Singals for Pitches

We use the Wrist Coach. See the thread in the Coaches section.

We use face signals. One example may be: 1st finger to the face indicates pitch (FB,CB,CH) and the second finger to face indicates location. Sometimes, we use an indicator, sometimes not. Also use face locations for other called plays (pitchouts, pick-off moves, etc.)

Finger to nose may me FB; finger to chin, change-up; finger to eyebrow, CB. Locations signals mimic location in the strike-zone.

I had a set pitch and location, fast ball away. From that I used my head for pitch and accross the chest for location. If I wanted a change up away, I didn't have to give the location sign just the face, say a touch of the chin. If I wanted a fast ball in, I only gave the location sign.

EX: nose, brim of hat, chin, ear, right shoulder, left shoulder = change to the right side of the plate. The pitch would be the first head sign and the location would be the first shoulder sign. brim of hat, chin, ear, center of chest, left shoulder = FB to the down the middle

If I gave no sign or something false, the catcher would call the FB away default pitch.

I am not against coaches calling pitches. Do you coach pitch callers spend time with your catchers during or after the game explaining the thinking behind your pitch calling? Are your pitchers allowed to change the pitch?

JW

My catchers call 90% of the signals.

When I was catching, I called the majority of the pitches. Even if our pitching coach gave a signal, it was often left up to me whether to go with him or not. We had one particular pitcher who could throw what he wanted to throw when he wanted to. There were only two times our coach approached him about particular pitch selection. Both times were after he decided to not throw what the coach wanted. Both times the ball has still not landed..

The nice thing was that when I was catching, our pitching coach and I were usually on the same page as far as pitch selection.

I guess it depends on age, the older they got and the game situation they took more control. I wonder how many college/pro teams allow the catcher to have full control. As I watch games, it seems that most are checking the dugout for some direction.

obrady, while that is true you must remember that at the professional level, they can have any stat they want to get. They could probably tell you what a particular batter has done with any pitch and location for the last several years. They keep incredible detail that you just don't see at the high school level.

IMO the pitcher needs to be the ultimate decision maker. There is no one right pitch. The pitching option line is endless.The key is that the pitcher has confidence in his ability to execute the pitch. The so called wrong pitch thrown with confidence is better than the so called right pitch that is thrown with doubt.

It is always better that the catcher or whomever the "pitch suggester" happens to be is on the same page as the pitcher. Nothing is more defeating for a battery/team than the pitcher having to change pitches &/or locations frequently. IMO the coach who mandates that pitchers throw their pitch or the catcher's pitch with no shake offs is asking for trouble. Even young pitchers have to learn by trial & error & dealing with failure. Again there is no one perfect pitch.There are no always or nevers in the pitch calling arena.

You have to take the time to prepare your pitchers & catchers in practice & then trust them to make good decisions. Then you have to live with those decisions & not second guess their decisions. This does not preclude the coach from suggesting pitches.Even the best plan & strategy fails some of the time no matter who is calling or who is throwing the pitch. You just have to live with it.Bad results do not always indicate that the wrong pitch was thrown. As a coach you don't want to look like a front running second guesser by questioning your pitchers & catchers only after a bad result.

If you as the coach is calling the game for the most part then it is imperative, as part of the developmental process, that you sit down with your battery after the game to review the game's pitch sequences & eventually prepare them to do it on their own.

JW

I'm only a summer travel team coach, but I have all of my catchers call their own game, all of the time. I truly believe that catchers need to learn to call their own games, and too few are allowed that leeway in high school ball. I've debated this issue endlessly with some coaches, and the reason I most often hear about why the coach should call pitches is "the catcher is going to make mistakes." Yeah, so? I think that more coaches need to accept the fact that catchers need an opportunity to learn to call games, and yes, they'll make some mistakes. As long as they learn from them, I think they're very worth making. I once asked a high school coach what happend in a game a month earlier. He looked at me with a look that indicated he had no clue where I was going and said "how the heck am I supposed to remember details about a batter in that game?" My point was made, the kids will make some mistakes, but everyone will live and a month later noboday is going to remember what happened. But, if the kid learned something from it, it was worth having happen. And, as coach Weinstein said earlier, even the wrong pitch, thrown with confidence, is better than the right pitch thrown without. If the catcher and pitcher are on the same page, they'll be just fine most of the time.

And don't forget, plenty of coaches make mistakes in the pitches they call as well. Anyone can have one finger put down over and over again, as I've seen done by plenty of coaches.

My son's HS coaches are terrific, so I hate to even squawk about this one thing - but I really wish they would let him call the games.

My son LOVES to call the pitches. At a camp a couple weeks ago, he caught one guy for two innings who could really hit his spots and had a decent curve and slider.

My son told me later that when he's catching a pitcher like that, he feels as if he is a conductor or a musician playing a finely tuned instrument. When he knows the ball will be where he wants it, really feels as if the hitters have little chance.

For him, it makes a position that he loves already due to its physical difficulty and adds a mental dimension that makes it even more fun, by an order of magnitude.

I hope he will be able to convince his HS coaches to start letting him call them.