Electronic pitch calling has arrived in New Mexico high school baseball

May 1—Prep baseball has seen a rather significant addition this season. But has anybody — outside of the teams and coaches — taken notice of the discreet change?

For the first time, teams can communicate pitches electronically from the dugout to the catcher. Some teams are utilizing this technology, others are not. It is voluntary.

But the technology has arrived.

Last summer, the National Federation of State High School Associations, or NFHS, approved a measure that would permit pitches to be called electronically. The NFHS believed it would speed up games and also bring the high school game more in concert with professional baseball.

"It seems to work out well," said La Cueva coach Gerard Pineda. The Bears are one of programs who have made the switch. Defending 4A state champion St. Pius is also calling pitches this season in an automated fashion.

The app with the technology is not terribly expensive, Pineda said, although there are different options available, not all cost-efficient. For the Bears, an assistant coach speaks into a device, perhaps a cell phone, in the dugout, and catcher Luke Reiter is wearing an earpiece where he receives the pitch call.

If you've seen an NFL coach on the sideline covering his face as he ships a play to his quarterback, then you've perhaps observed what's going on in some dugouts, as coaches are largely hiding their mouths when they make a call. (Sign stealing and lip reading are very much a thing, even at the prep level.)

Valley coach Chad Kuhn was a longtime pitcher in the minor leagues before he got into coaching. He usually calls pitches for the Vikings with hand signals. Albuquerque Academy coach Chris Alexander is also among those who relay preferences by hand.

"Ear, nose, hat," Kuhn said. "If a team starts to steal my signs, which they might, I just rotate it."

Kuhn said he called the first five games this year, then, for the first time in his nearly 25-year coaching career, turned things over — albeit reluctantly — to his catcher and his pitchers to navigate.

"Watching the kids and talking to them, I think pitches should be called by the pitching coach or the head coach," Kuhn said.

Catchers and pitchers collaborating on their own is certainly the simplest method of getting a game called. The hand system that Academy uses would be the next rung on the sophistication ladder.

The next step after that is one of the most familiar systems — the number system.

Defending Class 5A state champion Rio Rancho uses this system. A coach from the dugout barks out a three-digit number to the catcher, who is wearing what amounts to a quarterback card on his left wrist, above the glove.

The catcher syncs up those three digits on his card — it's essentially a grid with two columns — and gets the pitch type and location to his pitcher. Teams must be diligent with this method to avoid detection from opposing or scouting teams, and often will change grid cards from game to game.

"There is no wrong way," Rams coach David Gomez said. Rio Rancho might move to an automated system next year, he added.

"It's something we would like to add, but when we have more time," Gomez said. "(The electronic system) would be advantageous, since there is no mistaking what you're saying to them."

La Cueva was previously on the number system.

"On the chart, the kid would have to make sure he was in the right column," Pineda said. "This one is better because it's faster. The other thing I like about this is, if a kid was in the wrong column, we might call the wrong pitch. This one is a little more foolproof."

Longtime Rio Grande coach Orlando Griego said his Ravens have been calling pitches electronically about half the time. With some of the team's veteran pitchers, Griego allows his starting catcher to call games without direct input from the dugout.

With younger pitchers or when the backup catcher is in the lineup, Rio Grande goes the electronic route. But is sign stealing that prevalent? To a degree, said Griego, himself a former professional player.

"It does limit the opponent's ability to steal the signs, yeah," he said.

Rio Grande is using a system similar to La Cueva, but with this variation:

A coach pre-records his voice into a device with instructions for various pitches and locations. Each pitch is assigned a number. That number is punched in, and the coach's voice, and his pitch request, finds its way into the catcher's earpiece.

"I'd rather go back and make that technology obsolete on the baseball field," said Griego, admittedly an old-school coach.

The NCAA approved a one-way communication device in August 2021, but at the college level a coach can relay calls directly to the pitcher, with the catcher also in the loop as both wear an electronic display board on the wrist above their glove hand. A numerical code is issued from the dugout for pitches, placing both pitcher and catcher on the same page.

"We've had an issue or two where it didn't connect right away, but for the most part, it's worked really well," Pineda said. "And it's been effective. I think we've been able to get our signs in a little faster."