Pitch Com Device : MLB to test Electronic Device for Catchers

The PitchCom™ communication system uses a proprietary push-button, player-wearable transmitter that allows players on the field to communicate plays to each other without using physical signs or verbal communication. Every player wearing a receiver actually hears the same instructions in their very own chosen language. The PitchCom™ communication system, a patent-pending technology of PitchCom Sports™, can also be adapted to allow coaches to communicate to players in the same covert manner.

One of baseball’s oldest practises, the use of catchers’ fingers as a signalling device for pitchers to decode, may be on its way out of existence.

New equipment that allows catchers to communicate electronically with pitchers will be tested at one of the lower minor league levels over the next few weeks, a system designed to both speed up play and prevent unlawful sign-stealing techniques from being used by pitchers.

On Friday, ESPN got a copy of a memo addressed to the eight teams in the Low-A West division announcing the new system. A firm named PitchCom has developed a device for pitchers and catchers that will be tested by MLB on Aug. 3.

The UMass Lowell Baseball Research Center successfully tested the system, which comprises of a transmitter worn on the wristband of a catcher and two receivers tucked into the sweatband of a pitcher’s cap and the padding of a catcher’s helmet. The system is safe to use. Pre-loaded with English and Spanish audio tracks, the transmitter has nine buttons for indicating pitch and location. Teams can also record their own audio tracks. An encrypted communication channel and bone-conduction technology are used to convey data from the transmitter to both receivers, according to the document.

California League affiliate teams include the Fresno Grizzlies of Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Lake Elsinore Storm, and Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as Low-A West teams for all of the aforementioned organisations. The league was formerly known as the California League (Visalia Rawhide). The device is optional, but strongly encouraged, according to the message, and will be sent to teams on Monday.

As noted in the memo, “we believe that these algorithms have great long-term potential and are excited to see how they perform under game conditions over a prolonged period.”

There have been a slew of trials in the minor leagues this season, all of which have been aimed at increasing action and reducing game length. There have been a number of minor league experiments by MLB to increase the size of the bases and outlaw defensive shifts, restrict a pitcher’s ability to step off the rubber, adopt an automated ball-strike system, and establish a 15-second pitch clock at the various levels. In Low-A West, the pitch clock is being used, which encourages MLB to find a more effective manner of relaying signs..

The Athletic’s exposé of the trash-can-banging method used by the Houston Astros during their World Series championship season shined light on MLB’s failure to monitor teams’ use of game feeds to understand a catcher’s signs in real time. Anger and distrust among players and fans followed the discoveries, as were critiques of the league and rumours that other teams were involved in unethical behaviour.

As important as avoiding a repeat incident is for the league, cutting the length of games to 190 minutes on average this season and removing as much dead time as possible are as important.

Major League Baseball has spent the last few years trying to come up with new ways to relay pitching instructions to catchers without causing unnecessary mound trips and interruptions in play. According to reliable sources, a four-button pad in front of the catcher was being investigated as a way to send signals to the mound using a mix of lights only the pitcher could see. It was possible to make prototypes. However, the method necessitated extensive interior wiring, which proved to be unworkable in the end.

It was debuted to a few Cactus League teams in spring training after being presented to MLB executives in October. According to the league’s internal memo, its input was “very favourable” during bullpen sessions. The business claims that hacking the system is near-impossible. As a result, PitchCom claims that it is mathematically impossible for anyone to decrypt intercepted conversations, using an industrial-grade encryption algorithm and transmitting only minimal data digitally.