Calling Pitches

Usually each spot on the face will be a different pitch. Nose= FB Chin= CB Ear= CH
You can use different sequences to signal pitch and location. You can get more simple and complex depending on skill level

Justin Stringer
www.doitrightbaseball.com
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Yes, it can be as complicated or as easy as you want. Example, Count system = how many times you touch your nose. This might be followed by a last touch location. You might have a "hot sign" which means that you are calling this pitch. If you don't start or stop with that "hot sign," it is up to the catcher to call. We actually have a sign that refers the catcher to another coach for that sign. We don't use this often but when we hear certain things from a dugout, we set that team up. One other thing, some teams including us have a sign which means no matter what I call, you are calling it. We use that a lot.

A good way to mix it up to is to go by a different number of touches each inning. 1st inning it may be the second touch, 2nd inning may be the 1st touch, and so on. This way opposing teams have a hard time stealing signs.

Don't do it.

Teach the players about pitch selection, pitch strategy, reading the batter, etc. and let the players call the pitches.

We use a Nike Wrist Coach to signal pitches in. Catcher wears a QB wristband with all the pitches and numbers on it. We call a 3 digit number from the bench, Catcher looks it up on the wristband and signals it in. For example: 315 might be a fastball in.

We also use the wristbands for the infielders and outfielders. They have all the scouting reports from the other teams hitters on their wrist and simply look at them for every hitter and then position themselves without needed a coach to signal or yell in. For example: #2 comes up. Fielder looks at band and it says left 10, up 5.

We picked this system up at a clinic a couple of years ago and since then I have personally seen quite a few colleges using this system as well.

I like what Texan is saying, but around these parts he would be living in a dream world. Most high school and college coaches in this area call pitches for the catcher. They say they are not going to risk "putting food on the table" for their families by putting their fate in the hands of a youngster. I suspect this is the prevailing theory at most colleges/universities. And if I'm correct, I see very little benefit to having them call pitches.

On the other hand, once a catcher/pitcher get in tune with what a coach will call in certain situations, perhaps they will allow them to take over.

larry, you brought back a memory for me really quickly. I was coaching a 16U team 2 years ago and was calling pitches all season to this point, trying to teach the pitchers and catchers about changing planes and speeds. I had spent that spring surrounded by a D-III pitching staff that had a combined team ERA of 2.26, so I learned a lot from watching them and our pitching coach.

About 2 months into our summer season I called a pitch and our catcher shook his head "no" at me. So I called the same pitch in a different location and he shook his head "no" again. I then pointed right to him to let him know "you make the call". Well he called something different and it worked. This catcher was a leader (Mike Donato, about to begin his Freshman year at UMASS from E. Hartford HS in CT) and he could see more and understand more about our pitcher from behind the plate than I could from a bucket in front of the dugout. From that point on whenever he shook his head no at me, I would defer to him and he would often be right. He never took advantage of it, but when he would do it I knew that he saw something I didn't. This catcher had learned our pitching strategy (changing planes, changing speeds) and knew his pitchers well enough to override me. Not all catchers have this kind of knowledge or confidence.

Not all coaches will be comfortable enough with themselves or their teams to let go of any of the reigns. But like you said, when a catcher and pitcher get in tune with each other and the coach, the coach will hopefully let them succeed or fail on their own once in a while.

IMHO, the fact that some HS & many college coaches call pitches is not a good excuse for not teaching them.

What happens if they do end up with a coach who lets them call pitches? If they have not been taught & have no experience, they have been set up for problems.

And would it not benefit them to know & learn, regardless of what their future coaches do?

Texan...I like your thought process. I like that you want to make the players better, not only physically, but mentally as well. I just don't think it is at all beneficial to the kid to allow them to begin calling pitches without first having a chance to learn how to do it. When I first started coaching 17-18 years olds in 1989, I used to let the catchers call the game. I had a real tough hombre named Bobby Caswell. Great catcher, great offensive player as well. Bobby would blame himself whenever a pitcher got rocked...and it would affect other aspects of his game. Once we pulled back the reigns and started calling the pitches...it did two things. First, it took the pressure off of him, and second, it made him ask questions why we threw certain pitches to certain hitters in certain situations. He told us that he wished we would have started the season like that, and once he demonstrated an ability to call pitches, and eased him into it, he would have done a much better job. I know that he felt he let the team, the pitcher and the coaches down when something bad happened.

Shame on his earlier coaches for not having taught him!

I always taught our players about pitch strategy, pitch selection, etc. Then they would learn by doing. We would discuss it further between innings if needed. And after the game or at the next practice.

At 17-18, the kids may be able to really learn by observing. But at 10-11, few of them learn if the coach is calling the pitches. They just turn into little robots.