St. John Neumann catchers Gavin Lind and Daniel Mayor have their shared pregame routine.
They go over scouting reports, talk strategy, and warm up. This season the routine got an addition ― making sure their earpieces are charged and ready to go.
Starting this season, the National Federation of State High School Associations allows catchers to wear an earpiece in their helmets to receive pitch calls from a coach using a walkie-talkie or clip-on microphone. Communication is only one way, from the dugout to the catcher, and coaches can only talk before a pitch is thrown and after the play on the field is over. The technology has been used at the college level since 2018 and was fully adopted by the NCAA for the 2021-22 season.
“It’s the best thing for us honestly, because anytime (Neumann head coach Charlie) Maurer needs to tell us he sees something on the bases or sees something with a hitter, he can be in the game with us,” Mayor said. “Telling us what he sees, or don’t do this, or don’t be late on your block. It helps us stay in the game and gives us that edge on other teams so we’re a step ahead.”
The technology can range anywhere from $500 to $5,000, with Neumann’s system being on the higher end. Bishop Verot and Canterbury are other area schools using the system.
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Being highly invested in analytics, Maurer has enjoyed the new tool. Not only has it helped his communication calling pitches, but he has noticed another benefit.
“It speeds the game up,” he said. “We’ve noticed game times have been cut 20 to 25 minutes against really good opponents, teams that are coached very well that are very specific. Before, you had to signal numbers in. Then the catcher had to read the numbers and the sign had to get signaled to the pitcher.”
That relay system is used at Neumann in every situation except when a runner is on second base. To avoid signs being relayed from runner to batter, Maurer reverts back to calling a three- or four-numbered code. The codes are on a wristband the pitcher, catcher, and infielders each have to know what pitch is called.
“The other thing that’s key, especially if you have a catcher with a savvy baseball IQ, there’s a lot of things that you could communicate that you couldn’t communicate,” Maurer said. “Whether you think he’s going to run, whether it’s your pickoff series, or you need to talk to the pitcher. It’s as simple as the pitching coach getting on and telling him what to tell the pitcher so you don’t have to burn a mound trip. There’s a ton of advantages to it, all while not slowing the game down and putting a better product on the field.”
Lind and Mayor have traded catching assignments throughout the season, but both catchers will wear an earpiece during games. Lind said listening in while not being behind the dish has helped his understanding of the game.
“It’s really good not only for coach Maurer to communicate with coaches as to where to position guys, but it is good for me because when I’m not catching, I still, like, catch with Daniel. Knowing what pitch is coming,” Lind said. “It’s good for me to know what’s gonna come, what’s gonna happen.
“On the bench without the earpiece, you’re kinda just watching the game. You’re seeing what’s happening in real time. When you have the earpiece, you know what’s going to happen. You can expect certain things. I just think the ability to know what’s coming in the dugout, it really helps out in terms of positioning infielders. Just a lot of beneficial stuff.”
A lot of time went into reading a scouting report on the opposing lineup, but Lind said he can receive that intel on the fly rather than try to memorize each opposing batter individually.
“He definitely does give us scouting reports before the game, but they’re brief,” Lind said. “Most of the time he keeps that stuff to himself, and then tells me before every batter. Like for example, there was one instance last game (against Riverdale): ‘This kid can’t hit an inside fastball. We’ve gotta get in on him here.’ When we call a curveball, he reminds me to not be late on the block. Expect them to run. Even when I’m calling timeout to go to the pitcher, as I’m walking to the pitcher’s mound, he sometimes tells me to change up your looks or change up your holds.”
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Maurer has found other ways to maximize the system’s use.
“The technology can’t leave the dugout,” Maurer said. “So what we decided to do, is that we have multiple coaches have a headset that can hear me calling pitches because it’s only one way. When we’re moving position players defensively, we don’t have to signal down every pitch in pivotal moments of if I’m going soft or hard or if I’m going in or out. They know what we’re doing the whole time and or if we’re picking, and or whatever. It’s really streamlined this sport because this sport got bogged down for a while because it got so complex with the sign tipping and other teams trying to see what you were doing got so on alert.
“It’s calmed that because we can do so much stuff with it. Maybe other teams are just gonna use it for pitch calling, but we’ve found benefits that we never even thought were possible. We’re trying to perfect and maximize it.”
Bishop Verot coach Casey Scott is also getting positive feedback from his catchers on the new system, especially having a younger catching group and a pitching staff that is far younger than last season’s.
“… This is how kids operate these days,” Scott said. “Everything is technology-based for them. It’s probably easier for them to grasp than the old-school methods. It’s been a pretty seamless transition. It was able to be used last summer through Perfect Game and travel organizations. Both of our guys had used it before, and we were kinda the rookies for it. For them, it was a much easier transition than it was for some of the coaches in using it.”
In a recent American Baseball Coaches Association meeting Scott attended, the vibe in the high school committee meeting room indicated electronic wristbands will be available and legalized for high school programs in Florida very soon, perhaps as early as next year. The wristbands, which the NCAA started allowing in 2022, relay pitching and defensive alignment signals from the coaching staff directly to all the players on the field, not just the pitcher and catcher.
With that, PitchCom ― a wearable transmitter that allows players on the field to communicate with each other without using words or physical signs ― could be the next item on the agenda once digital wristbands are legalized. Major League Baseball started allowing teams to use PitchCom last season.
“Next year, it’s leaning towards that there’s going to be technology capabilities for every player on the field,” Scott said of what was discussed in the meeting. “That was one of the holdups in us committing to a high-level system (this year). Next year, it seems like all the players on the field are going to have technology capabilities. Game flow should be way faster.”
Once that new technology is legal, Lind expects Maurer, who has massively upgraded Neumann’s baseball facilities over his two seasons coaching at the school, to be all over it with a day-one purchase.
“Whatever new thing comes out, he’s going to be the first one to have it,” Lind said. “He’ll be the first one to buy it.”
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
