Farewell to the fingers? Giants give signs-free technology a tryout

“There’s a part of me that that loves putting fingers down, especially with nobody on,” Casali said. “That's how my brain has been wired up to this point.”

We might soon see it disappear, however, replaced by the craze that’s sweeping the game: technology.

In separate spring training games, the Giants tested a device that allowed Casali and fellow catcher Joey Bart to transmit electronic and encrypted signs to Logan Webb and Alex Cobb.

With Webb on the mound, Casali wore an armband with 12 buttons that transmitted the pitch type and location to Webb, who had a receiver on the inside sweatband of his cap that allowed him to hear the signs. The back of Casali’s armband had the coding.

The patent-pending mechanism, designed by a company called PitchCom, has two purposes: prevent runners on second base from stealing signs and quicken the pace of play.

“Not having to deal with people trying to steal my signs on second base is an added comfort that I truly loved,” Casali said. “If there's no sign, they can't steal it … unless they're hacking it.”

In the coming days, it will be determined if Major League Baseball will make this technology available this season. The league has received input from the Giants and other teams, including the A’s.

The plan is to employ it at Double-A. It was used in the second half of the Low A California League last season. If it reaches the majors, it wouldn’t be mandatory.

“I think it went pretty well,” said Bart. “They could make some changes to make it better, but I think they’re on to something.”

Bart said it could probably work with fewer than 12 buttons, and it would help if the voice recording delivered the signs a bit quicker.

One of the most complicated elements, and both Casali and Bart agree, is that the catcher must figure out the button system in reverse order whenever a left-handed batter steps to the plate.

If pitchers shake off a sign or two or three, it can become tedious, and the catcher could always revert to using his fingers.

Also, Bart suggested transmitting the signs to ear devices instead of tiny speakers. For now, five on-field players would wear receivers to hear the signs: the pitcher and catcher (inside the padding of his helmet) and three other defenders, in most cases the two middle infielders and center fielder so they can anticipate the pitch and position themselves accordingly.

The catcher is among those with a receiver so that he’s assured the wrong sign isn’t transmitted. The fear would be if the batter also heard it. Or a baserunner when an infielder is holding him near the bag.

“Maybe they could go to an earpiece or earbud, something that can be a direct sound to your ear instead of relaying the sound into the air,” Bart said.

Of the 12 buttons, nine are oval-shaped and can be programmed however a team wants to determine pitch type, location and pickoff attempts. It can get as complex as a team desires with as many as 81 different combinations. The other three allow a catcher to cancel if he made a mistake and control the volume.

The voice could be delivered in multiple languages, and teams could record their own tracks.

In large part, the feedback from teams has been positive and constructive because of the obvious benefits.

“I think of huge situations, like the playoffs last year,” said Webb, who started Games 1 and 5 against the Dodgers in the Division Series. “Any time a guy got to second base, you’re so worried about it. You don’t know if they are (stealing signs) or not, but I feel most teams do, and with a team as advanced as the Dodgers — I’m not accusing them of anything — it was something you had to think about every pitch.

“I feel there were times we would change it after a pitch. One pitch and it’s like, ‘Hey maybe he was on that one, change it up.’ It kind of gets exhausting and probably slows the game down a bit, too. To be able to just hear it, it’s a cool thing because it’s not hard if the catcher presses a button, you can just shake, press another one, you shake. I was a little worried about that at first. We did it a couple of times, and it was really easy.”

Webb and Casali were the Giants’ starting battery on March 28, a road game against the Brewers, and perhaps fans didn’t quite understand why Webb was seen off the mound giving his catcher the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag.

It’s because the catcher doesn’t need to wait for the pitcher to position himself on the rubber. The sign can be transmitted immediately after the previous pitch. Instead of shaking his head for another sign, Webb simply wagged his finger.

“It was hard to hear,” Webb said. “A couple of times, the guy was coming up to hit with his walk-up music, I had to put my hands to my ears like a quarterback. I couldn’t hear.”

It’s a work in progress and MLB is partnering with PitchCom to get the kinks out. Imagine if the technology were available a few years ago; the Astros might not have been able to illegally steal signs on the way to the 2017 World Series title.

The system the Astros used wouldn’t be possible if catchers aren’t dropping their fingers for signs. Still, the art of stealing signs (sans technology) has been prevalent since catchers started flashing them, all part of the sport’s gamesmanship.

“It's the Cold War. You know, CIA versus KGB,” kidded Casali. “In some ways, that’s baseball, but it takes time to code and decode.”

Cobb and Bart used the technology March 27 in an exhibition against the Angels.

“There were some pros and cons,” said Cobb. “It plays out a little slowly, but the peace of mind with a guy on second is nice. It was difficult to get on a good flow and pace, but those are things that could be worked out. I like the idea of it.”

Comments are closed.