PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Technology has infiltrated it’s way through just about every sport. And the same can be said for America’s favorite pastime, baseball. Back in 2022, the MLB approved the use of PitchCom, one-way radio communication between pitchers and catchers. The new rule eventually trickled down to high school baseball, now teams around the United States have integrated this new technology into the game.
“For me, it’s been a big adjustment. You know 23 years ago we had no technology didn’t do any of that. You know you just flashed them in. It is convenient. Sometimes you forget you can actually just talk to the catcher and say hey go take a visit to talk to the pitcher.” Mosley head coach Doug Lee said.
Coach Lee and the Dolphins have used the PitchCom system for two seasons now. Sophomore catcher Xavier Demro says he likes having that communication and it’s vastly changed their play.
“Some of the advantage of this is like, the coaches can’t steal our signs. I mean, they hold it above their mouth, say it right into my ear and I automatically know it, no trouble eyesight. I like it a lot better because when it’s dark, you can barely see but you can hear it clear as day right there.” Demro said.
For Coach Chris Jones at Arnold, he wanted to wait a season before using the new technology. But now that the team has their own, he’s been all for it.
“I feel like when you’re reading numbers like some people do or doing the signs, sometimes it doesn’t let the pitcher get into a rhythm and it makes the game take a little while between pitches, we don’t have a pitch clock in high school but this is a way of helping speed up the pace of play, which I think is better for us competitively anyway.” Coach Jones said.
Junior catcher Mack Jones feels the same. But curiously, I asked Mack what he hears throughout the course of the game.
“I mean if he wants me to go talk to a pitcher without him having to use one of his two visits, he’ll go tell me to talk to him and what to say to him. I mean he just, I’m just a translator almost.” Mack Jones said.
But of course, between Coach Lee and Coach Jones, the future of baseball and technology is something they’re still a little uneasy about.
“You know I look for that to happen eventually, we’re gonna end up having pitch clocks at the high school level. So just trying to find the cost factor in all that and associated with that you know, we’re fixing to have shot clocks in basketball.” Coach Lee said.
“I’m also a guy that hates replay in football and whatever cause it takes forever but it’s just, that’s part of life now and it’s it’s no longer novelty. It’s a given thing and that’s, I think that’s what technology, even at this level in high school is gonna be, just a given.” Coach Jones said.
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