Like ‘playing a video game’: Phillies seeing the value in new tech that transmits pitch signals

The Phillies are among the teams using wearable technology to communicate pitch calls, and they're finding other benefits beyond security.

Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto wears the PitchCom transmitter (in black) on his wrist to send his pitch calls to the pitcher.Read moreJose F. Moreno/ Staff Photographer

by Scott Lauber

Published April 15, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

With a runner on second base and two out in the third inning of a recent spring training game, Phillies starter Kyle Gibson looked in at menacing New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, adjusted his grip on the ball, and came set in the stretch position. There was only one problem.

“I didn’t have a pitch yet,” Gibson said.

Oops.

Hey, it happens, especially in spring training. But this wasn’t about Gibson finding a rhythm on the mound or even getting to know catcher Garrett Stubbs, acquired in an offseason trade. The Phillies were experimenting with a wearable electronic device that sends pitch signals from the catcher to the pitcher, and well, the 34-year-old right-hander’s muscle memory wasn’t cooperating.

Two weeks later, PitchCom has become a regular part of the Phillies’ process of conveying signs. Some pitchers prefer it all the time, others only with a runner on second. But they all use it, according to star catcher J.T. Realmuto, for whom the equipment is becoming as natural as a face mask and shin guards.

Here’s how it works: The catcher wears a wristband with a remote control transmitter on the inside of his glove-side forearm and an audio piece in his helmet. The pitcher and as many as three players (typically the shortstop, second baseman, and center fielder) also have audio receivers in their caps. Rather than using his fingers to communicate the pitch type and location and a series of other signs, the catcher presses a button and instructions are provided verbally over an encrypted channel.

The technology, developed by a company called ProMystic and tested in the minors last season, was approved by Major League Baseball and has been adopted so far by at least half of the 30 teams to help prevent opponents from stealing signs, a concern in the aftermath of the Houston Astros’ scandal. It isn’t for everyone, although early reviews are mostly positive.

Realmuto, not exactly a Luddite but a self-described “old-school type guy,” had reservations at first. But after about two weeks of using PitchCom, he has discovered benefits that go beyond simply protecting the Phillies’ signs.

“It honestly gives me a little more control in calling a game,” Realmuto said this week. “Because instead of just putting down ‘fastball away,’ I’m in [the pitcher’s] ear.”

Literally. In the Phillies’ iteration of PitchCom, it’s Realmuto’s voice that guides the pitchers, regardless of whether he or Stubbs is behind the plate. A few weeks ago, Realmuto recorded every pitch thrown by each pitcher and all possible locations. (Team translator Diego Ettedgui voiced the signs for Spanish-speaking pitchers.) The recordings were uploaded from a computer program to the device.

“Then I just click a couple buttons and give them a pitch and a location,” Realmuto said. “So it’ll say, ‘four-seam [fastball], up and away’ or ‘two-seam, down and away.’”

Realmuto is also able to get more specific than he ever could with his fingers. If he wants the ball, say, in the dirt on an 0-2 count, there’s a button for that. If he wants it inside, there’s a button for that, too.

“We can say anything we want, like ‘move his feet’ or ‘throw it in the dirt,’” Realmuto said. “I can be more distinct in what I’m asking them, and they know exactly what I want from them. There’s going to be more conviction behind [a pitch] because there’s no question marks in what we’re asking them to do.”

Even quick and easy mechanical reminders — “‘Stay closed,’ or something like that,” Realmuto said, referring to a common adjustment — can be communicated electronically, although he still prefers a good, old-fashioned mound visit if a pitcher needs extra time to regroup or a swift kick in the rear.

The Phillies began using PitchCom on a trial basis in the last week of spring training. It hasn’t always gone smoothly.

Pitchers can shake off an audio sign if they prefer a different pitch, just as they would with the traditional method of communication. If a pitcher shakes more than twice, Realmuto will typically revert to putting down fingers, according to Gibson, at least until they agree. Then, for the next pitch, he will often go back to PitchCom.

There’s also the potential of a malfunction. The New York Mets appeared to have an issue Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, perhaps with the speakers in the audio receivers. But if something breaks on the device, Phillies manager Joe Girardi noted the team has “got plenty of them, trust me.”

It also took a few games for Realmuto to get used to the additional piece of equipment.

“I forgot to take my mask out to the plate one day,” he said, “because I was worried about getting my PitchCom and making sure all the technology was right.”

More importantly, though, Realmuto said most pitchers have provided positive feedback. For one thing, they don’t have to worry about not being able to see or interpret a traditional sign. It also limits the number of times per game that a catcher is expecting a specific pitch and gets another one instead.

Pitchers have also told Realmuto that they like not having to wait for the catcher to set up behind the plate and run through the signs manually. They can receive the sign earlier and either think for a few extra seconds about executing the pitch or work at a quicker pace.

And that may wind up being another, less intended benefit to PitchCom. At a time when MLB is trying to infuse games with more action, it may cause pitchers to take less time between pitches. Realmuto said he has even noticed some hitters stepping out or calling timeout because they are feeling rushed.

“Instead of getting the sign on the rubber while you’re in the stretch, you can get the sign whenever,” Phillies starter Zach Eflin said. “I could be getting the ball back from J.T., and he could be giving me the sign there. Now I already know the sign, so I can go at my own pace.”

Said Gibson: “You just take your sign and go.”

It seems, then, that PitchCom may be here to stay, especially if it serves its initial purpose of protecting signs. Girardi, a former catcher, has long been a proponent of using audio devices to communicate on the field. He noted that this generation of players has grown up with wireless technology.

And as Eflin put it about PitchCom, “You almost feel like you’re playing a video game.”

Talk about something that’s relatable to today’s players.

“First trying it in spring training, I was pretty skeptical,” Realmuto said. “I’m not a huge fan of technology on the field. I didn’t necessarily want to do it until we tried it and saw that the pitchers all seem to like it.

“It makes sense from a game standpoint to have it. If those [pitchers] like it, and if it helps us as far as giving signs, it helps us to not get crossed up, it helps speed the game up a little bit, I’m a fan of it.”