Maybe he holds his hand outside of his glove before delivering a pitch, giving away his grip. Maybe he stands on a certain part of the pitching rubber when delivering a fastball. Maybe the pitcher digs harder into his glove with his hand when he's about to throw a breaking ball. Pitch tipping occurs when a pitcher unwittingly telegraphs the pitch he's about to throw. Short of hacking the encrypted signal, there's seemingly no way for teams to spy on that communication. Their batterymate then hears the result via earpiece. PitchCom allows catchers or pitchers to push buttons on wristbands to call for fastballs, curves, changeups and anything else, along with the location.

The advent of the PitchCom system has eliminated some sign stealing because hand signals aren't always needed between pitchers and catchers.

Historically, the most sought-after signs have been the ones catchers used to communicate pitch selection with pitchers. Many times, opposing players and coaches will try to decipher patterns so they can de-code those signs, learn the other team's strategy and gain an advantage. Sign stealing - at least by using the naked eye - is considered an art form in many baseball circles.Ĭoaches and players often use hand signals to relay strategy decisions - like for sacrifice bunts or stolen base attempts - which can often be seen by the opposing team. Here's a short guide to the Yankees-Blue Jays controversy: So what is sign stealing? How is that different from pitch tipping? What's legal and what's not? When the 2017 Houston Astros were punished for sign stealing, it was because they used banned electronics - including live video feeds - to help gather their information. There is no prohibition on teammates or coaches using the naked eye to study pitchers and relay that info to batters.

Smashing Statues by Erin L. Thompson