It’s difficult to say, “Major League Baseball did something right.” They’ve had labor contract disputes, and their on-field product is not stimulating enough to our attention-deficit youth.
They have allowed teams to use Pitchcom.
A Pitchcom technology starts with a band on the catcher’s gloved hand wrist. The band has multiple buttons.
To call a pitch, the catcher pushes the appropriate buttons for pitch type and location, for example, fastball, low, and inside.
Once picked, speakers in the pitcher’s, shortstop’s, second baseman’s, and centerfielder’s hats announce the call. And those calls are made in the language of the wearing player. A team could have a Japanese pitcher and Hispanic shortstop without language issues.
The middle infielder will relay the call to the corner infielders, as will the centerfielder to the other outfielders. Players in the field will prepare themselves differently depending on the pitch type.
The pitch calls can be made before the batter steps into the box. The pitcher can still wave off the call, but that may be before the batter is even ready.
I saw the system in action when the Cincinnati Reds used it versus the Atlanta Braves during the April 7 to 10 weekend. It appeared to have sped up the game. During the series, there were 1.59 pitches per minute. With it, MLB may not need to start using a pitch clock, or my idea for a thinking time could be revised with reduced time allowances.
On April 9, I caught a couple of innings of the Houston Astros’ game versus the Los Angeles Angels. Neither team was using Pitchcom.
Justin Verlander was pitching for the Astros with a one-run deficit and a runner on first. The Angels’ next two batters were Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. This situation was a high-stress part of the game.
Verlander waited for a batter to step into the box before looking for a sign. Waiting for action, both Ohtani and Trout asked for time and stepped out. All of this reduced the game to a crawl. In that game, there were 1.43 pitches per minute.
Pitchcom increased action by more than 10%.
The average baseball game is about 3 hours. Of those 3 hours, 40 minutes are between-inning commercials. Pitchcom saw 2.03 pitches per minute in actual play, and nonusers were at 1.83.
With experience, it can only get better.