
There’s still some issues that teams would like to work out. The limited number requires pitchers to share the same device, meaning someone has to grab the device from a pitcher exiting a game and hand it to his replacement emerging from the bullpen.
How easy it is to hear is another concern, something Jefferies is curious to see once the A’s play in front of a packed stadium. But the volume wasn’t so loud that Murphy felt hitters could hear it even when he was standing next to them at home plate.
“I haven’t any had any feedback as far as even the umpires saying they could hear it, and they’re right on top of me,” Murphy said. “I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem.”
In Kotsay’s mind, there’s also a value of the listening devices for position players. The A’s would want to use it in the infield for calling pickoff plays, relaying bunt defense plans and deciding which defensive strategy the A’s want to use with runners on first and third, in case the runner on first steals. But only having five means …
“We’re one short, really,” Kotsay said. “It definitely has that capability, but the problem is, if we’re calling a bunt defense and the first baseman is not wearing an earpiece, he doesn’t know what bunt defense we’re using. So we’re one ear piece short of being able to just go no signs.”
Kotsay acknowledged that the signs would still need to be relayed from the dugout to the catcher, but there would be no signs needed in the field — and one less set of signs that opponents could try to decipher.
The technology is optional and not every pitcher is interested in using it. Frankie Montas, Oakland’s opening-day starter, can see the benefits of not having to look in for signs and prevent sign-stealing. But he won’t be using it, saying he wants to “keep it old school.”
The technology is converting more people within the game with each use — and you can count Kotsay as a fan.
“And I never did think I’d be a proponent of it — I really didn’t,” Kotsay said. “At the beginning, I was just so unsure of how it would work. And now that we’ve used the device, I’m now a proponent of it.”
Of course, there’s a sizable difference between doing it in spring training games and doing it in games that count. But the test run in spring seems to have convinced the A’s their signs are safe.
“I think this is actually going to be a successful device,” Kotsay said.
Murphy added, “I think we will probably utilize it at some point — if not right from the get-go.”
