View source for PitchCom

{{Short description|Wireless communication system}}
[[File:Francisco Álvarez during warmups, March 15, 2024 (1) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Francisco Álvarez (baseball)|Francisco Álvarez]] of the [[New York Mets]] with a PitchCom extension tube/earpiece in his ear]]
'''PitchCom''' is a [[wireless]] communication system used in [[baseball]] that lets a player request [[pitch (baseball)|pitches]] without using visible [[Pitch_(baseball)#Signaling|signals]]. [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) approved the use of PitchCom before the start of the [[2022 Major League Baseball season|2022 season]] with the intentions of deterring [[sign stealing]] and quickening the [[pace of play]].<ref name="mlb-2022-04-05">{{cite news |last1=Castrovince |first1=Anthony |title=MLB informs clubs PitchCom is approved for '22 season |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/pitchcom-approved-for-use-in-2022-regular-season |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=MLB.com |date=April 5, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==History==
Catchers traditionally request pitches with finger signs, but these can be [[sign stealing|stolen]] by a runner on second base and relayed to the batter. When a runner reaches second base, the catcher commonly visits the pitcher to change signs, delaying the game.
The technology used in PitchCom was invented by John Hankins and Craig Filcetti to provide cues at [[Magic (illusion)|magic shows]].<ref name="techcrunch">{{Cite web |title=MLB is embracing new technology |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/11/a-sign-stealing-scandal-rocked-baseball-now-this-hardware-is-here-to-help/ |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref> Their company asked MLB to consider adopting the technology in 2020.<ref name="mlb-2022-04-05" />  During the 2021 [[California League|Low-A West]] season, teams were permitted to try PitchCom. The technology was optional but strongly encouraged, according to a memo sent by the league.<ref name="espn-2021-07">{{cite news |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Alden |title=MLB to test electronic device for catcher signals |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31869009/mlb-test-electronic-device-catchers-give-signals-pitchers |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=ESPN.com |date=July 23, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> After generally positive results in the minor league, and in [[spring training]] before the 2022 MLB season, the [[MLB Players Association]] approved use of PitchCom for the 2022 season.<ref name="mlb-2022-04-05" />
During spring training before the [[2023 MLB season]], MLB allowed pitchers to wear PitchCom wristbands so they could call their own pitches.<ref name="espn-2023-02-09">{{cite news |title=MLB to allow pitchers to call own signals in spring |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35625457/mlb-gives-pitchers-ok-call-own-pitchcom-signals-spring-training |access-date=February 9, 2023 |work=ESPN |date=February 9, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> As spring training ended, MLB allowed pitchers to request pitches on PitchCom during the 2023 regular season.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-24 |title=MLB OKs PitchCom for pitchers in regular season |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35936130/mlb-pitchers-allowed-use-pitchcom-regular-season |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref>
PitchCom also began to be used in the [[KBO League]] from July 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreabaseball.com/MediaNews/Notice/View.aspx?bdSe=10149|title=KBO, 각 구단에 피치컴 배포 및 설명회 개최|website=[[Korea Baseball Organization]]|date=2024-07-15}}</ref>
==Operation==
PitchCom has two functional components: a nine-button keypad that the catcher wears and small wireless receivers, with speakers, that the catcher, the pitcher, and up to three other fielders may wear inside their [[baseball cap]]s.<ref name="nbcchicago-2022-04">{{cite news |last1=Edmonds |first1=Charlotte |title=What Is PitchCom and How Is It Being Used in MLB? |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/what-is-pitchcom-and-how-is-it-being-used-in-mlb/2811908/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |publisher=NBC Chicago |date=April 20, 2022}}</ref> Each receiver can be programmed to a particular [[spoken language]]. When the catcher presses buttons to indicate the type of pitch and the desired location, all receivers speak the instructions in the selected language. All communications are [[encryption|encrypted]] and teams may opt to replace pitch names such as "fastball" with [[Code word (communication)|code word]]s.<ref name="mlb-2022-04-05" />
During its first season of use in MLB, some players had problems using PitchCom. Early in the 2022 season, [[New York Yankees]] pitcher [[Aroldis Chapman]] had difficulty hearing PitchCom over the crowd during an appearance at [[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]]. "We just might have to turn up our volume a little bit," said [[Jose Trevino (baseball)|Jose Trevino]], the Yankees' catcher. [[Gerrit Cole]], another Yankees pitcher, had trouble hearing pitch instructions in his first two starts, including an incident where the instructions were drowned out by a siren sound effect that the [[Yankee Stadium]] audio crew plays to energize the crowd.<ref name="nypost-2022-04-17">{{cite news |last1=Joyce |first1=Greg |title=Yankees' Aroldis Chapman had issues with PitchCom |url=https://nypost.com/2022/04/17/yankees-aroldis-chapman-had-issues-with-pitchcom/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=New York Post |date=April 17, 2022}}</ref> During a game on June 30 against the [[Houston Astros]], Yankees pitcher [[Luis Severino]] was trying to fix his malfunctioning PitchCom device when [[Kyle Tucker]], on third base, tried to [[Stolen base|steal home]]. Severino, despite the distraction, threw out Tucker at home.<ref name="espn-2022-06-30">{{cite news |title=Tucker tries to steal home amid PitchCom glitch |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34175548/houston-astros-kyle-tucker-tries-steal-home-amid-pitchcom-malfunction |access-date=July 3, 2022 |work=ESPN.com |date=June 30, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> On Opening Day, [[Milwaukee Brewers]] pitcher [[Corbin Burnes]] had problems hearing his PitchCom speaker over the crowd noise at [[American Family Field]]. As of April 24, Burnes was the only Brewers pitcher regularly using PitchCom; other pitchers had stopped using it, saying that they were not yet comfortable using the technology with their catchers.<ref name="jsonline-2022-04">{{cite news |last1=Hogg |first1=Curt |title=Brewers pitchers have mostly stopped using the new PitchCom technology to call pitches. Here's why. |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2022/04/24/milwaukee-brewers-pitchers-have-stopped-using-pitchcom-system-mostly/7423143001/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=April 24, 2022}}</ref>
During the 2022 season, in response to complaints, PitchCom was modified to have a higher volume limit and to have an extension tube that put sound closer to the player's ear. Even at the higher maximum volume, during the [[2022 MLB postseason]], [[Philadelphia Phillies]] shortstop [[Bryson Stott]] struggled to hear the audio over the crowd noise.<ref name="si-2022-10-27">{{cite magazine |last1=Baccellieri |first1=Emma |title=The Trials and Tribulations of Changing How Pitchers and Catchers Communicate |url=https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/10/27/pitchcom-changing-how-pitchers-catchers-communicate |access-date=February 9, 2023 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=October 27, 2022}}</ref> During a spring training game before the 2023 season, umpires informed [[Minnesota Twins]] manager [[Rocco Baldelli]] that [[Tampa Bay Rays]] batters and umpires could clearly hear Twins pitcher [[Kenta Maeda]]'s PitchCom signals because Twins catcher [[Tony Wolters]] had his speaker volume turned up to an excessively high level, and because the announced crowd of 2,531 at [[Tropicana Field]] was quiet.<ref name="apnews-2023-03-03">{{cite news |title=PitchCom volume issue gives away Twins pitch calls |url=https://apnews.com/article/pitchcom-tipping-kenta-maeda-ed918b40bc8681b497bcd6e1c2094ead |access-date=March 15, 2023 |work=AP NEWS |date=March 3, 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
==Reception==
Despite early problems, all 30 MLB clubs had started to use PitchCom in some way during the 2022 season.<ref name="nytimes-2022-08-06" /> Catcher [[Tucker Barnhart]] of the [[Detroit Tigers]] said that the technology would make the Tigers ready for the [[pitch clock]] when MLB starts to use it.<ref name="mlb-2022-05-30">{{cite news |last1=Beck |first1=Jason |title=Tigers' adoption of PitchCom pays dividends |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/tigers-adopt-pitchcom-encouraged-by-results |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=MLB.com |date=May 30, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Cleveland Guardians]]' manager [[Terry Francona]] and catcher [[Austin Hedges]] said that the technology sped up games noticeably.<ref name="indystar-2022-05">{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Ryan |title=Guardians pitchers have positive reviews of PitchCom, the new pitch-calling system |url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/mlb/cleveland-guardians/2022/05/12/meet-pitchcom-audio-pitch-calling-system-drawing-positive-reviews-cleveland-guardians-shane-bieber/9711270002/ |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=Akron Beacon Journal |date=May 12, 2022}}</ref> [[Aaron Boone]], manager of the Yankees, credits PitchCom with significant speed-ups in Yankees games during the 2022 season. Through their first 54 games in 2022, the Yankees played 25 games (about 47%) in less than three hours each. In 2021, only about 25% of the Yankees' games finished in three hours or less.<ref name="nydailynews-2022-06">{{cite news |last1=Ackert |first1=Kristie |title=After initial hesitation, Yankees now love PitchCom |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-pitchcom-pace-of-play-20220606-wfcm3ktok5fhlckqqouwxt2osi-story.html |access-date=June 7, 2022 |work=New York Daily News |date=June 6, 2022}}</ref> Across all MLB teams, the average time of a nine-inning game in 2022 decreased by six minutes from the prior season, which ESPN credited in part to PitchCom.<ref name="espn-2022-10-06">{{cite news |title=MLB average game time drops by six minutes |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34741318/mlb-average-game-drops-six-minutes-ahead-pitch-clock |access-date=February 9, 2023 |work=ESPN |date=October 6, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
[[New York Mets]] pitcher [[Max Scherzer]] used PitchCom for the first time on July 27, 2022, in a game against the Yankees in which he pitched 7 innings without conceding any runs. Scherzer praised PitchCom's functionality, but he told reporters that "it should be illegal," saying that it removes incentives for pitchers to create complex visual sign systems that runners are challenged to decode. "It works," said Scherzer about PitchCom, "but it’s taking away a part of the game."<ref name="theathletic-2022-07-28">{{cite news |title=Mets' Max Scherzer: PitchCom 'should be illegal' |url=https://theathletic.com/3457730/2022/07/28/mets-max-scherzer-pitchcom-should-be-illegal/?source=rss |access-date=July 28, 2022 |work=The Athletic |date=July 28, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Scherzer's comments drew rebuttals from [[Seattle Mariners]] relief pitcher [[Paul Sewald]], who called them "a little naïve" and "a bit hypocritical", and from [[Minnesota Twins]] starter [[Sonny Gray]], who observed that teams were able to break down sign sequences during a game.<ref name="nytimes-2022-08-06">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Scott |title=Baseball Buys In on the Digital Age. But at What Cost? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/06/sports/baseball/pitchcom-sign-stealing.html |access-date=August 6, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=August 6, 2022}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Official site|https://pitchcomsports.com/}}
[[Category:Baseball equipment]]
[[Category:Telecommunications equipment]]
[[Category:Wireless communication systems]]
[[Category:KBO League]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball]]