By Fancy Robbins
Standing in the batter’s box, anxiously waiting for the pitch, the batter looks back to the coach standing in foul territory near third base. He watches him touch the brim of his hat, snap his fingers twice, touch his belt, then his nose.
As we continue to adapt to such a technologically advanced world, these hand signals are becoming more and more outdated.
According to Paul Dickson Books, the use of hand signs in baseball date back to the mid 1800’s. Soldiers used hand signals in the Civil War, then baseball teams, like the Cincinnati Red Stockings, started using the signals in games in 1869.
For years, Delta High School’s baseball teams used this system to call out different signs and plays, but it wasn’t working so well.
Varsity head baseball coach Devin Wilburn said his varsity baseball players missed 20 signs during his first two years of coaching. When he called a hit-and-run sign to potentially win a sectional championship and it was missed, he realized he needed to make a change to the system they used.
“(The players) had to stare over at me while I’m going through a whole sign system forever, then if they miss it I have to do it all over again,” Wilburn said.
After that, the baseball team switched to the “number system.”
With this system, Wilburn decided to make a flashcard using different number combinations to call out a sign. The players kept these flashcards in their pockets and pulled them out when a number was yelled out by the coach.
When they switched to this, the varsity baseball team only missed two calls the whole season compared to the 20 the year before.
“They can pick up the numbers pretty easily on the card because it’s easy to distinguish the numbers,” Wilburn said. “So I think it just made the pace a little bit faster and easier on the guys.”
However, in the 2025 season coming up, Wilburn again plans on doing something different. He ordered wristbands for the team, similar to what quarterbacks use so the players won’t have to waste time taking the flashcard out of their pocket.
Delta’s baseball team also uses another method to make sign calling easier.
On July 3, 2023, the Indiana High School Athletic Association approved the use of one-way communication in high school baseball from a pitching coach in the dugout to the catcher.
This means the catcher can have an earpiece in his ear and listen to what the pitching coach says. The form of communication is only one-way, meaning the catcher can’t talk back through the earpiece.
Wilburn took advantage of this as soon as he could.
“It makes it easier for us because we can communicate to our catcher, like more specifically what we want when we’re attacking a hitter,” Wilburn said.
Delta’s catcher wears a Bluetooth earpiece in one ear. The device has a battery pack that they strap onto the back of his chest protector.
“It’s easier because I don’t have to look over at the coach every single time after every pitch,” senior varsity catcher Lane Norton said.
With the earpiece, the pitching coach can be more specific than just a simple call like “fastball down the middle.”
Delta’s first-year pitching coach, Rob Fox, will call the pitches and use the headset to communicate the calls. Then, the catcher will forward it to the pitcher with traditional hand signals.
A downside to the Bluetooth earpiece is that it disconnects occasionally and can fall out. However, the team doesn’t have to worry about signs being stolen or other miscommunication.
And that’s a sign of good things to come this season.
