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  1. coachjwb

    Houston Astros and the limits of sign stealing

    All it takes is a good wristband system to prevent someone stealing your signs. As far as stealing other teams' signs, I don't have a problem doing it at the youth level as long as it's the youth doing it, and not the "adults" and especially not the parents.
  2. coachjwb

    Wristband sign chart

    That stealing sign app is pretty cool ... though I don't think it should be used in a kids' game. The wristband system if properly designed has multiple combinations per sign and no pattern, so it would take longer (several innings?) for something like that to work. And a good system also has...
  3. coachjwb

    Wristband sign chart

    I also do custom wristband signs for teams and charge just $3.50 for the bands. Most teams can get the bands and 3 sets of signs from me less expensively than just buying the bands and doing the signs themselves. It's just a hobby I enjoy now that I am retired from coaching. Email me at...
  4. coachjwb

    Wristband Playcards

    Any system that uses a pattern (e.g., if the first or last number is X, then Y is on) or a decoy (e.g., the xth number is a decoy) can be picked up by another team. Any wristband system using 1 or 2 numbers is also susceptible. The idea of a wristband system is to use totally random...
  5. coachjwb

    Calling Plays via Numbers

    There's no reason to have to call out signs in a good system, other than perhaps defensive plays. Even if you do call them out, there should be enough random alternatives that another team shouldn't be able to pick them up. If anyone is interested in having someone do either a hitting and...
  6. coachjwb

    Best wristbands?

    I use Martin for the systems I do for teams. I get a nice discount and don't have to pay shipping on them since I buy in bulk quantities, and sell them at $3.75 each if you have me do a system. Contact me at jffbaker3@gmail.com for more info. As for getting what you pay for, I've never had...
  7. coachjwb

    DP/Flex, Re-Enter and Run for Pitcher/Catcher in MLB!

    It would definitely be interesting! And they also need to speed up the game big time ... all of these visits to the mound by the catchers, especially by Contreras of the Cubs, are ridiculous.
  8. coachjwb

    Intentional Hit By Pitch - Coach Tells P to Hit Batter?

    No adult coach should ever tell a youth player to throw at or intentionally hurt another youth player ... period. It's wrong in every sense of the word, and any adult coach who does so should be banned from coaching. Why would a 10 year old offer that up voluntarily if it wasn't true? With...
  9. coachjwb

    Why did your DD succeed in college softball?

    Coach JV ... our daughters have a lot in common, except mine must be about 7 years older! Mine also was a D3 player who pitched, played OF and DH'd. She played all 4 years and actually left the school as their career wins leader. She was successful because she played at a skill and...
  10. coachjwb

    Slapper batting strategy

    Don't give away what might be a great pitch to slap just to potentially hide you're a slapper for one more pitch that might not be a great one. Chances are they know or highly suspect it anyhow from having seen or faced you before, the fact that you're batting left-handed and quite possibly...
  11. coachjwb

    Pitcher Receving Signals

    I'm not positive of the answer on this, but I do some pitch-calling wristband systems for teams, and I always talk about this with the coaches I am doing the systems for so as to not slow down the game or interfere with the pitcher's rhythm. My assumption is that most teams using wristband...
  12. coachjwb

    Batter/Runner Dives into First Base

    I think this sums up the key issue very well ... it's different thrusting forward over an imaginary finish line that extends upward than it is diving down into a base. As mentioned above, it only makes sense to avoid a high tag up the line ... not to mention the risk of injury jumping onto a...
  13. coachjwb

    You win the coin toss...

    Agree with JAD ... drop dead away, finish the inning home ... but there was one good point made I hadn't thought about before re: using pitchers less innings in a potentially long tournament if you might lose a game ... e.g., a pool game, or before the first loss in a double elimination.
  14. coachjwb

    Again, the number system???

    Bartow ... sounds to me like your beef isn't with wristbands, but with coaches calling pitches ... wristbands are just one way to communicate them ... I agree that an invaluable skill for a catcher is the ability to call a game. My DD pitched 4 years in college ... some of her catchers were...
  15. coachjwb

    Again, the number system???

    The reason to use them at any age is to reduce the risk of missed signs and eliminate the chance of stolen signs. That is crazy though that an 18U team was relaying pitch-calling (or defensive plays?) like that. That's not really a wristband issue in my mind though ... that's just a stupid...
  16. coachjwb

    Again, the number system???

    Probably a third of the wristband systems I have done are for 10U and 12U teams, and both the coaches and players in those age groups seem to love them. Now they are almost exclusively for hitting and baserunning, and I would not personally use one for pitch-calling at that age level for...
  17. coachjwb

    Again, the number system???

    Darrell ... I missed the fact that this post was under the "catching" section and was intended more around pitch-calling. While I do some pitch-calling systems for teams, I see pros and cons of using a wristband system for this especially at the youth level, partially because I'm not a big fan...
  18. coachjwb

    Again, the number system???

    As has been mentioned above, if it's taking longer to do signs using a wristband system, they're either not designed or being used right. A good system is quick and easy to use, and I would argue introduces and teaches more game strategy than a traditional system. When I do customized systems...
  19. coachjwb

    Making hitting lineup

    Most of the batting orders posted here make sense, but not the ones where the players with the best on base percentages are at the bottom of the order. Just know that over the course of the season, the player at the bottom of the order is going to come to the plate less than the player at the...
  20. coachjwb

    Scoring question..Triple or error?

    Usually scored a triple when it doesn't touch a glove and is a misjudgement.

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