I watch a ton of Major League Baseball. But in all those hours I had never once seen, or heard, how PitchCom works. This article exists to explain PitchCom to you like you are five-years old.
Why Does MLB Use PitchCom?
PitchCom was implemented to speed up the pace of play. And, to supposedly eliminate sign stealing – THANKS TRASHSTROS 👉🏻🗑️!
No word on if it adapts to trash can banging.
PitchCom – The Basics
The catcher (ex: Salvador Perez) is equipped with a wristband a keypad on his wrist or just above his knee. There are nine buttons for calling the pitch and location.
The pitcher has a receiver/speaker that fits on the inside of his hat, just above his ear.
The catcher presses the button corresponding to the pitch he wants. The pitcher (let’s say Zack Greinke) gives a nod or a headshake to indicate “yes” or “no” once he hears the transmission.
PitchCom allows for 700+ different pitch combinations and locations. In addition to standard pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, etc.) and locations (inside, outside, high, low) MLB teams can customize the signals.
For example, if you were playing a no-good, lying, yellow-bellied, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking MLB team from Houston that’s name rhymes with “Trashstros” you could change fastball to “Your Mom.”
Or, a curveball to “Altuve Killed Epstein” – completely up to the team.
It also uses a direct radio connection – no Wi-Fi or mobile data – as those are unsecure. Funny to think that the more technology moves forward, the more it relies on old tech. It can also be recorded in anyone’s voice.
PitchCom can be programmed to speak in any language and can be fully customized. Which makes me wonder how you say, “high hard one” in Swahili.
Up to three other defensive players can wear the PitchCom receiver at the same time – five players total. Batters and runners cannot wear PitchCom.
What Does PitchCom Sound Like?
A dystopian nightmare. Just kidding (kinda).
The voice is fully customizable. Which makes me want my pitch options served to me in the voice of Little Richard on “Good Golly Miss Molly.”
Get you an earful “hear”:
Do MLB Teams Have to Use PitchCom?
“Use of the PitchCom device is optional for clubs and wholly voluntary for players,” MLB said in a 2023 memo to teams. “The decision of one club to not use the PitchCom device shall not preclude their opposing club from using the PitchCom device.”
MLB provides each team at least three transmitters, 12 receivers and two charging cases.
Teams may not have more than three transmitters or 12 receivers at any time. (Looking at you, Jose Altuve you SCUM.)
Is PitchCom The Death Knell of Old School MLB?
Possibly. With the strike zone being framed for TV viewers for over a decade, and successful changes made by MLB like larger bases, the pitch clock, and robot umpires set to take over in the next year or two, it seems that way.
No matter what “improvements” are made to “secure” the game, when you have a billion dollar industry + 32 teams and thousands of employees working tirelessly to find any edge they can exploit, its only a matter of time until they do – like the Infinite Monkey Theorem.
Change is necessary to keep the product, fresh, exciting, and fair – unless you’re the Houston Astros and MLB lets you blatantly cheat and steal multiple World Series victories.
Overall though, the changes MLB implemented recently have made the game more enjoyable to watch (reflected in the most recent TV ratings) and we can hope that continues.
