Went to the NCC/St.Henry game last night and noticed the NCC coaches (3rd base coach) yell out number combos when they have runners on base (35-2 or 23-4). Not sure if all the players have wrist bandage/codes like a quarterback wears. Is this something new? Other teams do this? Am I just getting old and like the "tip the hat, touch the chin, touch the sleeve, bach to the nose"? Any professionals do this?

Becoming more common. You see it with coaches calling pitches as well.

Herb Hammond at Henry Clay did this for quite some time. He hasn't coached there since 2009.

 

Its just whatever floats your boat really & makes it easier to adjust to your style & technique. I am like you @Just Jim, when I coached I always liked the hand jesture technique.

Used at a lot of different levels, from youth baseball through college. I've seen it used primarily for calling pitches into the catcher. On occasion, I've seen it used on offense.

Pros don't use it, and likely never will. This is because catchers and pitchers call their own game and don't have a coach calling every single pitch. And on offense, how many signs are needed in a pro game? Not many. I wouldn't think a pro pitcher needs a bunt sign with a man on 1B and no outs. He knows to bunt, sign or no sign.

I've seen all the above.^^^

Only saw one coach calling pitches with all the hand motions, arm brushes, hat-nose-ear touches, etc etc, like he was coaching 3rd.

It was a production...

 

Last year, a team from Ohio, JV game.

I was BS'ing with him between innings and commented that I had never seen anyone calling pitches like that.

He laughed. Then explained that he's not calling the pitches that way.

It's a distraction. Their rival had taken the time to get their signals. So while everyone is watching the performance, the ones that NEED TO are watching HIS FEET!

IT is annoying. Softball sometimes has coaches from both teams yelling the 3 number combos at the same time.

It's creeping into little league as well. I've called behind some catchers that have the "qb" play list on their arm. Coaches calls the numbers.

We used number combos for bunt defense and 1st and 3rd situations when I played in high school in the mid-late 80's. In college, many of our signs where verbal...all the hand signs where mostly junk.

I'm old school. Should be outlawed.

I'm old school. Should be outlawed.

 

it doesn't matter to me what the signs are, as long as the players don't miss them. Which is why the "old school" signs are being used less and less....numbers and verbal signs are much easier to give, disguise, and understand.

It makes a lot of sense to do it this way if you're worried about a team stealing signs. You can have a 8x8 play sheet so 64 possible options. You can have 7-8 bunt, squeeze, steal, hit and run, etc. signs and the rest are dummy signs. You can steal 8 times or more in a game and never give the same sign twice. Then the next game you can have a completely new play sheet. We used it in HS and I loved it.

It makes a lot of sense to do it this way if you're worried about a team stealing signs. You can have a 8x8 play sheet so 64 possible options. You can have 7-8 bunt, squeeze, steal, hit and run, etc. signs and the rest are dummy signs. You can steal 8 times or more in a game and never give the same sign twice. Then the next game you can have a completely new play sheet. We used it in HS and I loved it.

 

I used it in softball every year I coached. Makes comprehending the signal much easier and as long as you're not using the same number combo constantly, its impossible to steal signs. We had 3 or 4 sets of cards to use and would switch them out regularly.

Maybe I am in the minority on this, but wondering what others think. IMO a High School catcher should be able to call 85-90% on his own and not require the coach to tell him what to call. At a recent JV game it was so annoying to me to have to wait for the Boone County coach to look at his paper, think and then call out a number, catcher look at his wristband, and then signal for EVERY pitch. This slowed the game down even more. A catcher should know what to call on the first pitch to the first batter of the fifth inning when the guy steps to the plate for the third time in the game. At least IMO. Thoughts?

Maybe I am in the minority on this, but wondering what others think. IMO a High School catcher should be able to call 85-90% on his own and not require the coach to tell him what to call. At a recent JV game it was so annoying to me to have to wait for the Boone County coach to look at his paper, think and then call out a number, catcher look at his wristband, and then signal for EVERY pitch. This slowed the game down even more. A catcher should know what to call on the first pitch to the first batter of the fifth inning when the guy steps to the plate for the third time in the game. At least IMO. Thoughts?

 

Maybe, maybe not. I think it depends on the catcher, and how much control the coach is willing to give up. I caught and called pitches all the way through high school. Then I got to college, and also played in some high level summer leagues, and never called another pitch again. On one hand, calling pitches isn't rocket science, but on the other, I'm not sure high school catchers really get it. Especially since most have never called pitches even at the youth level.

I caught my entire career and have done both. I think it all depends on the pitcher/catcher relationship. Calling pitches is more about trust than it is the actual pitch you call.